That's why they call it Superior...

Well...vacation is over.

E'Lane, Lauren, Gillian and I had the most amazing trip to Lake Como, Italy ever. We read books, talked, solved all the world's problems over wine and cheese on our deck and just had a ball. The FOOD WAS INCREDIBLE. I ate caprese with every single meal and filled myself to capacity with pasta. I love the French, but Italians have the food in my book. I also LOVE Italian wine- we had a Brunello our last night there that would have knocked any wine buff's socks off.

Yesterday started Superior cuisine. Feeling rested and confident, I went to my first demo with Chef Clergue. I haven't pinpointed every reason that I love him, but here are a few:

He's like lightning in the kitchen, every move has a purpose and there is never a moment that he isn't doing something. It's almost as if he dances around the kitchen. He's super easy to follow, and really really engaging. He asks us questions, and asks us to ask questions. Another reason I love him is because he talks about wine pairing. He'll ask us what flavors are in each of the dishes and then will have us talk through which wine would go well with the various dishes. He isn't married to French wine and often tells us about wines from different places that would compliment the dish.

...Ok enough gushing about Clergue. He made John Dory filets with red spices (tandoori and satay) and black rice with exotic fruit.

Walking into practical was intimidating. We were in the small kitchen where I hadn't been since my basic final. I took my place and felt lost. I was amazed at how 'out of shape' I was since leaving intermediate. I managed along ok, but got yelled at by Lesourd when I started a vinaigrette with oil first. I KNOW you ALWAYS start with the acid, and as soon as I poured the oil in, I knew it was a mistake but he was watching me, so I was busted. All in all, I wasn't thrilled with my performance, but it was fine.

We had Lesourd in demo today and he made a great lamb dish that I was super excited to make. We had Terrien, the other Superior Chef for practical, and he's very old school traditional. He likes his meat cooked and his vegetables like mush. I did MUCH better today. It wasn't a complicated recipe, but we were very bust the whole time. I was completely focused and felt really good when I was done. My jus was too runny, but tasted parfait- my cuisson was tres bien, my purple potato chip was great as were my haricots verts wrapped in bacon. I'm happy.

Superior is no joke. The Chef's the whole time yell "THIS IS SUPERIOR CUISINE, NOT BASIC CHILDREN" which is intimidating. They expect a lot of us at this point, and I want nothing more that to impress them. I've got a new system where I write down goals for the week. I'm going to research food every day. I need to be inspired for my presentation, as well as my recipes for upcoming ateliers. I need to turn it on now and really kick it into high gear. I've made it this far- I've got to KNOW in my heart that I can do this!

I'll leave you with some pictures from heaven aka Lake Como and I'll write after tomorrow! I'm off to eat my delightful lamb!

A Bientot!

Bring on Superior!

Well...Intermediate is finished. Never again will I get to see a Thivet or Caals demo. I won't get to hear Thivet yell YEEHAW!!! while tasting one of his dishes. While the end of intermediate relieves me a little, the thought of superior scares me. Intermediate was much like basic- replicating recipes and learning more complicated garnishes and techniques. Superior is going to be really hard- we have to come up with our own recipes. There are guidelines to what we have to make, which ingredients we must use, and ones that we can't; but we have to design our menus. While this scares me, I think it will be the turning point in my culinary education. I'm always so concerned with following the recipes and making sure I do things exactly like the Chef that I'm too much in my own head. If I'm making my own recipes, I think I'll be far more comfortable in the kitchen...at least I hope.

Graduation was bittersweet. Sweet in that it was my first one, bitter in that it marks the 2/3 mark of my journey. It was also sad that Anthony and Gill weren't there with us. Not many people were there as we have 2 weeks off until Superior begins, most are traveling. I had helped our Chefs Caals and Lesourd the day prior to get all the food ready for graduation. It was really fun, but tedious prep work. We were there about 8 hours chopping, blanching, peeling, confit-ing. It gave me insight into what a stage might be like...peeling peas for 8 hours straight! The ceremony itself was fine- the new school director was so nervous and it was about 60000 degrees in the winter garden. We got to celebrate upstairs with all the Chefs and take lots of pictures. Chef Clergue (my favorite) gave me his hat and signed it! I'm keeping that thing forever :) Chef Caals gave Lara his hat, and Lesourd gave Noor his...we all got the hats of our favorite Chefs!



The following day, I went to Zu's superior graduation. Her family wasn't able to make it, so I was her date. It was so cool, and got me SO excited for August! I'm not going to post details because I want you all to be surprised when you see the pictures from my graduation!

The really exciting news is that Gill, E'Lane, Lauren and I are heading to LAKE COMO ITALY!!!!!!! We rented an apartment right on the lake for 5 nights and we're going to relax, unwind and get ready for the challenging summer we have ahead of us. I can't wait, I've never been and it will be so great to have a home base where we can cook, play cards, scrabble, read and just have fun.

We depart on Tuesday morning and return on Sunday before superior starts! Thank you all for sharing this experience with me and for all your words of encouragement. I vow to be better about blogging and taking photos of my plates in superior.

A Bientot!