smelly appartment

The whole appartment smells of the onion tart we made today. Not too good. It tastes super, but the smell..Just got in at 10.30 pm. The pub/cafe was good... A few beers/nice people. And now an onion smell. Toilet time! down it goes....

The last class of today was all about bloody puff pastry. What a #$@!#%^ thing to make. Why not just buy it in the supermarket? Chef kept on asking about the amount of layers after so may folds of the pastry... I don't give a S@#%! It's just pastry and it tastes nice. I don't want to do any maths on it! It's food!
Then we did quiche Lorraine and a fantastic mushroom quiche. That was our classroom dinner before we went to the pub.
Chef was a bit 'static'. Nice guy, but not looking at us, just doing his standard 'thing'. Bit boring. But what he made was super. The puff pastry is not finished yet. We only did 4 turns on it - few more to go. Tomorrow (Friday) is a busy day with two practicals and a demo. First practical will be the quiche L. and puff pastry and the last practical of the day will probably puff stuff again.... not my kind of thing. But we need to do it...

By the way... pub was good !
See you all later.
Sj

Farty recipe/dish to take home...

Today, was onion tart day. Yes indeed, the extremely farty onion tart. And it tasted fabulous!

8.30am in the cafe. The guy with his beer is (already/still) there. I try to ignore him; before you know it he sees me as his drinking friend.... I have a quick coffee and go to class.

Today, chef is doing a lot in the demo.

It went like a bit like this: start with a (freshly made) tomato sauce. Should take 3 hrs. (in oven). Easy-peasy.

(blanch, peel, etc etc tomatoes, onions, bouquet de garni, a few other things and put in the oven)

In the meantime, chef made dough for pasta. After rising, he blanched it quickly, cooled it of and left it between damp tea towels for some time. All ready to use later. It was Canelloni with 3 different sauces (tomato, pesto and some sort of bechamel). Chef prepared everything at the same time.

On top of that he did an onion tart. He made fresh dough for the base, browned his onoions, blanched tomatoes, rinsed ansjovis, etc,etc. Busy man ! From the leftovers he made a spaghetti dish with the 3 sauces and from the 'canelloni-dough' he made some sort of funny looking pasta dish. The leftover dishes took him only 3 minutes to prepare and present.

In the end it all looked spectacular. 'Venezuela' (sorry, forgot your name!) went back for a tasting 3 times... he liked it indeed !

Out for a quick coffee at (our) cafe. 'Mr.X, the alkie' was gone, but he organised a replacement; An older lady was there and she downed a few pints within 10 minutes.

Our early afternoon practical was only to made the onion tart. It is a bit like a pizza with onions, olives, capers, tomato,anchovies and olive oil. Indeed, all the toppings that kids just love !

Everybody was really creative with the tarts. Round, square etc etc. Different ways of putting the toppings on. Nice. Again, it was too much to take home - but the dishwasher guys just love it. (One of them looks a bit 'round'. Looks like he never skips a meal durind and after cleaning pans and dishes.) Ready by two 'o clock.

I took home two big slices for tonight. Prrrrrrrrtttttttt..... smell,smell,smell....

Now, we've got the afternoon off and have to be back in class at 6.30. Don't like this bit of the schedule.

OK - two pictures then....

c'est moi..... (picture taken by chef)

And Rosario (Valencia,Spain), chef from Paris and Erich (Dallas,TX,USA)

Maybe more to follow.....

Busy,busy,busy

Yes, today was busy. I'm tired and are not putting too much effort in the blog today.
Left early for class and went straight to the cafe....... for un espresso. There was a guy in the cafe with a large beer. 3 minutes after I had my coffee he had another one... But he still thinks he hasn't got a problem.... It was class at 8.30 with a fish practical. I ended up gutting 2 small and one HUGE fish. Never thought I'd do this for a hobby... and early in the morning!

Fish-dish went alright. I think both my fish and sauce were well seasoned and I even received compliments from chef. He's a bit of a funny guy. 'Short and round' and trying to speak English. Well, it's not even close to Franglais, but at least he's trying.
I'm taking the fish hone for dinner (4 nice fillets with a good sauce.) Will publish details later. I think.

Then a demo lesson about basic sauces, stock and poaching a chicken. Oh yes, almost forgot, we chef did a (cheese) souffle. Nice. It collapsed after 2 minutes.... but a fantastic taste. We have to do the souffle ourselves in lesson 18. We also learned how to make proper rice. (Butter, shallot, rice and our own stock and finally double cream). - listen, this is France, so ALL the sauces are VERY,VERY rich.... bugger...

Then we had another practical. We did a (whole) poached chicken, made the perfect chicken stock, made a roux/bechamel sauce with the stock and as a side dish the rice.
Everything went smoothly. My dish went really well except for the bechamel. Slightly under seasoned according to chef. I couldn't care less. It tasted super and took everything home for my dinner tomorrow. The fridge is full !

Oops, nearly forgot to tell you... Today, I had 3 minor cuts in the fingers, then 1 in the palm of my hand, 1 sharp fish bone in the thumb and a few major burns on my left hand (grabbed the saute pan again when it just got out of the 220+C oven. Forgot to use the tea towel. shit,shit,shit) - it's OK now. Funny thing is, I'm still enjoying it all !

The two chefs we had today are really great guys with a good sense of humor. That will definitely change when it will get tougher, but at the moment it's just great.
Also, the translators are good fun. Ben from the UK (but lives in Paris) never exactly translates everything that chef tells us. He always adds something (funny) extra. Good fun.

And today Jayne left me.... cry,cry,cry. No she didn't leave me, but went back to Amsterdam. She shopped (till she dropped) here in Paris. Jayne will be back early December for my birthday. Yippee!

And before I forget, I do have some pics available now from myself in THE uniform. Maybe I will use them in the blog later!
See you all later,
Sj (moi) - that's French.

Day 2; soup & fish

Today we had our first practical class. Got up early (never happened in the past few months..) and arrived at the school at 8.00. Quickly changed and searched for all the gear to take to class. I needed full gear. all the knives, hat,scarf,container etc etc.


The first lesson was soup.

Basically it was a class how to cut different shapes/sizes. So, we learnt all about mirepoix, paysanne, julienne and brunoise cuts. Not that difficult, but chef can always do better.

The end result should look like this. Pretty tastful !

Well, this was yesterday's demo result that chef produced. Today it was our turn.


We were all a ittle bit nervous. There was only one person a bit late because she got confused on the metro system. Shit happens.
Chef was pretty easy-going and helped us a lot. He even spoke English!

There are eight of us in the kitchen. Two from the US, two from Singapore, one Kiwi, two Spanish girls and me. All nice people!

Started off with a lot of chopping for the soup and later a bit of practice in different cutting styles. When the soup was ready we could 1.eat it (2 liters), 2. throw it away (Chef doesn't like that), 3. Give it away to the cleaning people in the kitchen (chef likes this option if you don't want the soup or 4. TAKE IT HOME !

So, I put the 2 liters of soup in a Tupperware box and took it home. After all, I am Dutch! It's enough for a few good meals with a fresh baguette and a glass of vin blanc.

Having trouble with an onion? Chef explains.












Second class today was a 'fish demo'. Whiting with a butter sauce. I will explain tomorrow how much butter is used in a French butter sauce.....

And we made stock today, lots of stock. Actually, chef made it, we only watched. Chef made veal stock from bones and two fish stocks. Nice.

Tim liked the sauce...

Third class was all about kitchen stuff. Rules, pots and pans, straining, etc etc. Finished by 5 already.
'Speak' to you tomorrow. Sj

1st day at school - and HELP: Skype me!

Today was the first day at school. I arrived at 9.00 am, a bit early. Got registered, received all the paperwork and immediately had to fill in many forms. Then the people from Le Cordon Bleu were introduced;Everything was in French and translated into English.
It was supposed to be a powerpoint presentation, but as ususal it didn't work out well with the beamer....

The Basic Cuisine group consists of only 17 people this year. On the other hand, the Basic Pastry group is 34 people. Basic Cuisine is split in two groups.
We have people from mainly the USA, then a few from Spain, Singapore, Japan, Venezuela, Brasil, UK, New Zealand and I am the only one from the Netherands. And no German speaking people! The pastry group has quite a lot of people from Asia. Not sure if that's got to do something with their 'sweet taste' or typcal Asian presentation style (status).

After all the paperwork and introductions were finished, we had to register again and got our uniforms, plastic containers (to take the prepared food home) and a HUGE Wusthof knife set. All to take home after the course. Nice!

Then we got quite a shock - the schedule for the next 5 weeks.... It's basically everyday from 8.30 - 18.00 hrs. Sometimes half a morning off, but that's it. Even on Saturdays there is a program. And that's for the 5 full weeks...

We got the afternoon off and started our first demonstration at 15.30. We had to dress-up in our uniforms. Sorry, no pics (yet) !
This session was all about knives, pots and pans, general kitchen equipment and finally a demonstration about a recipe - soup...
Chef showed us how to cut perfect triangles (i'll explain later), brunoise, julienne and other ways of chopping up vegetables. We also learned how to make the perfect croutons.
To cut a long demo-session short - the soup was delicious !

Soup: Lardon meat, carrots,potatoes,cabbage,peas,daikon, haricots verts. On top a nice crouton with finely chopped gruyere cheese. Not too bad to finish the day.

After school, a few bottles of beer and quickly out for dinner. Oh my, will I sleep 2nite !
see you all tomorrow 'on the blog'.

Update 22.45pm. I just got the first 'person to Skype me. Unfortunately, I think, it was a nice piece of porn.... (And Jayne is still here in Paris)
So, please Skype me or I will keep receiving this crap !

The French and their shopping trolleys... market day!

Yes indeed, all the French have a shopping trolley when they go to the market. They come in all colors (the trolleys, that is !) and if you miss one, you probably stumble over a little French madam.

Jayne nearly wanted to purchase...... I guess not!

Today was a nice Sunday out visiting two markets; The first one in the 15th arrondisement, near the Dupleix station and the other one near Bastille.

On our way back, we stopped to buy tea at the 'Marriage Freres'. Very nice shop. We also stopped at the Centre Pompidou and had lunch here at La Dame Tartine. Very nice place, good food and a very gay waiter!

After visiting the Notre Dame, see pics, we walked to St.Germain for coffe and beer. Jayne wanted to buy macaroons at Laduree, but it was too busy. People were waiting outside, so instead we went to a nearby cafe. After our drinks we went home on the metro and bought a baguette for tomorrow morning.

And do I look French like zis ?

Tomorrow, 9.30. First day at school. Looking forward to it !

15th November - the tourists hit the streets

This is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the apartment. Fantastic.... ! (French humour) By the way, the Tower is the 'big' spire-type structure next to the chimneys. Today, we went shopping for breakfast first. Went back to the apartment and made a good breakfast. After that we took the metro to Les Halles and went sightseeing in the neighbourhood. 'Did' Louvre, Les Halles with its shopping streets, Obelisk, Eiffel Tower etc etc...

some pics...

Arrived in Paris!

It's Friday and finally we are in Paris. After leaving Amsterdam in the morning, we arrived at 14.00 hrs at the Gare du Nord with the Thalys, we took the metro towards station Dupleix.

Had a nice meal and wine on the train; All inclusive... we travelled 1st class.

The apartment is near Rue du Theatre in the 15th arrondisement. It's not far from the Eiffel Tower.

The owner left a nice 'welcome' bottle of champagne in the fridge. Thank you !

In the evening we went out for dinner in St.Germain.

Only 5 days to go...

Yes, only 5 days to go before I (eh, we) go to Paris. Next Friday morning Jayne and I will be leaving Amsterdam to go to Paris.
We'll be travelling 1st class on the Thalys, the high speed train.

Just bought the latest (Oct.08) edition of the Lonely Planet guidebook of Paris. It's a lot of fun to read all about the city.

In the next few days I have to buy some last things, pack my bag and oh yes, I also have to go to work for a few hours... Almost forgot about that...
And there's one small problem: My mother in law already calls me 'chef'. Don't think so ! hi, hi.
I'm excited and can't wait !

I'm going to Paris ! Finally everything has been sorted out.

Yes ! All the paperwork and payments have been done. I'm accepted at the school, the apartment I found is super and the train journey from Amsterdam to Paris has been booked.

Last week, I received the registration package in the post; Details about the school, Paris, cookery shops, markets etc etc.

Jayne will be joining me for the first five days. Later she will visit me for my birthday (early December) and during the last week of the course.

There's also information about our 'uniform' and a Wusthof knife set.

We will get these on our first day. (Don't know if we can keep the knife set - hope so !)

The course - basic cuisine (intensive)

Description of the BASIC CUISINE COURSE. This is an introduction to French Cuisine where we will learn about French culinary terms & definitions, organization, safety and hygiene in the kitchen. Hopefully professional knife handling will be taught.... Furthermore, we'll learn about diverse cuts and classic French techniques. Learning foundations : stocks, sauces, forcemeats and doughs. The course will be given in French, but will also be translated into English.

Paris ! cooking in Paris...Great !

Choose Paris, the most cosmopolitan gastronomic capital of the world, as your campus and obtain your Cordon Bleu culinary training from a faculty of French master Chefs who bring with them the traditions and experience of the top kitchens in France.

While in Paris, take the opportunity to visit outdoor markets and cafés. Discover your own culinary finds from specialty shops to bistros and Michelin-starred restaurants. You will be able to visit world famous museums, historical monuments and places of cultural interest…Your passion for food will be complemented by the truly enlightening experience of living and studying in Paris.

Learning about food and sharing experiences with students of more than 70 nationalities are part of the friendly setting of Le Cordon Bleu Paris.