Day 13 Le Cordon Bleu Paris

Today began like most days at Le Commerce Brasserie on the corner of Rue Vaugirard and Rue D'alleray. This is the favorite hangout for the LCB students. I stop here every morning to get my espresso and read the NY Times on my Iphone before school begins (although, I don't get much reading done because there is always someone interesting to talk with) I can usually spot Sjoerd here for a quick chat. Throughout the day, students can be found here unwinding during their breaks with fellow classmates over their favorite beverage. It's a nice social hub where I have also met several students who are not in my class. I am constantly impressed with the caliber and depth of the LCB students. Some very accomplished and established people makeup the typical profile of an LCB class.

Today was class picture day. We were told to arrive with clean uniforms like good little boys and girls. So many facets of this experience bring back childhood memories of being in school. Here's the group:

Intensive Basic Cuisine Nov-Dec 2009

Shortly after, we met for a demo. Not only was it class picture day, but we also received a report card. The grades are a little meaningless and very subjective. Today's demo consisted of 3 different fish dishes (Salmon, Sole, and brill) Since brill was not available, sole was substituted in its place. Each dish had a different sauce. I am into the sauce making so this was another great batch of sauces to add to my repertoire.

The first sauce was a green sauce with a mayonnaise base. The mayonnaise was made classically by whipping mustard, eggs, salt and pepper and then adding oil while whisking for the emulsion. The green color came from blanching a mixture of chervil, parsley, watercress, tarragon and spinach then draining dry, blending in a blender, and then reducing on heat. Some of the juice and particles were then blended with the mayo. Nice!

The next sauce was made with fish stock reduced then cream was added to thicken. Then the reduced liquid was placed in a blender, sorrel was added to blend giving it a green color, and thickened with cold butter in the blender. This was used with the salmon which was cut escalloped and then sauteed in oil. Yum!

Finally, the sauce I had to cook in the ensuing practical, was a mixture of reduced fish stock, onions, shallots, and tomatoes in which the sole was baked. The juice was then reduced and liaisoned with butter. Finely chopped parsley was added just before serving. Another delicious sauce. Here are 2 of the chef's dishes.

Escalloped Salmon with Sorrel Sauce

Goujonnetes de sole, sauce verte

It was a full 3 hour demo leaving little time to set up for the practical. This was my last session as an assistant, so I was happy to just get this day behind me. Kelsey and I managed to pull it off with help from Wen Bo, Yuka, and Julia. That Friday- afternoon-the-weekend-is-almost-here mood was in the air. Everyone was a little punchy. So, we all began working on our soles, cutting out the 4 fillets, skinning, and using the leftover carcass to make a fumet de poisson for our sauce. I got the fish stock going by sweating some chopped vegetables, bouquet garni, deglazed with white wine, then water and carcass added. Then it was time for the dreaded potato turning. They love "turning" their vegetables here. It's tough to do, but I think we're all starting to get it. Finally I baked the fish in a bed of onions, shallots, tomatoes and the fish stock. The juices were later used to make the sauce which was reduced with, you guessed it, butter! That's me above  checking the final seasoning before adding some chopped parsley to my sauce. It came out well. I was very happy with my dish. Kelsey and I celebrated the end of our reign as class assistants and gladly handed the mantle to Eduardo and Flavia.

 My plate is pictured below. I have to ask, is there anything more unappetizing looking as these naked sad looking potatoes? That's how they want it. I don't get this obsession with turning the vegetables! Another peculiarity is the use of only white pepper because the presence of black pepper speckles on a dish is considered a culinary sin! I actually like the speckles. So, I just wanted to explain the barren look of some of these dishes. It's not my lack of imagination, it's how the Chefs want it. The idea is that only the customer can add the pepper. It's all angled from the perspective of cooking these dishes at a restaurant.

Filet of Sole with white wine sauce

Another week is over and we're exactly half way through the program. It has been long days but I feel like I have learned a lot in only 2 1/2 weeks. Thus far we have had 45 hours of demo instruction and 45 hours in the kitchen. By the way, I calculated that the cost of the school is roughly $60/hour for Basic cuisine. The hourly cost goes up for the Intermediate and Superior since they already have their knife kit and uniforms but pay the same total tuition.

It is Friday night and my buddy Chris is back in Paris. We decided to meet in my neighborhood at Republique. Ute, who is one of the translators at the school, who also has a gastronomic tour business in Paris (WELCOME), suggested a few cafes for us to visit. She lives one block from my apartment and joined us for a couple of drinks. This is really my first time out at night in my area. I discovered that I live in a pretty hip and artsy area.