8 posts tagged “le cordon blue”

One more time in Le Cordon Blue kitchen, and this time was my practical exam. I’ve done lots of exam with pens, and this is the first time I had to do one with a paring knife.

The way it works is each student picks an envelope that contains the ingredients of a dish. I picked the Cote de boeuf grillée, beurre marchand de vin.

I was nervous. I didn’t want to fail. I wanted to make the dish on time, and of course, perfect.

I made a lot of mistakes. I forgot to add the butter sauce to the Cote de boeuf. I made it, but I left it in the fridge and didn’t add it to the plate. The beef itself supposed to have criss cross marks on the presentation side, instead I burnt that side. What else? I took too much vegetation out of the tomato for the Tomato Provençale, and for the life of me couldn’t remember how to turn on the deep-fryer for the French fries.

In the end, I graduated. I thought I was finished with school, but I will return to this amazing school experience one day soon to take on the next level of cuisine. First, I have to save some money. In the mean time, I will be taking pastry courses at the local college. 

The next chapter of the blog is to take some of the recipes I learnt over the summer, and add more step-by-step photos and explanation. I will also include pastry recipes. 

My blog will start up again on September 24, 2007. 

Now that I have been away from work for about five weeks, I'm starting to notice the difference between work and Cordon Blue. Obvious? Not really. For example, we are still dealing with deadlines and pressure to produce. The culture of my employer and Cordon Blue share a preference for tradition and repeating the past, and strong emphasis on formality and form over function--for example, turning of vegetables so that they look like little footballs ( my nightmare) a lot like the classic briefing note. My workspace is kinda of the same, no privacy, but instead of desks and a computer, my non-cubicle workstation consists of marble counters, stainless steel and a gas burner.  In the kitchen, the sounds are of sizzling meat, pots and pans, and people yelling, interrupting, asking a lot of questions, definitely more lively and spontaneous than cautious murming at the office. Come to think of it, I haven't heard a whisper since I started. Needless to say the smells of Cordon Blue is light years away from the fetid, recycled scent of confined humans and office machinery.

What's the difference? I never have to think about what to wear in the morning. Bad hair, who cares, I get to put it under my chef's hat. I work with both hands and all ten fingers, not my just Blackberry thumbs. And at the end of the day, there is a good chance, the results of my work will be delicious, as opposed to filed. Eaten instead filed. Funny. The whole French thing about food and bon vivance, is true, butter makes people happier. On the whole, my class mates and Chefs, even the stricter ones, are a merry bunch.  

The coolest thing about the kitchen is that I am totally offline-- no computers, mouse, Blackberries or phones. Beginning to realize what a time suck that little Blackberry can be. There is something compulsive about it and the culture surrounding it.  Not sure it actually improves productivity. When I am back in the office I hope to remember to turn it off at the end of the day, and restrict it to travel. Like to spend the time I save into making a good vinaigrette.  

It has been 7 days since I have posted, mainly because my modem would not connect. It took four days for my service provider to fix the problem! Four days! 

So here I am. With a couple more burns and cuts. 

Last week was rough. I couldn't keep up with class or plate my dishes, and Chef B. was starting to get to me. 

We created white, brown and fish stocks, 16 sauces, and 8 soups. The Borscht was delicious. 

Worked on production, that means, I had to help Chef C. to prepare for the classes. Before I could start to work, I was quizzed on the Hollandaise sauce, Béarnaise sauce, and what is Pastis (licorice flavored spirit), with Chef B.hovering over my shoulder, sternly, and smiling voluntarily at every wrong answer. It's starting to feel like boot camp for butter. 

I also received my mid-term evaluation, and I've seemed to have squeaked through. Received a big fat zero for my miserable performance turning out vegetables. Those little football shapes are giving me nightmares. Did Chef B. really say you have to see the shape in the vegetables like Michelangelo would or to practice and stop drinking? Here it is again, classic, my relationship with macho guys, it's like an emulsion, two liquids that cannot combine. 

I'm halfway through the course, and the schedule is improving, but the recipes will get more and more difficult in the days ahead. Oh la la. 

My favourite recipes of the week will follow. 

Legume tournes

Pommes de terre

"You won't serve today," said Chef B., as I struggled to pull the guts out of a dark silver gray fish.  I shot back, "yes I will!," determined not to let this long convoluted recipe defeat me. I had a little more than hour to prepare a fish stock, create cooking juices from mussels and mushrooms, and try to master the fold and cut trick of creating a circle out of parchment paper that fits exactly on top of a pot. My first one came out as a snow flake. 

We made 11 "Entremets" this week.  This means desserts between courses. All delicious, and most are very simple to make. Apple Charlotte served with creme anglaise (love this one!), reversed caramel cream, pears cooked in red wine, prunes cooked in white wine, fruit Zabaglione, vanilla ice cream, coffee ice cream, Calvados sorbet, lime sorbet, and almond biscuits (see photos, most of them are there). 

The hardest one to make, hands down, was the frozen orange souffle. It takes a lot of muscle and good memory to get this right. The mixture is made up of Italian meringue--the most complicated part (I had to do it twice because I was not quick enough to add the sirop boule), Zabaglione, whipped cream, and candied oranges for decoration. I will get to taste what's it's really like today. 

Received a number of "perfects" from Chef G. this week. I guess I am getting the hang of this. Did pretty good on two “quizzes”. My specialty at last.

This is my ninth class, I am so grateful for having the time to do this. It’s a ball, I love it! The students are amazing. We are all having the time of our lives. Chef G. is awesome. He tries to apply academic discipline to food, but he can’t, in the end it is an art form.

Did not start off on a good foot today. Missed my "sous-chef" assigmment for Chef M. He shrugged off my apology,   "you mizzed eazy one, next time...won't be zo eazy  for you."

Lesson 1-Orientation