Chef's Secrets at Culinary Boot Camp

Most classes at Le Cordon Bleu begin with a demonstration by the Chef. After this two hour demonstration and lecture, we (the students) are expected to recreate the dish on our own. The "recipes" in the program binder consist of only the ingredient list -- no instructions. So, one should be taking thorough notes and, as you've seen, I take photos whenever possible. Something as normal for the American cook as the temperature for preheating the oven is NOT on the recipe. If you did not get it when Chef started the demonstration, then you just didn't get it. There really is a logic to this approach, I am sure. I just haven't figured it out yet.






Our dishes for class today were entree: (here, that is the appetizer) zucchini blossoms stuffed with crab meat, oven roasted tomatoes, which appear often since they make a nice garnish/presentation, and nicoise salad greens. The main course was sautéed veal medallions with mushroom, rosemary and cream sauce and potatoes with caramelized onions. I think I have mentioned, students are given whatever they cook each day (after it has been graded) to take home to eat. I was EXTREMELY thankful for that appetizer and the potatoes since I knew the veal was not going home with me. A few "secrets"/rules from Chef: 1) a perfectly cooked potato should be the same consistency as a wedge of butter just out of the fridge when you insert a knife in them. This explained a lot about why my potatoes are usually a little dry and mealy, 2) NEVER put sauce directly on meat, 3) for a perfect sauce, your roux (most sauces begin with a roux) must be cold and your liquid hot--or vice versa, 4) cut an onion thru the root (end to end) not around the middle. The root keeps the onion intact for easier slicing and dicing and there are actually less tears this way because less oils are released. Last, but not least...5) they WASH mushrooms! They just do it quickly and dry them well and contrary to my years of worry about it, did not absorb the water. This will certainly save me time since I have been gently rubbing each mushroom with a paper towel for years.

Another important thing I have learned -- I do not want to work as a demonstration assistant at Le Cordon Bleu! Class is stressful enough as it is without this thankless job. It is already a little like the military with students expected to respond to each comment with, "Oui, Chef". But the assistants, if they drop something or, heaven forbid do not understand the request spoken in French, they become the center of attention and it is not a good position to be in!



Susan and I took time today to go to tea at the famous patisserie, Laduree. What fun, how filling! We ordered what I thought were moderate dishes for lunch. (Susan had the Champs-Elysees Salad (wonderful, moist crabmeat on top of a thin pastry wafer drizzles with a balsamic reduction and served atop a mound of diced nectarines, passion fruit, and watermelon with a nectarine puree). I had the Club sandwich Laduree, which came on a brioche-type bread and had a filing of avocado, crabmeat, and sundried tomatoes...and the most amazing French fries I have ever eaten. Admittedly, I am not a fry eater. But this could convert even the most disciplined. They were square cut and HUGE and roasted/fried in such a way as to be crispy, but not at all greasy. Anyway, a moderate meal. Yet the waitress became bug-eyed when we suggested she bring an assortment of sweets, which Laduree is most famous for producing, for our dessert. "Oh no, Madam! It will be too much!". Adequately humbled, we ordered a plate of MINI macaroons in salted caramel, pistachio, rose petal, vanilla, and lemon-thyme.
















Tomorrow we are traveling by high-speed train (TGV) to the south of France to visit and take an intensive 4-day cooking course on the cuisine of Provence. France and much of Europe are far ahead of other countries with their public transportation system and the high-speed trains allow you to travel across France - or to Switzerland, Italy, or Germany - in a matter of hours. Our train is a double-decker and we are on top, so I am excited to watch several regions of France pass by. I have always wanted to go to Provence and I am anxious to see if the reality is anything at all like I have imagined.

We will lug a bag or two down our wooden, narrow, winding steps tomorrow. I adore my apartment, but the tiny wooden steps were not made for my size 9.5 (okay, size 10) feet and it is quite a balancing act each time I make the six flight trip down to the street. Susan likes to go behind me -- just in case I miss one, she does not want to become collateral damage.


I will post photos from the road! Bonne nuit de Paris. (good night from Paris)