A Moveable Feast

Ferrandi Anglo - the next generation

Last Thursday I went out dining with Joan and Andrew. They are both readers of my blog and current Anglo students at Ferrandi in Chef Sebastien's class. We wanted to check out the tasting menu at Ze Kitchen Galerie, which received its first Michelin star this year. The 7 course menu was amazing, although we found the use of ginger, lemongrass, coriander and lots of foam became a little repetitive across the menu, and somehow in my memory the combinations of spices and condiments had been a bit more creative in the past. One of the desserts was so good, that I ordered it a second time a la carte after the end of the menu. It was "glace chocolat blanc - wasabi, pistache - torrone, jus de the vert" (white chocolate ice cream on pistachio-wasabi sauce). Trop trop bon.

By the end of the meal and a good bottle of Chablis I felt sorry for the two for having to get up the next morning early for the cuisine class. So Andrew came up with the idea to invite me to join the class for the regional menu at Ferrandi the next day, which was a day off for me. I was so excited about the idea, and hoped chef Sebastien would not have any objections.

In the middle of the night, 8:30 am, I received Andrew's SMS, that everything was o.k. I was so happy to have that opportunity ! I joined the class at noon, and as they were late (nothing has changed compared to last year ;), I could sneak around in the kitchen and watch the students work and chat with them about their experience for an hour. Some had just finished their first stages at the same restaurants I had, and it was fun to hear about their impressions. Of course I also took the opportunity to share with Chef Sebastien all my up and down adventures of the last months. 

Check out the current Anglo class below, some great talents among them, you will certainly see them in a couple of years on magazine front covers when they have become famous chefs. From left to right : Eldar, Chef Sebastien, Amanda, Andrew, Chris, Joan, Julie (both hidden), and Felipe.

And this is the menu that I was lucky to taste, based on specialties of the Charente-Maritime region. I was amazed to see what the students were able to create after just a couple of months training, and I admire Chef Sebatien's everlasting energy to teach people who don't even know how to hold a knife within a couple of months the foundations for this passionate profession, over and over again every year. Chapeau Chef !

   

   

Dear Anglo 2007/08 class, thank you for the invitation, the great menu and the opportunity to spend time with you. It was a great pleasure to meet you. Good luck for the exams and your cooking career !

Graduation

C'est fini !!!

School's finished, and I got my certificate yesterday during the graduation celebration.

How do I feel ? Well, honestly, while I couldn't prevent some tears rolling during graduation yesterday, I am so happy that it's over. It has been a great year but also a very hard year, much harder than I had imagined before. I am ready to move on now to apply my new acquired skills as a professional cook. I will miss Chef Sebastien and a couple of people from my class, but I also know that I will stay in touch with the ones that were important to me and see them again... First rendezvous are already taken, to check and celebrate the results of the state diploma C.A.P. beginning of July.

There was also an after-graduation-drink, and I don't know why, but I got again the biggest glass of beer, and I didn't ask for it (they ran out of smaller glasses)...

And now ? Four weeks "vacation" during which I will take my time to eventually discover Paris, enjoy myself, and put into action all the ideas that I dreamt about while studying last month, and then mid July I'll move to the south of France for a four months stage in a two-Michelin-star restaurant.

The real life as a cook starts now, so of course I will continue to share here my next adventures...

feels good...

You surely doubted that today was 7/7. I can't believe it. It's over. No more test. Still a couple of days in the school, a 3-day excursion to Brittany/Loire next week, and graduation on the 15th. It's a good feeling to come home without having to study all evening again.

The last practical test was okay. Strangely enough I was not nervous at all. But still a bit tired from the week before. I drew two dishes, that I was very happy about, Quiche Lorraine and Carré d'agneau primeur (rack of lamb with 5 different "turned vegetables"). This time the judges did not challenge me at all, but rather left me alone, after seeing how well I did preparing the lamb carré. One even asked me "Where did you learn to do it like this ?!?" (and it was meant to be positive). My quiche was great, so I believe I got a very good score there. Unfortunately for the lamb, while I had done it perfectly at home before, with all the rush I had forgotten to check the temperature of the oven in the school today (stupid, stupid, stupid, beginner's mistake), so at the end the lamb wasn't cooked enough. But I'm sure that l passed anyway. On Thursday we'll get the overall result, one day before the graduation.

After the tests both Anglo-classes went to celebrate together. The biggest beer in the front on the photo is mine, obviously, and I had to manage a couple of comments about this from the young guys...;). Life has me back !. It's so good !.

One more to go

6/7 happened this morning. I am too tired too write much about it. Feel like a Zombie and all I can say is "I'm sooooo tired". But it went very well, all I had to do was a "brain dump" on paper. From fish categories to completing recepies to nutrition to bacteria in the kitchen, etc., covering a wide area of everything a cook should know about. I have studied A LOT for that one, as the grade is a major contributor for the final total grade. Guess I did about 70 from 80 possible points. Now all my tests for the state diploma, the C.A.P., are done. As far as I understood, the results will be communicated beginning of July through a public list on the school portal with names of students that passed. That's the French way. In case I'm on the list, I will be able to call myself a certified French cook. It sill seems unbelievable. But I am superstitious so I will not say what I think right now. I will not even dare to think anything. We just have to exercise four weeks of patience... I'll be there with the camera, just in case...

Now the most important thing is to get in shape for the last test. No way I can afford to remain as tired as I am right now for that one. It's going to be a cooking test for the school certificate. I am very very very very very nervous as the past cooking tests have not been going well at all, mainly because I was too nervous and the stress had paralyzed me, while the recipes were not difficult for me. It's a vicious circle, but I can't help it...

5/7 and a good list

And another one checked off. Today's test was for the state diploma C.A.P and called "vie sociale et professionnelle". I think I studied too much this time, it was too easy, almost all multiple choice, so common sense and a bit knowledge about life and work in France and how the human body functions would have gotten me maybe 14/20 with this one, without studying anything. But because I "wasted" all the precious weekend by learning all the potential topics from 2 different books, I will probably get 18/20. Not sure it was worth the effort, and whether I had the right priorities there. But then every point more today, means I can take a bit more risk on the last BIG written test for the C.A.P. this week.

Questions were covering a big variety from workplace injuries, work contracts, buying decisions, loans, categories of incendies, naming different regions of the vertebral column, naming and assigning back injuries (lumbago, sciatique, hernie discale), etc. It's not complete. I had no time to take notes today, and I am trying to empty my brain right now to put new stuff in for test 6/7 which is coming up soon. Too soon.

Instead of listing all the test questions I feel more like sharing my new self-motivation list today, that I started on the side this weekend, and continued whenever I felt a drop in energy and motivation. I cannot remember I have ever imposed so much discipline and abstinence from pleasure on myself, so I needed something to keep me going for a couple of more days. That's how that list developped. Whether I am going to put into action all the items is another questions, but it helps me right now to read it, and to know that soon I "am free" to do all this...before I leave Paris for a couple of months for my big stage..

- visit Montmarte ("Amelie's" neighbourhood). Not been there once since I live in Paris.
- visit (parts of) the Louvre. Never been inside, except for the shops, what a shame !
- read a book, without having to learn it by heart
- cook without the purpose to prepare for a test
- make more apple tart for my neighbour (developping story...)
- have a decent brunch every Sunday
- eventually meet my friend Allison who also moved from Grenoble to Paris this year, but we haven't met yet since.
- enjoy sitting in the Café de la place without bringing my whole library.
- a daytrip to Giverny, to visit Monet's garden, where he painted all the beautiful Nympheas, that I love so much
- visit Versailles. Eventually !
- go to the movies and catch up on all I missed in the passed weeks.
- cleaning and tyding up my appartment. It will be nice to be then able to open the door again, and not fall over piles of paper...
- many many Pina Coladas with Acras in La Rhumerie
- maybe a couple of days again in Deauville in Normandy, I liked it very much last time.
- discover the Canal St. Martin, a very pittoresque area in Paris
- make Bolli show me the Paris bike paths on weekends
- go to the the small theatres in Montparnasse
- test restaurants I have wanted to go to for a while (L'atelier de Robuchon, Helene Darroze's new bistro, L'Ami Jean, etc.)
- walk up the Notre Dame tower on a nice day
- visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery, where Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Frederic Chopin, etc. etc. are buried
- write about other things than those tests on this blog again

I must say I do like reading this list a lot, and I feel like spending the next hours brainstorming and enhancing it. But I am too tough with myself, so I won't, and learn instead more about the criteria for fresh fish, meat categories, etc.

Now, two more tests to go. One practical for the school certificate, one written for the state diploma... Not exactly the easiest ones. But the end, which -to be precise- will actually be the beginning, is close.

4/7

The quiz in the last post was easy, wasn't it ? Well once you know the answer... But it created apparently some excitement and confusion in my family. So some explanations : the first and very correct and precise answer was posted at 2:36 am European Time, not by me (I always sign my comments with "Ulla"), but by an anonymous reader, who signed the comment with "me" and apparently thinks that's enough I need to know about her/him. When my sister posted the correct answer at 7.27 a.m., she hadn't read "me"'s answer before and thought she was the first one. So later she found out about "me"'s answer, and thought it was me, who had posted in the middle of the night the solution.... Oh my...

Now for the prize : Nobody get's a drink. "Me" won, but stays anonymous. My guess would be it's either an engineer or someone who knows me very well. Or both. But it's not enough to deserve the prize. Or too much.

My sister had the right answer and is identifiable, but since she was not the first, she won't get a drink. So I will pay myself two or maybe more drinks end of next week when everythings over. In fact I plan to get really drunk. Whoever is in Paris next weekend and wants to join in is welcome though. I'm really funny when I'm drunk. So far for my future plans after culinary school, I hope this answers many qestions.

Yesterday my brain reached another limit. I felt completely exhausted after the 4th test, this time the written test for the school's certificate of the chamber of commerce. I was not able to absorb anything anymore. My cooking before the test was lousy. Today is still similar, but I have no choice and need to continue. Thank god the end is in sight.

The written test for the certificate went very very well. I was not 100% prepared, but was once more lucky that the stuff I had learned was among the topics. For example we had been advised to learn 30 specified recipes by heart for this test. I had stopped after the first 3 starters, and then only added key elements from 5 dessert recipes, as my head was already at full capacity for the test 3/7. In the test 4/7 yesterday we were asked to complement ingredients and progression of one of the 3 starters I had learnt by heart, velouté Dubarry, and same for Millefeuille, which was part of the desserts I had done too. Lucky lucky.

As usual to keep Katia an other readers busy when they are bored at work, to be able to redo the test, here are the topics :

- complement ingredients, proportions and progression of Velouté Dubarry and Millefeuille
- establish the progression with timelines of both recipes, if you start at 8 to serve both at 12.00.
  (the essential is to start the dough before the soup...)
- name the 9 cuts of a lamb in a drawing
- associate the meat category and cooking method to each cut
- in a list of cooking methods decide for each whether it is long or short cooking
- name individual pieces of lamb cuts indicated by more drawings (carré, selle, canon, cotelette etc.)
- what's the name of an agneau (lamb) older than 300 days ?
- names of individual steps to prepare poultry
- from a list of 12 different types of poultry, assign each to either volaille blanche or brun category.
- what's the meaning of a P.A.C poultry ?
- assign a cooking method for various poultry dishes (for example : for poulet chasseur it is ragout a brun)
- assign names of material to descriptions of its characteristics (cuivre, aluminium, fonte, inox)
- put the right name under pictures of cooking material (sauteuse, sautoir, rondeau, poele, etc..)
- assign the right name to the abats (offal ?) in a drawing (cervelle, foie, langue, tripes. etc.)
- assign the right region to a given porc specialty in a list of 17 (for example Saucisse the Morteau -> Franche-Comté)
- for which region from a list of 4 is the AOC agneau pré-salé ?
- What label has the poularde de Bresse ?
- Complete a list of alcohols and associated usage for cooking (for aexample : cognac - flamber, etc.)

All in all too easy. I know about one mistake I made with the assignement of meat category to cooking technique and I am not sure I assigned all the right material to the descriptions. Then it is compeletely open, because very subjective, how my progression timeline of the two recipes will be graded. For the rest I know all my answers were correct. So I would say I should have 65-68/70 in this one.

Now for three more difficult tests ahead. God, please give me more space in my brain .....

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I am in a good mood. So let's start with a quiz today. Anybody understands the title ? First one to answer correctly, I will invite to a drink next time she/he is in Paris or I am where he/she lives...

Today on the program : another state exam, namely "Connaissance de l'entreprise." (Free translated "company knowledge") I had worked quite a bit on this one, although all the "advice" I heard before, was that it is an exam that you manage without studying as long as you have common sense. I guess only with common sense it might work, if you are lucky with the questions. But I prefered to gather as many points as possible, as I maybe have to compensate a potential weak grade for the cooking exam.

It was a mixed written and oral exam in a school on the other side of town. I had to register, then wait in a huge hall with about 30 tables, with an "evaluator" at each table. I was called after 20 minutes to pick up my topics, could prepare them 15 minutes, then 15 minutes Q&A with one of the evaluators followed. Questions I got were about status of companies SARL vs. EURL, VAT system in France and in the hotel industry in particular, how to calculate the cost of a dish from a recipe for 8, what type of work contracts do exist, what does C.D.I. mean, what is the difference between "salaire brut" and "salaire net".

I was able to answer everything, but I made one little mistake that I won't mention here, because I can already hear Cecile, Sophie and Katia say "WHAT ? Come on how long have you been living in France !?!", so I won't talk about this mistake. And I had two arguments with the inspector about TVA for a hotel night. In the book I studied, it said a hotel night is 5.5% (Except **** Luxe), but he insisted it was 19.6%. I told him, that probably he should then write to the editor of my book to correct him (After the test was finished, I pulled out my book and showed him the page with the 5.5%...).

The other argument we had was about the difference between gross salary and net salary. I thought I explained it well, but he said "it's not that", then I answered "well, it has been like this on my salary slip in France since 12 years !". I don't know what he got hung up on, because then he explained me what it was, exactly the way I had done before, the only difference was that he used the term "cotisations salariales", when I had said "charges salariales". So after his explanation I said "well, then we agree, that's what I said too". I felt I could say that, because he gave me the impression that he liked my answers otherwise. He kept saying "très bien, très bien, voila, très bien....". The last 10 minutes he spent with me asking me about my professional plans and background, and chatting.

All in all, if I should guess, I would say this test will get me a 15/20....

Last pastry class

Today was already my last pastry class. I had asked our chef Thierry a while ago, whether we couldn't do all those faboulous petits fours one day, as I intend to always serve some with the café in my future bistrot....

So, that's what we did today. They were delicieux ! Just a couple of pictures for now, then I'm back studying, with my madeleines and financiers and tuiles as energy providers of course...

2/7

I have been grumpy and unsocial and mean and sick and nervous and sleepless in the last week because of today's test. Today was the most important test for me of all 7 exams, the practical exam for the state diploma (CAP). I am still too exhausted and without energy to write the whole story (though I could write a book about today's test and all that happened to me and Cathleen alone), just to summarize that I think I passed this one.

I won't know my grades before mid July though. I would grade myself 14/20 for today's production, but the judges were very tough with me, were not watching when I did good, clean, fast stuff, but always caught some little mistakes, and going by the comments they made in the kitchen, I think it will be more a 12/20. But my dishes were served on time, looked nice, and were tasty. So if it's below 12 I would be disappointed. It was not great great, but at the end I was satisfied with what I delivered. I gave my best, despite some mistakes (for a start I let the milk for the creme Anglaise boil over. How stupid. Never happened to me before. But this is what stress does to me).

The dishes I had to prepare, were salmon poached in white wine and fish stock, later thickend with cream and butter, served on leak julienne with "turned" potatoes cooked a l'anglaise and a "riz normande" (a rice pudding, using all kinds of pastry techniques). The salmon dish was very similar to the one I had in the "certificat blanc" some weeks ago. Funny coincidence. So in the end it was good that I had failed that dish then, because I surely was not going to make the same mistakes twice.

But again the judges stressed me a lot. I had a good plan worked out when to do what, calculated backwards from the serving target time, but the judges kept telling me all the time, that I need to do something different than what I was doing at that very moment. All the time ! And occasionally, they would even contradict each other. For example, me starting to turn potatoes. First judge walking by : "Stop this. You need to start your leaks now". So I swapped potatoes for leaks on my cutting board. Next judge walking by : "why are you on the leaks ? You should turn your potatoes now". No kidding ! It drove me nuts. At the end, I was ready to serve 15 minutes early, so all that pushing from their side was useless. I think the way I function is, that I usually have a slow start, and towards the end I explode. But all they see is that I was not exploding in the beginning so they kept pushing me to change my progression.

This was a very very hard day, not so much because of the recipes and the cooking, but all the circumstance and environment and stress, and I am really glad it's behind me.

Now I will be able to sleep, smile and talk again.....

(For the picture : I discovered the encouraging message on the board in the school today, nice....)

last wine class and first test (1/7)

Today on the program : a last and a first.

Unfortunately today was the last wine class with our much admired wine teacher Agnes. The whole class loved her and her teaching about the wines of 14 regions in France. I live now 13 years in France and was even part of the HP wine-club in Grenoble for several years, but I must say she is the one to whom I owe now all my knowledge about wine, that has exploded within the last year. Merci Agnes !

The last class, besides a tasting of Jurancon and a Sauternes (!),  included also the first of a series of 7 tests that I will go through until mid June. The wine test today contributes to the school's certificate of the Paris Chamber of Commerce.

The questions were :

1) Name 2 grape varieties (cepages) with the color for the following regions : Bordelais, Bourgogne, Alsace, Languedoc-Roussilon, La vallée du Rhone.
2) Name 2 AOC for each of the following regions : Val de Loire, Provence, Bourgogne, Bordelais, Vallee du Rhone Septentrionale
3) Name 2 AOC "Vin Doux Naturels" (with region and color)
4) For each cheese indicate the region, the type of cheese, and a wine that goes well with that cheese : Crottin de Chavignol, Bleu de Causses, Maroilles.
5) For the following dishes, specify a wine that could be combined with it, and the type of the wine : Cassoulet, Coq au vin, Noix de St. Jacques au creme.
6) Describe the wine tasted (we got a glass of Jurançon moelleux), color, flavor, aromas, and what dish you would combine it with.

I was quite well prepared for all those topics, so I believe I answered everything correctly. On a per 20 basis, I should have 19/20 (lets remain modest). This result is not a major contributor for the final certificate grade, but still, a first "hurdle" is taken. And looking at this test in particular I realize again, how much I learnt about wine during this program. Santé !