Archive for the 'paris' Category

Now this is what superior cuisine is all about. The ateliers, or workshops, are longer practical classes in which we create our own recipes with a given ingredient list. Some of those ingredients are obligatory and others optional. During the term we have three ateliers, the last one being a practice for the final exam. Each atelier consisted of a different ingredient list and a different set of parameters. Although they were a bit stressful, I actually had a lot of fun planning and performing the ateliers. Not everything I made was successful, but it was a learning process and one that challenged us in a way that we were never before (including in patisserie). I think the most interesting part was seeing the variety of ideas and plates everyone produced. The ingredient list isn’t very long, so it was amazing to see how unique each dish was. It made me realize how personal and reflective cooking can be. Through each person’s plate you could see one’s character, aesthetics, and sometimes even personal history. Really, quite fascinating.
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March 14 2012 | europe and france and le cordon bleu and paris and thoughts | 9 Comments »

It hasn’t quite yet hit me that school really is over and all I have left is the final exam. I have to say, this has been the most incredible and enjoyable term in all my career at Le Cordon Bleu. I’ve had so much fun getting to know the chefs and cooking with the most wonderful practical group. We’ve had so much fun together, including one time when we convinced the chef to make us fondant au chocolat, which we devoured with an amazing carrot whipped cream. It’s been a really, really great term and I hope it ends in the same way.
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March 14 2012 | le cordon bleu and paris and thoughts | 2 Comments »

I haven’t been deathly ill the past few weeks, which would’ve been a good excuse as to why I haven’t updated in awhile, but I have been quite busy. A lot has been going on school wise. Not only have we passed the 20 lesson mark, but we also completed two ateliers, which are workshops in which we create out own menu with a provided ingredient list. In this post I’ll share about what we did during our regular practicals, and in my next post I’ll write more about what the ateliers were like and what I made!
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February 18 2012 | france and le cordon bleu and paris and thoughts | 3 Comments »

Nothing too profound or incredibly exciting has happened in the past five lessons, except for the fact that I got sick! Again. It’s seriously amazing how many times I’ve gotten sick in Paris. Maybe my body just doesn’t have the proper French immune system? I don’t know. In any case, I made it to all my classes, so here’s what’s been going on.
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January 24 2012 | europe and france and le cordon bleu and paris and thoughts | 4 Comments »

Last term, I serendipitously got to know a fellow blogger at school. It was especially serendipitous for me because that morning I had forgotten to bring my pants to school and was freaking out. Not my best moment, especially with the addition of unnecessary expletives that I rarely use, but someone took pity on me and lent a complete stranger their neatly pressed pants. I couldn’t thank her enough (more so because if it weren’t for her, I would’ve had to miss at least two out of three classes that day just to go back home and get my pants) and as we tried to figure out when our schedules would next collide, I told her my name to which she connected with Jessica’s Dinner Party! I was even more embarrassed at that point, but I shook it off and realized that you never know who, when, or where someone can help you. Ever since then I’ve been meaning to properly thank her, but it didn’t happen until months later…today.
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January 20 2012 | bakeries & restaurants and europe and france and paris and thoughts | 7 Comments »
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