So what’s next? I finished patisserie, did the stage, traveled a bit, and now…
I’m back in school! This time for cuisine. I always felt a little regret about not doing the Grand Diplome (completing both patisserie and cuisine), or at least taking the Basic cuisine course. Patisserie is the field I want to focus on, but knowing the cooking side of the industry is important and always a plus. There were a lot of things we didn’t learn in patisserie like technical knife skills and handling meat and fish, which aren’t directly related to pastry making, but knowledge I wish I had. It made sense to go back to school right now and learn these things before I leave France. For now, I’ve just enrolled in Basic, but I’m open to doing more and possibly completing the whole diploma. We’ll see!
Being in the cuisine kitchen is quite different from the pastry one. The space is smaller, but each person has their own stove and invisibly divided space. My knives are to my left, cutting board in front, ingredients above, and bowls to the right. In patisserie, it was a bit more muddled. Rolling out dough and assembling cakes just takes up more space, so our working space wasn’t as clear cut. I also find the cuisine kitchen to be more quiet and laid back. People are cooking at their own pace and people aren’t running around trying to get bowls in the sink and noisy whisks beating egg whites. This may be because we’ve only just started and the dishes we’re making are quite simple. I’ll let you know when things get a little more crazy.
Although my knife skills are awful and I have trouble telling when protein is done, I’m always first to finish in class. I’m even surprised how fast I am. I think I really learned about speed and efficiency during my stage. I don’t think my speed has to do with the fact that I’m making the dish faster, but because I’m always thinking two steps ahead, cleaning as I go, and never letting myself stand still. It also probably helps that two of the last classes have involved some kind of dough, which I might say I have a little experience in.
So far, I’ve really been enjoying cuisine. It’s empowering to know that I can (sort of) filet a fish, (kind of) truss a chicken, and (vaguely) make a sauce suprême. I’m looking forward to making some better meals for everyone in the future!
Vivienne says
great to hear that your continuing on with cuisine over there! i thought you’d be returning home by now or something!
id love to learn to filet a fish or disassemble a chicken myself! valuable skills 🙂 sometimes i think being able to cook (rather than bake) seems like a more practical skill to have, but then again – id so much rather work with butter/flour etc than cutting a piece of meat!
Jessica says
Vivienne- We’re on the same page! Nice!
A Little Yumminess says
Good for you! Always important to know the basics. What an amazing experience. I am living vicariously!
Kathy says
Great! I was wonder what was next. I look forward to hearing your experience in this class and seeing your photographs too. (Its wonderful you got to do some traveling.)
wizzythestick says
It’s always nice to be involved in something that you are passionate about.
hungry dog says
Good for you! Can’t hurt to know some of this stuff even if you do plan on focusing on pastry. I just love your photographs…
Camille says
Your quiche looks awesome! And way to go – I never was, nor probably ever will be the fastest cook around, but planning ahead and keeping clean are very important skills to have, no matter what kind of kitchen you’re working in!
Carolina Garofani says
Wow, wow, that’s a HUGE step! I don’t think I could enjoy cuisine as much as I enjoy patisserie, but every now and then I think about it…
We didn’t have any lessons on knife technical skills either, and I kinda had to pick it up as I went… it’s one of the few things that I feel they SHOULD teach us in pastry and they never do. Not that I’m good at it now, but I like to think I’m improving. I got myself some nice knives and practice whenever I can!
And pastry cooks are DEFINITELY more organized, clean and precise, and that is a great advantage point, because we learn how to plan ahead and keep our stations clean at all times.
I’m still doing my stage, but they sent me somewhere else when they saw I wasn’t really learning much and that they were treating us really badly. I’m a lot happier, doing 8 hours a day and I love the place – everyone is nice and friendly and I feel right at home!
I wish you all the luck on the new course! Keep us posted! 🙂
babycakes says
thats such a great feeling to step into cuisine and being a step ahead thanks to ur previous exp, having ease in the kitchen and being able to apply your pastry skills in cuisine– sois confiante! knowledge is power
parisbreakfast says
Thinking ahead…I better go to pastry class –
A skill I have yet to learn.
Apricots & anchovies! WOW
I should eat breakfast before coming here!