by jessica yoon
I have been dreading this practical for nearly two years. While researching culinary schools, I came across a blog entry about Le Cordon Bleu and it’s infamous lapin butchering practical. I have to admit that it played a role in my decision to only enroll in patisserie last June. I was already intimidated by cuisine, but to have to deal with that, on top of studying patisserie and adjusting to Paris…it was just too much! Or so I thought.
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Life has been so busy lately that I haven’t been able to update in awhile. I have a slew of exciting posts that I hope to get up soon, but first I want to make a little update about my cuisine course. I was really unsure about how I would do, and almost sure that I wouldn’t continue with the full diploma, but I realized that I really love cooking. It’s an entirely different world from patisserie, but in a way I feel more comfortable with it. There’s a sense of freedom and instinct involved that I enjoy and bounce off of. It’s too early to tell if I’ve change to a cuisine girl, but the competition is coming in close.
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Apart from exploring Thessaloniki, my friend took me around Chalkidiki, a series of peninsulas in northern Greece. We stayed overnight in one village called Afitos and did a day trip to a very small beach called Kavourotripes. Both were amazingly scenic, especially Kavourotripes, and on the way we ate some really great food as well.
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After my sister went back to the States, I drowned my farewell sorrows by going to Greece! I have a friend from college who spends every summer in Thessaloniki, a small city in northern Greece, so I decided to visit her for a few days. People always say that the best way to travel is to know a local, and I definitely experienced the truth of that during this trip. The places we went and the restaurants we ate at were side street wonders and local joints. It also didn’t hurt that my friend is a Hellenic Studies master. She was like my own pocket professor giving me lectures about everything from ancient history and architecture to modern politics. It was great! She also introduced me to the real flavors of Greek cuisine. Bright and fresh, and I never knew Greek food went beyond the street food gyro. I left completely enamored by the food and inspired to cook with those elements back home.
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