Friday, July 2, 2010

"if you can't take the heat…"
Paris has been 90°F-plus for the last week. Outside. You can only imagine what it's like in the kitchen with 10 ranges blazing. Yeah…brings new meaning to that old phrase. But, we've earned every drip of sweat and every blister on our feet to stand in the kitchen as Superior students. It's humbling what is expected of us now: perfect cooking, spot-on seasoning, precise knife skills. We've also been liberated, and soon we will prove what we can do in our first atelier.

The superior cuisine program consists of two "ateliers," a word that translates roughly to an artists studio or workroom. We are given a list of ingredients, some of which we must use, some of which are optional, and out of that we will create an appetizer and a main dish. Two identical plates of each. We have 6 hours to complete this task, instead of our usual 2 and a half for our practical classes.

Our ingredient list:
*1 squab
*250 g salmon fillet
*4 jumbo shrimp
1 chicken breast
200 g chicken wings
*250 g fingerling potatoes
2 tomatoes
*1 red bell pepper
*350 g fresh peas
*150 g small pearl onions
2 limes
1 leek
1 large onion
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1/2 bunch chervil
1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1/2 bunch dill
1/2 head garlic
*150 g cultivated mushrooms
3 shallots
100 g celery stalk
(*must be used)

And we will be provided with usual staples like stocks, butter, eggs, cream, wine, seasoning, yeast, etc. I've been playing twister in my head with all the ingredients, different combinations and…just when I think I've figured it out…something else pops up and I'm back at square one. Ahh, freedom.

Until then, we have the usual demos and practical classes that follow. The superior chefs are, well, superior. We had one demonstration with the big cheese, the "Chef of the Chefs," and we all sat watching for two hours with our jaws on the floor in amazement. At the end my friend, Carolyn, shook her head and said, "so that's what it's like to be perfect." In an hour and 20 minutes, he finished everything we are given two and a half hours to do. And we plate one portion. He was cooking for the entire class to taste. And if seeing wasn't believing, it tasted amazing. Sadly, it was just a tease. He's now on his summer holiday for several weeks, so we won't see him again until the end of the term.

In the mean time, we have the adorable chef hailing from the Burgundy region that bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Bean. "Bean," as we all call him, is fast, deliberate, and has the hands of a surgeon. Sometimes he gets a little flustered, but immediately smiles, cracks a joke and finds his equilibrium again. And. he. is. good. A great chef, and a thoughtful teacher. He tastes every component of our plate and gives feedback on each thing. The first time I got a "parfait" from him almost brought me to tears. Truly.

I am still playing mental musical chairs with of all those ingredients. Could I start with the squab or is it too gamey? Mushrooms as a farce? Pea soup?...nahh. This weekend I'm going to practice a few ideas. Probably start back at square one. Eventually something will gel, and I'll build around that.

The atelier is a week from Tuesday, so I'll report back on the final menu and what the chef thinks…

Until then…bisous!

4 comments:

  1. Laur - as I said I think Gram's sloppy joes would be the winner! Such a crowd pleaser! Ahhh...these are the kind of problems I love to watch you work through! Bonne chance ma cherie! XXXOOO

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  2. That's so funny that your mom posted that comment - I was going to suggest that you chop up the squab, shrimp and salmon, add some campbells tomato soup, some velveeta and some elbow noodles and voila! You'll have a gourmet goulash to die for!!! Just tryin' to help...XOXO
    Can't wait to hear about
    the results....

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  3. hahaha! darn! if ONLY velveeta were on the list!!

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  4. yep - it's the duct tape of delish cuisine!

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