School #2: École Supérieure de Cuisine Française - Ferrandi

This morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel - surprisingly the breakfast here is great. We had fresh croissants, baguettes, coffee, hot chocolate, and orange juice. Afterwards, we headed to Ferrandi. Unfortunately, we were an hour late due to a bit of a detour.

The school is located in a big building in the 6eme arrondisement (6th district). Great location right in the center of Paris. We met the admissions director who is an American that has been living there for 20 years. She was already showing around a Taiwanese cook so we joined in on the tour. The schools facilities were great - they had a dishwasher, a ton of professional kitchens, poultry room, meats room, locker room, etc. They have one bilingual program that accepts 12 students a year. We happened to stop by one of the two main chef/professors for the bilingual program. He was in the middle of doing a meat cutting class (leg of lamb). It was funny because the way he described the class was:

"Yes, first you put the beast on the table. And then you cut it."

LOL! I'm gonna use that from now on. =) So far, I am very impressed with this school. I feel like they really take care of their students, they are very thorough, and very honest. They tell you straight up that the program is very intense, no joke, and that "you will sleep very well on Friday night." A bit intimidating but no pain, no gain!

Anyway, after the tour, we went to Saint Michel to get a sammich Grecques, and then headed back to the hotel. On our way back, we stopped by another cheapie shoe store and got a pair of brown, leather boots with no heel. Perfect for walking. =)

Later on, we went to a cafe at the Bastille and had a cup of chocolat chaud. This French dood with his two British friends refused to pay their bill (46 Euro for three glasses of wine). He was complaining about the price of the wine, and eventually got it down to something like 8 Euro/glass. WTF ~ check before you order and complain! Blah, anyway, afterwards, we met up with my mom's godfather and his wife for dinner. We met at the steps of the Opera house at the Bastille. We ate at the restaurant next door which was absolutely delicious and beautiful.

Me, Raf, Madame Tchang, Monsieur Tchang




Scallops


Braised veal with mashed potatoes


Dark chocolate gooey cake with vanilla bean ice-cream


This is like a baked flan


At the 2nd floor


Outside the Opera House at the Bastille


The food was so rich, and I noticed that their portions are getting bigger. (Oh no!) Overall, was a delicious, great dinner, and entertaining night.