Super Dessert Day

Today we made four simple but delicious desserts. These desserts are very important to learn because they are the basis of many other desserts as well as French classiques.

My version of Ile Flotante (pretty much meringue on top of a creme anglaise)




Creme Caramel (this was not mine but someone else's. Mine came out cleaner ;)


Chocolate mousse


My chef making "Angel Hair" out of sugar


Look at all the pretty colors!


The sad thing about this is that we throw away a lot of what we made today. We couldn't really save it, and we had all eaten so much sugar the entire class! I took my creme caramel home and some mousse. But let me tell you that I could not eat any more of that after three days. I need to ship all my friends over to eat up all this deliciousness. We always use real vanilla beans too - and they are so expensive!

I absolutely love creme anglaise and chocolate mousse - the most basic of things but so heavenly!

Le Menu Regional: Auvergne

Today we wined and dined on the following:

Soufflé de pomme de terre à la tomme fraîche et huile de truffe


Crème de potiron, cèpe set pavot bleu


See those grill marks on those cèpes? Simple right? Well no. Amanda had to heat up these metal sticks hot enough to make those marks in the mushrooms. The sticks kept falling into the burner, and she kept having trouble getting the right colorization. She got so stressed out marking these mushrooms that it resulted in her saying that she hated life. HAHAHAHA Ah, the things we go through for presentation.


Chou farci - this was filled with delicious meat


Petit salé aux lentilles et aligot. Bravo to Jacob doing this dish all by himself. The meat fell off the bones, and the lentilles were cooked perfectly.


Tartes sablées aux marrons, coulis de verveine. Sorbet à la verveine. Me and Julie worked on this dessert. What a bitch it was drying those lentilles out.



And the wine pairings:




Bon Apetit !

I <3 Restaurant Service

I love restaurant service. It's a great challenge because we really do have to serve paying customers. Also, the cool thing about is that we get to prepare brand new recipe s each time.

Today I was assigned "Chef de Partie." Pretty much I needed to keep track of orders during service as well as help plate. Of course, I helped with mise en place before service started. I worked with Jacob and Chris tonight.



Our dish was cod: Cabillaud aux cinq saveurs, ananas rôti, beurre blanc aux fruits de la passion. I loved our dish. It was a myriad of steps which composed each part of the dish.




Everyone in action


Chris getting molested by Alex/Sweden


Felipe with Chef Stephan Gabrielly - the other Anglo group's teacher.


Chef Stephan's favorite phrases?

"Qu-est-ce que c'est cette merde ?! Qu-est-ce que c'est ce bordel ?!"

(What is this shit? What is this mess?)

Productions of our Anglo A class

Gauffres de pommes de terres à l'avruga, crème acidulée


Pavé de rumsteak au poivre, pommes sautées à cru


And a couple of dishes from Chef Stephan's Anglo B class:




Eldar was sous-chef of the week. When you are sous-chef, you work Service en Salle - front of the house pouring wine/water, serving dishes, and explaining the menu. Justin from Texas was the sous-chef from the other class.


He is the class clown, can't you tell?

School trip to Champagne, France

Today we took a school trip to the Champagne region of France. (Did I mention how much I love my school?). Well, I woke up this morning with a migraine. A MIGRAINE. I hadn't gotten one in a long time. But I'm sure it's due to dehydration. After puking a couple times with Amanda as my guest in my studio (she lives in the burbs and wouldn't be able to get to school on time), we went onto the bus in the early AM. I was feeling pretty shitty but luckily was able to sleep most of the pain away. We hit up a few churches on the way there. A trip in France wouldn't be a trip in France without a stop at a church or two.



Look, it's me! Joan D'Arc




Afterwards, we went to a chateau for a tour, to relax, and have some lunch.




My super cool pastry Chef Thierry and his pops


Anglos !


Anglo Cuisine + Anglo Patisserie


Then off to Champagne Pannier where we got this awesome tour.






Who would have thought there was a maze of caves inside this building?






We were fortunate enough to have a sample of their Champagne. It was too bad that I had a migraine that day - I couldn't really drink that much.




Was quite an eventful day. =)

Gin + Rugby + Canadian bar

Tis the season of rugby. Tonight we decided to pre-game at Canada's apt. Here we are being completely ridiculous. But alas, throwing up our hands has become somewhat of a tradition - yes, because we know we look silly and are the most non-ghetto people you will ever meet. And I would like to state that Canada pretty much drank a whole bottle of gin to himself. I guess that is what they do in Calgary.



Hitting up bars near my street - Rue Du Four, 6ème


Cheering for American football at a Canadian bar!




Uh oh...




So... as we were walking back to my place to get some water for the tipsy ones, Canada is talking (or more like rambling) about miscellaneous shit. I tell him that he needs to eat some bread or something, and mentioned that I had terrine at my place. He then proceeds to tell us repeatedly:

"You are gorgeous, I love you, and I want some terrine in my mouth."

So yes, that is a classic quote that we will never forget. And see the terrine sushi I made for him with sandwich bread? He has no recollection of this ever happening. I mean look at the poor guy's expression. Priceless!


Needless to say, he wasn't feeling very well the next day. Oh and he threw up in the hallway at school because he couldn't make it to the bathroom.