Over the past couple days I've done quiet a bit of sightseeing; I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, visited Sacre Coeur, saw the Catacombs, tried out the "best" macaroons in Paris at Laduree and made choux pastry!
I went up the Eiffel tower on Friday, where you have an amazing view of all of Paris, and then the next day went to Sacre Couer, the church constructed on the late 1800's, it was great to have the contrasting views of Paris back to back. On Tuesday the chef made a variety of creations using choux pastry and different creams and flavorings. I am excited to make my own variations when I have an oven again. After the demonstration I went to the catacombs, where Parisians buried their dead in the late 1700's. The bodies were dumped in a former mine, and later reorganized to make them presentable. The remains are a little creepy, but it is amazing to see remains and structures so old.
Today I went to Laduree with a friend to see if they really had the best macaroons in Paris. They did have interesting flavors, I tried violet-blackcurrant, vanilla, salted caramel, and a mint flavor off the seasonal menu. The flavor of each macaroon really, popped, but they are definitely not the best in Paris, from my experience those at La Grande Epicerie were better by far!
In practical class today we made choux pastry. Using the same dough we made chocolate eclairs, and smaller puffs coated in large sugar crystals.My chocolate eclairs tasted delicious but I definitely need to work on my pipping, and coating skills.

We made apple turnovers and palmiers in practical today, both were delicious! It takes a lot of butter and time to get the flaky exterior of both of these pastries. The simple dough is wrapped around a large square of butter, and then given four "turns", which means it is rolled out into a long rectangle then folded, then rolled, then folded, then rolled again( and this processes is repeated four times).The apple turnovers came out beautiful, and it would be easy to substitute any other seasonal fruit for the filling.
After class I ventured to the top of the Eiffel Tower with another girl from the US and we went to Berthillon's, a small ice shop that really serves the best ice cream I've ever eaten. I've now tried a few of their flavors, but so far my favorites are vanilla ( you can taste the crystallized sugar) and rhubarb.
Yesterday I sat in on a guest chef demonstration. The guest is the head chef in a highly successful Japanese restaurant in Paris. He couldn't speak french or english very well, but watching him work was impressive, you can see one of his final pieces, the beautiful sushi roll above. Also, I now also know how to make miso soup!

This Monday we made candied fruit pound cakes, the pound cake is delicious but it could do without the candied fruits We also made Madeleines, classic french tea cookies, which are cooked in a unique way. You have to preheat the oven to a very high temperature with a baking sheet in it, then put the filled molds in and immediately turn off the oven, this is meant to give the dough a chance to rise. Then within a few minutes you turn the oven back on and continue to cook them very briefly.
Today we made a butter cake, with a pastry cream filling, it is meant to be served chilled the next day, I can't remember the name for the cake, but it originates from a southern region of France. Practical class was a bit more hectic today, but we had extra time at the end of class and I attempted my first white chocolate flower!
I've also included a picture of me in my full uniform, hairnet and all!

On Friday we made "tart aux pommes" the classic french apple tart. The tart is delicious, probably because of the excessive butter, but it tastes amazing. Also I've attached a picture of my toolkit, it includes a full set of Wusthof kitchen knives, shears, a whisk, peelers, a meat thermometer ( the cuisine class gets the same kit), and a few other tools. On my way to the Eiffel tower I walked past this museum, the outside is covered in different kinds of plants and moss, very pretty!

First week of Class

So I am nearly done with my first week of class at Le Cordon bleu. The basic Cuisine and Pastry courses have students of 38 different nationalities, it's an eclectic group! Our first demonstration covered basic sauces that are no longer made by individual chefs, and are now mass produced. The second class covered five different kinds of cookies, they gave us a binder, with lists of ingredients and as the chefs prepares the dish in-front of the class each student must write down their own recipe which they will use during their practical.
I had my first practical today, we had 2.5 hours to create Diamantes, "diamond" shortbread cookies using our recipes from the demo the day before. When the clock hit 8:30am there was a sense of panic as everyone ripped through their tool kits, and weighed their ingredients. You can see the finished product to the left, the cookies are meant to have exactly the same width and diameter, and should be completely cooked through the middle, mine were a little too thick. The first practical was stressful, but fun.
After I was done with class I walked over towards the Louvre and went to Angelina's the restaurant boasting the "best hot chocolate in the world". It was incredibly rich, like drinking warm chocolate mousse, it was unusual but I don't know that I would get it again.
Tomorrow I have another demonstration with a practical following, we will be responsible for creating Les tarte aux pommes...apple tarts!

I flew into Charles de Gaulle this morning, and took a shuttle into Paris. I was one of four groups in the 9 person van, everyone traveling to different destinations in Paris. I was the last one to be dropped off and coincidentally got a quick tour of the city! I also checked into my dorm today, it is located on the beautiful Ile Saint Louis, an island located in the Seine river. The foyer itself is older, but very well kept, and has a beautiful courtyard and gated entrance, the third photo is the view from my room!

I'm packing my bags and planning how to get from the airport in Paris to Ile Saint Louis!