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!
sounds amazing, Emily!
ReplyDeletehave you read the book 'The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry'? Sounds like an odd title, I know! but it's about a woman who decides to give up her career and go to Le Cordon Bleu. It was pretty good - I recognize some of what you've written from her experience, too. May be a fun read for you now that you're there too!
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