Oh la la la la la la, where has the time gone? four weeks have flown by at the l’Ecole de Beurre. Now I am in the final week consisting of difficult demos, practicals, one written final exam, and one practical final exam from a recipe chosen at random. Oh, the stress! And then, hopefully, it will all be a beautiful memory. Our entire class is exhausted, but somehow our chefs have tireless energy – Amazing!
I spent tonight studying with a new friend of mine, Josephina Lopez, who also happens to be a wellknown playwright/director/screenwriter/actress (author of Real Woman Have Curves). We went through the fifty recipes trying to decipher our chicken scratch and find photos to help jog our tired memories. We acted out french cooking words for each other over a few glasses of wine…blanchir, beurre manie, abattis, chiffonade…and on and on. I think my impression of offal was the most effective. The intensive classes are fabulous but you cook so many recipes in such a short amount of time that it all just seems like one big blur– une grande puree!
It has been fun. The comraderie, the international students of all different ages and backgrounds, the passionate tireless chefs, and the skills that we have learned in such a short amount of time– tres bien!
Well, tomorrow’s my written exam after a demonstration of chicken thighs stuffed served in a Madeira sauce with apples accompanied by a warm bacon and goat cheese salad entree with a dessert of chocolate mousse a l’orange. Can’t complain too much after tasting a menu like that…
and so amy? did you get the test? how does it was?
A+
Raph
ahhhhhhhh our finals are on monday…but lets not talk about that…