Andddddddddd we're back!
At least for tonight. But all is well because this week has been the MOST productive in the history of Elyssa living in Paris. Because this week (the week after the final) my dear friend S (who is up for Sainthood- I'm discussing her accession with the Pope as we speak) who is also fluent in French has helped me do more errands in two days than I have done in two months. One of those super fun tasks was talking to the internet company on the phone for hours...(yeah, she's the best) but now I should have my own internet working within the next two weeks! At least that's what they are promising...
ANYWAYS- I finished my final for Basic Cuisine! It was such a whirlwind. We were given a list of 10 possible recipes of which we had to learn the complete ingredients list as well as the methods and techniques of cooking those dishes because when we walked into the kitchen to perform our final practical, we would be picking one of those recipes out of a hat.
We also had to poach one egg and cook one hard-boiled egg to be plated next to our final dish.
The week before was filled with quizzing, studying, and memorizing because this one dish was worth 45% of our grade.
Last Friday morning (yes, I know it's been a week...) I woke up at 6:30am, was at school by 7:30am and in the kitchen by 7:50am ready to go. Our group would be cooking in a kitchen that we had never cooked in before; I would be working on a stove and with an oven that I had never touched and didn't know the feel or idiosyncrasies of heating, etc. I walked in, was assigned to a spot, and picked a recipe out of a hat.
I had chosen the chicken tarragon with a side of roasted vegetables. It was a relatively easy recipe- one of the easier ones in my opinion. Except, the day that we had cooked it in practical, it was under the supervision of a substitute chef who I detest. In fact, I have made numerous efforts to complain to the administration about this substitute. That day, he made us do the recipe differently than we had been taught by our wonderful chef and when we were confused about his new way he yelled at us that he would give us all zeros for the day if we asked "any more f**cking questions". Excuse me, I am in cooking school. What kind of teacher does not allow anyone to ask questions? And curses like that? Not okay.
So, while I had been lucky to choose a relatively easy recipe, I could only see red when I thought about it. Again, luckily for me though, my friends had made me repeat it from memory multiple times so that I could think of the lovely and flavorful dish without the thought of that horrid man.
ANYWAYS, I just started going. I cut the chicken, I emondee-d my tomatoes, ciselee-d the shallots, sauteed the chicken, started the braising liquid, cooked my first egg (hard boiled), started the vegetables and put them in, cooked the second egg (poach), decanted the chicken, reduced my sauce, pulled out the vegetables and stopped.
It was 9:50am and all I had left to do was add the final butter to my jus. We started cooking at 8:15 and had until 11:15 to finish. And I was finished with my dish over an hour early.
I'm not sure how it happened; how I did it. But, I just went and it was FUN!
So, with nothing to do and not wanting to finish my sauce until the end, I cleaned and packed up my knives. I cleaned my station 3 times. Then the chef walked in and heard that one of us was finished.
"Who is finished?" he asked.
"Me."
"Meez Kah-plahn, l'americaine. So plate!"
And I did. I plated my dish at 10:10am. I finished cleaning and I left. As I was leaving, the second/assistant chef in the kitchen whispered to me, "Don't worry- You're good."
Words can not describe my happiness at that moment. I was finished at a chef had told me not to worry about passing! Apparently, my friends in the kitchen could hear my whoop as I threw my hat down the stairs. I changed, cleared out my locker, and went to the bar to wait for everyone to join me for a night of celebration.
And, the assistant chef was right. I had nothing to worry about, because I never received that call from school asking me to come in so they could tell me I failed. And yesterday, I graduated.
That post will come soon :)
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