Omnivore World Tour- Days 1 & 2

First: Watch this video

OMNIVORE WORLD TOUR_MOVIE 2013

Now, I hope you're in the mood. Let's begin this post.

Actually, watch this video too

Omnivore World Tour 2012

Ok, now let's start.

So, a few months ago, one of the chefs (Chef Clergue) walked into our demo and told us there would be this food festival going on in March here in Paris. It would be a food festival featuring chefs around the world and they would need volunteers, so we should think about it.

About 2 weeks ago, I had the chance to sign up. If you remember in October, I signed up as a volunteer to prep an event at the New Zealand Embassy and wrote about it here. Signing up for Omnivore was much in the same process and form.

Anyways, because this food festival was during our break between Intermediate and Superior, I decided to sign up for all three days of the festival. Plus, I knew there would be American chefs at the event and I hoped I would get the chance to work with at least one of them.

So, one week ago on this past Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed at 5:30am and made my way to the conference center for this Omnivore Festival thing.

I had no idea that I was walking into three of the best days possible.

Basically, there were about 12-15 LCB students there each day (about 8 of us were there all three days) whose main jobs included: helping chefs in the Prep Pastry Kitchen, helping chefs in the Prep Cuisine Kitchen, helping make the tasters for passing around the conference, and helping prep the Masterclass demonstrations.

Despite the fact that I have no pastry knowledge, the first day I was put in the pastry kitchen (probably because the other two girls who were assigned to pastry from school speak English before French and are friends of mine). It turned out well because working in that kitchen helped me figure out where everything was, who everyone was, and what was actually going on.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me explain what Omnivore is:
It is a food festival that highlights up and coming chefs in the cuisine world. The festival travels around the world to 10-12 different cities holding these festivals and highlighting these up and coming chefs who hold these "Masterclass Demonstrations". Each year, they kick it off here in Paris, probably because it is a French idea/thing first.

So, back to my experience- after running up and down multiple steps in search of an ingredient or tool that one of the Pastry chefs needed the first day (which despite being 13hrs of work went by in a flash), the second day, I was moved into the Cuisine kitchen!

In the cuisine kitchen, I was assigned a chef each day. On Monday (day 2), my chef was Massimiliano Alajmo from Italy. At first, I was a little confused because 1. It was 7am and 2. I was the only American volunteer all week and there were two American chefs that day and they assign me the Italian chef?? But, then I realized that the day before (the first day aka pastry kitchen day), someone had asked me in the pastry kitchen to find a PacoJet container for one of the cuisine chefs. So, I had run around looking for a PacoJet container for this chef and when I had finally found an extra one, I was told he had gone to the basement where the refrigerators were. So, I run back downstairs and see him at the end of this long hallway that leads to the freezers and he sees me with the PacoJet container he has been looking for a good 30mins at least. He and his assistant for the festival start cheering that we finally found one!

Anyways, being a little giggle-tired after the full day, I start slow sprinting down the hallway as if I'm in Chariots of Fire. Well, Chef Max and Silvio totally bought into it and played along with me overemphasizing how ridiculous all of us were running around looking for this stupid container that they actually really did need for Chef Max's demonstration the next day.

So, back to that second day, when I found out I was assigned to my Chariots of Fire friend, I said to our Chef and the Omnivore organizers, "Oh, don't worry- he's awesome. We're buds. This'll be great." (They just laughed at me. But again, it was 7am.)

And it was great. I could not have been more impressed with Chef Massimiliano (Also- how great is that name??). First- he is a complete class act and really cared about our experience in helping him. He went around to all of the other chefs in the prep kitchen and introduced himself and chatted with them as he speaks fluent French, English, Spanish, and Italian- at least! When I saw this happening, I just figured he was networking and schmoozing and being his friendly self. It was not until later that I found out that in fact those chefs were in awe to be in the same kitchen as him!

Turns out, Chef Max is one of the best Italian chefs, has 3 Michelin stars, 3 restaurants, and is really famous. Who knew?!? I didn't until after he left. Plus, he has a great attitude. Case in point: on his chef jacket where the restaurant logo usually goes, Chef Max has a cross-stitch of a stick figure wearing a toque and cooking over a stove top. When I pointed out how great I thought this was to the chef, he told me, "You have to stay young! Always having fun." What a great attitude. Seriously. (Can you tell that I am star-struck, in awe of this chef? I know I'm being super subtle about it...)

Anyways, in his Masterclass, which I acted as an assistant for as well, he made a coffee and caper risotto, a tomato-based ratatouille style dish, and an apple meringue dessert.

Can we have a serious discussion about the coffee and capers for the risotto? I was surprised when he told me about it originally, but it plain, flat-out worked. I've told about 30 million people about it this week. (Okay 40, but who's counting?) It is also very easy to make- just add in 3 coffee beans while you stir your risotto, remove them after cooking and then finish it off with some espresso powder and crushed capers on top. Ok. Done. Got it.

The apple meringue dessert, he filled with the apple sorbet (made with the elusive PacoJet) and shaped it into an apple, adding a stem for a final touch. He showed me a video on his Iphone of how to do it before we went on stage, really including me in the whole process. Plus, we both agreed it kept in with all of the fun we were trying to have in the kitchen.

Back to the Masterclass demo. Basically, my face was on the big screen (in the back, to the side) while he worked and used my knife, so I feel pretty famous about the whole situation.

After the demo, Chef Max's assistant for the day and the Executive Chef at his restaurant, Quadri, in Venice, Silvio Giavendoni, gave me his card. Then later when I was running down a flight of stairs (probably running a PacoJet container to some other chef!) I ran into Chefs Max and Silvio on their way out of the conference center.

I stopped to thank them again and wish them well and Chef Max looked at me and said, "You have Silvio's card, if you need anything or are in Italy, send us a message."

What did I tell you? Class act. It blew me away that both of these amazing chefs cared that much about some silly American start-up kid who has no real cooking credentials.

They also gave me two gifts from Chef Max's product line, Ingredienti:
Olive Oil (which is incredible- we're talking sediment on the bottom of the bottle)
Lemon spray (almost like perfume, but for finishing off food)

Needless to say, my first two days at Omnivore are completely unforgettable. If you would like to learn a little bit more about Chef Max's restaurants and Chef Silvio, check out their website (it's in English!) here

Here's a picture of us in the Cuisine kitchen after the first day of Omnivore

(The two guys on the Left in plain clothes are Pierre and then Michael, our fearless organizers from Omnivore. On the far right is Chef Clergue, the LCB chef in charge. I'm on the back left peeking out above the heads!)

Here's a video of an interview with Chef Max. The interviewer is SUPER boring, but it's still cool to see the chef and his attitude. I think you'll understand why I call him a class act.

Here is Chef Max cooking a dish. Some highlights to look for: the emblem on his jacket, a PacoJet container, the Ingredienti sprays. 

Look out for the next post for the rest of Omnivore highlights including all of the American chefs and the third day!

Graduation: Intermediate

This past Wednesday (aka my 23rd Birthday), I graduated from Intermediate Cuisine!

No, my grades were not as high as they had been in Basic, but I was still above class average and I have a certificate, so I am happy!

A lot less of us showed up for Intermediate Graduation than showed up for Basic Graduation, but that was kind of nice because it took a lot less time.

After the ceremony, we got to go upstairs for free champagne, macaroons, little sandwiches, and other bites. I of course made the joke and thanked everyone for showing up for my little birthday get together. The champagne was on me, of course. You're welcome.

Anyways, that was about it. Most of the chefs for the school are travelling right now- at other schools around the world or promoting LCB Paris around the world or teaching the week-long classes the school sometimes ho.ds, so there were only 4 of them there for graduation, but I didn't mind. The chef who handed me my certificate, Chef Clergue, is the chef in charge of Superior Cuisine (the next step!) and the chef who was with me for the prior three days at Omnivore (post to come soon) and the chef who told me my farce was good for the final! So, it was nice to have someone who now knows me pretty well hand me that certificate.

Here are some pictures! There are a lot more on Facebook if you are interested in seeing more :)

(me and the chefs getting my certificate)

(From L-R: Pastry chef, Chef Cotte, Chef Caals (one of the chefs in charge of Intermediate), Chef Clergue, and the Academic Director of the School)

(The top three for Intermediate Cuisine: From L-R, #3, #1, #2. 1 & 2 are two of my best friends and I could not be prouder of both of them! I already knew they were that good, now everyone knows!!)

(Some of the girls at the free champagne and food part)

Birthday!!

It's my Birthday!

No time to post now, but know that I am fully taking advantage of the celebration potential associated with one's own birthday.

Look forward to posts about: graduation, the omnivore world tour, and my father's visit to Paris in the upcoming week!

Much love,
Elyssa

Finals Part Deux

This Wednesday, I passed my Intermediate Cuisine final.

PHEW! What a relief.

You may remember my Basic Final went a little more smoothly and quickly, but I passed and that's all that matters!

Instead of starting the final at 8am, this time I was scheduled for 1pm. Those 5 hours make a really big difference in how much time you have to psych yourself out over the final. So, I tried my hardest to not psych myself out, though I know that I sorta did.

Anyways, I pulled the Guinea Fowl Pie, which is known around the school as a dish mentioned with a shudder. It can take about an hour to cook and you have in reality less than 2.5 hours to prep, cook, and plate your dish. So, that pie pastry and stuffing have to be prepped FAST.

Well, I totally botched my pastry dough. Looking back on it, I know I added too much flour. I know now why my measurements got thrown off and I know now that I should have thrown it away and started over.

Unfortunately, super adrenaline rush-ed out Elyssa was not thinking so sanely. I just kept trying to fix the dough and when I laid the pie crust top over the stuffing and it cracked literally everywhere, all I could do was cut out little diamond-shaped patches and egg wash them over the holes and pray it would hold.

It didn't hold. It was the ugliest god damn pie you've ever seen. No joke.

And despite that it was no joke, I laughed incessantly about it, almost hysterically throughout the process. One of those times was right after I put the dough disaster in the oven. I then had to chop up what was left of the carcass bones to make my sauce. So, I'm pissed and hacking at that bird with my cleaver when all of a sudden, the girl across from me screams.

Apparently, a piece of my bloody bird bits had gone flying into her flan mixture. She starts yelling at me to get myself under control and I lose it. Bent over laughing. She kept yelling at me. Then I apologized and said, "you're right it's not funny. (It's effing hilarious) I'm sorry."

Another one of those times was about 5 mins after it was sent out the door to the mysterious tasting panel in the other room. The chef who had taken my dish to that room also happens to be the chef in charge of Superior Cuisine- the next and final course for me.

He came back into the room, walked up to me and goes, "Elyssa?"He has no idea who I am as I have yet to have him as a teacher.

"Yes, Chef?" My heart is racing. This is the moment. Because, I was not sure at this point that I would pass (re: ugliest effing pie in the world) and was having visions of re-doing the course, figuring out a plan on what to do next.

He smiles. "Your face (forcemeat stuffing)" he tells me in French, "was really, really good." (*yes there were TWO reallys)

"ooof. Merci, Chef. Merci Beaucoup!"

Then I started laughing hysterically.

See, as you may have noticed from previous posts, I love terrines and forcemeat stuffings and sausages. It's something I pride myself in and to have the chef who will be my next teacher find me out to tell me that my farce was "really really good," is better than scoring a higher grade. It's the most self-affirming compliment I've received in a long time.

So, it was at that moment that I knew I had passed.

Now, I graduate on the 20th (my birthday) and will start Superior cuisine on the 23rd or 25th.
Phew!

Some not So French French Eateries

You can only eat, cook, study French food for so long before all you want EVER is not.french.food.

So, I've been finding some nonfrenchfood places to enjoy.

First, Blues BBQ. A place so like America, that I had to go. In my message inviting people to join me at this American-style, American-owned Parisian BBQ place, I may have said the following:

So, you may have missed it, but this past monday was President's Day aka a day all about celebrating America's Presidents. (We're talking Gdubbs, Lincoln, Zachary Taylor, FDR and Obama. And holla at mah Georgia boy Jimmy Carter!!)

PLUS, Brittany and I have been craving BBQ like crazy pants and when you google "Paris Barbeque", you get this place in Bastille that is owned by Americans.

PLUS PLUS, there's this bar in roughly the same area called like the Scottish Pub where Brittany knows some of the American bartenders.

SO, Friday night after class get's out at 6:30pm, we (as in me and Brittany) are officially celebrating 'MERICA (f*ck yeah!) by eating PULLED PORK, drinking MILKSHAKES (and beer), and being super loud and annoying!

We would like ALL Y'ALL (aka everyone bc I'm sure I forgot to include someone in this message) to join us.

It was a great night.

I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and mac 'n cheese, 2 milkshakes, and a few glasses of beer (I am not a fan of beer usually, but we got pitchers. And you just can't get "pitchers" in Paris, so I just HAD to partake).

Here are some pictures of the adorable place:

(The owners are originally Texans)

2. Greek Traiteur: The other day while running with a friend to the doctor (we were worried she may have cut the tendon in her index finger. Luckily she did not) from school, we passed this tiny little Greek diner just around the corner from school.

We stopped. "We should totally eat here one day after class/in between classes," Then we started running to the doctor again.

Well, we were true to our word and after our written final, we went to eat lunch. 

It was delicious. I had the moussaka with roasted potatoes, baklava for dessert, and a glass of rose wine for 11 euros! It was a great change of pace. One of my friends ordered the hummus and it was good, middle-eastern style hummus that I haven't tasted since I was last in Israel 5 years ago.

We have added it as a must place for that quick bite in between classes.

(the counter)

(It's a pretty small place, but totally worth the squeezing!)

Make good choices,

Elyssa

Butchering a Lamb with an MOF

Every course, we get some sort of cultural thing/demo/trip to help deepen our learning.

For basic, you may remember that we went on the Market Tour.

For Intermediate, an MOF butcher came to class and butchered a whole lamb!

An MOF is a Meilleurs Ouvriers de France or an artisan/craftsman who has been awarded the title of one of the best in his/her field. There are competitions and the different competitors have different tasks to complete, but the most perfect of the highly skilled group wins the title. Only a few are given out at each competition and it is an honor that one holds for life. For a full list of MOF categories, check out here.

Well, you may remember from the Market Tour, that one of the butchers we met was an MOF. The guy who showed up to our class- same guy! I was excited to see that mustache once more.

(The red, white, and blue collar distinguishes the MOF award)

To try and recount how he exactly broke down the lamb, would be an impossible task by blog and without pictures, so instead, I will tell you some interesting things that we learned about the man himself. (I asked this question about his life story while he was breaking down the lamb because obviously he is too much of a character to not hear about.) 

He came from a poor family in country, so they ate little meat while he was growing up. However, his uncle was a big hunter, so when they saw him, he would help his uncle break down the meat starting his interest in being a butcher. When he was 14 years old, he decided to pursue being a butcher instead of going to college. The principal of his school tried very hard to discourage him, but apparently that same principal walked into his shop not too long ago and it turns out that he is one of the only people still employed/always been employed out of his high school classmates. 

After high school, he learned "country-style" butchering and traditional charcuterie close to home while earning his technical degree by correspondence. After earning that degree, he moved to Tours for 2 years, then joined the army for a year. Three days after getting out of the army, he moved to Paris for the first time. He has never left. He spent his first thirteen years in Paris with the same butcher, who had a MOF distinction. Working with this butcher, he first started going to competitions. 

It was later that he decided to have his own "big adventure" and try to become an MOF. The competition is held once every four years. So, he started at the regional level, made it to the finals which consists of 17 butchers. Only the top 2 earn the title. He decided that if he didn't win, that would be it as it is too much work to keep trying for the title. Plus, he was giving his best- there was no point in trying to better than he could ever do. Luckily for him, he won an MOF.

He emphasized his background in country styles as well as Parisian style as credit for his success. Despite his title, he is firm that he will not/has not rest on his laurels and continues to work, passing on his knowledge and the French butchering traditions. Plus, he was in a movie, Un Long Dimanche de Tiancailles. (I haven't seen it)

He was a pretty great guy. And watching him work was amazing. The knife cuts were incredibly smooth, accurate, and graceful. It was really captivating to watch. Especially when I think about our butchering skills in the kitchen when we get the chance.

It also made me think about butchering in general. As in France, it is a dying field in America. Yes, there are small pockets where a renewed interest is growing, but the art that this man displayed is not something you can see everyday or even somedays. 

He really cares about his produce. All meat in France is tracked- where it is from, how it was killed, what other pieces of meat were killed at the slaughterhouse and even where those pieces of meat were sold. I wish that same attitude could make its way to the US. To care that much about the meat we are eating and to see the beauty that can be in a product before we eat it really changes the experience.

Anyways, enough preaching. Below is the final product of our demonstration!

(A lamb once it has been cut into eatable pieces)

Updates

Well, I've been gone from here for awhile again! Seriously, where did February go? Oh right- school, interning, and travel-time.

So, some quick updates.

1. It makes me sad to think the last time I posted, it was about my stage (or internship). Well, unfortunately that is over already. No, I did not get fired, but instead, it turns out that I was in fact working for free illegally.

Basically, France has strict laws about working for free (socialist country) and I am not allowed to intern until after I graduate, so I got one solid month in until this was all figured out and now I'm out. "Auf wiedersehen, Au revoir!"

At first, I was pretty upset about the whole situation, but now that I've had a few days off and some more time to relax (before my big final especially), I do have to appreciate that France is trying to protect me. Even if they are not. Because, I've been reading a lot lately about the intern epidemic that is taking over DC and watching HBO's Girls and realizing how much more shitty the system of interning for 10 years before you ever get paid in your field is much worse than France not letting me get some experience for a few months. Well, a mix of the two systems might be best.

But I did learn a lot and the Chef will give me a recommendation in the future. So, it was definitely worth it.

2. FINALS: that's right. It's that time again. This Wednesday, I will enter the kitchen and choose a recipe out of a hat (literally) and cook it in exactly 2.5 hours for 45% of my grade for Intermediate coarse. So, we have been studying a lot in preparation for that event.

Yesterday, me and a group of friends went shopping for extra tools we may need. For example: a hook to pull the tendons out of a duck or guinea fowl, small meat thermometers, squeeze bottles for sauce, industrial wipes for plates and counters and stoves, molds for risottos/meat/flans/etc.

We have also been practicing in our own kitchens various potential dishes. Not to mention the hours going over recipes in various cafes and bars.

3. Finishing the course: We also had a written final, which according to my professional opinion was complete horsesh*t as the exam had little to do with what we have/had/are learning and all about random cheeses that no one has ever heard of before. Let me explain, as this course is all about the different regions of France, we learned the different traditional styles/dishes/produce/wines of each culinary region of France. Awesome. I like it! So, when we were told by other students to make sure to know the desserts/wines/cheeses of each region, we did just that! I can get behind that.

(A studying montage)

That's not what happened. Instead of choosing the main cheese known from that region, they asked us about practically unknown cheeses that none of us had ever heard of before. Because that's a fair testament to how good of a chef I could be.

Basically, they hate perfect scores. Well, they won- the highest grade out of 60 people was a 93 and  there were only 3 or 4 A's in general.

Besides that stupidity, we've just been cooking up a storm. Despite my early hesitance, I ended up falling in love with my practical/kitchen group. We were good at cooking, had no drama, worked well as a team, and the chefs liked us. Not every group gets that lucky.

Here we are on our last day.

(With the chef in the middle- yes there were only three of us girls, but we held our own!)

(Me and two of my best friends with one of the Chefs in charge of Intermediate cuisine after our last demonstration)

(At the end of our last demo, waiting for our complimentary glasses of champagne)

4. Student Party: Every course, there is a student party. It's a very fun night. Maybe too fun at times.

Here are some photos from that night:

(A group of us girls at the party)

(Drinks at the bar below my apartment before going over to the party. The waiter behind us is Vincent and the only waiter that I know the name of despite the fact that I live above them...)

(Some new pastry friends! We're crossing the divide!)

(Not sure what Alexis is doing- believe it or not he is a runway/photo model when he's not in class. But love these three very ridiculous people.)

5. Birthdays: February was full of them! Two of my closest friends here celebrated big birthdays this month. Here we all are at different events having a great time.

*Cheesy Alert: I really can't believe how lucky I have been in meeting the most amazing people while here. Whether at school or friends of friends, somehow I have been able to surround myself with people that inspire me while being a helluva good time. Ok- I'm done.

6. Weather: It is finally getting warmer in Paris! We have had a week of sun and decent temperatures! There was even a time yesterday when I didn't need to wear my coat!! Now, they are saying it's going to get colder again by the end of the week, but these few days of sun for the first time in 4-5 months has been amazing.

PS. it means my break dancers are back!

Anyways, that's about it that is interesting around here right now! Report back for more posts in the next few days- especially about the final and then (hopefully) GRADUATION!

Stay Golden,
Elyssa