Tour De France and Caul Fat: The Lacy Panties of Pork

I must be having a great time at school because the thought of having a whole week off sent me looking for an excuse to get back in the kitchen.

I got my excuse last week at graduation when Chef 3 mentioned that he was teaching the “Tour de France” short course this week.  While he already had some student assistants lined up, he graciously allowed me to tag along for the ride.  And you know what?  It was possibly the best experience I’ve had so far at Le Cordon Bleu.

As I mentioned in my last post, the short courses are a way for the general public to get a little taste of the Cordon Bleu experience.  The prices can be fairly steep, but where else can a home cook get the experience of learning from a real French chef and trying their hand a few hardcore old-school French dishes?

The atmosphere, as you can imagine, is a little (okay, a lot) more casual than in our regular classes.  The Chefs aren’t handing out grades, and the skill levels of the students are all over the place, so as long as the students are turning out something edible and not cutting/burning themselves the standards are pretty relaxed.  A skilled home cook could get a lot out of one of the classes, and other folks get a little coaching about how to peel a potato (and yes, we had someone in class who struggled to peel a potato!)

For us as assistants, short courses are a fun opportunity to spend some time with the Chefs when they are a little more chilled out, and we get a little glimpse of what they deal with during our classes.  During the demo portions of the class we run and fetch equipment and ingredients, plate samples and tidy up the kitchen.  During the practical part of the class, we wander around tending unwatched pots, tasting sauces, helping the dishwasher, and occasionally offering a little help.

I joined the class on Day 2 of 4, and we made some interesting dishes, some of which I don’t think most home cooks would attempt without a little coaching.  On Tuesday the students made a stuffed cabbage.  There’s very little that’s fashionable about that dish, but it illustrated a few important techniques like making a farce, blanching, braising and glazing.  And they got to work with one of my favourite ingredients – caul fat.

 

Maybe I have a really filthy mind, but surely I’m not the only person who thinks of it as the lacy panties of pork?

Wednesday the students braised some beef cheeks in red wine and made a potato gratin.  I’d made a mild goof of myself in the demo earlier in the afternoon by confusing the sauces for the samples (don’t ask!), but fortunately Chef 3 had good sense of humour.  And then in the practical I suggested to some of the students to monter their sauce with butter.  Another mild groan of pain from Chef 3. Not in the recipe Sarah!  But seriously, is there ever a reason not to add more butter?

We ended the class late this afternoon with a brandade and a cauliflower gratin.  The students got to make a sauce béchamel for the gratin, and I had a moment when I really understood what I’ve learned over the past few months.  A sauce like béchamel is very much about learning the feel and texture of your end result, and an opportunity to think about flavours.  Some of the students thought that the amount of nutmeg we provided in their trays to be the amount we wanted them to use.  There were more than a few “nutmeg sauces” made (and I had nearly instant heartburn from tasting them.)

But you do get a little extra value for your big bucks when you take a short course.  We ended the afternoon today with a mini-graduation for the students at the Signatures@Cordon Bleu bar downstairs, and all the students got a certificate, a chance for a picture with the Chefs, and a glass of sparkling wine.  Not a bad deal, eh?

As I was leaving school I bumped into Chef 2 and the new pastry Chef who were having a smoke by the receiving entrance.  Starting next Tuesday I’m going to be a spending a lot of time with Chef 2 because he’s the main instructor for Superior Cuisine.  He gave me a nod and we had a little chat.  He thinks it will be a “good challenge” for me.  I think I’m ready for it, so I can’t wait until Tuesday.

And Chef 3?  You will note I didn’t say a word about your carrots!

This Happened

Yes, friends.  I’ve added my silver pin to the bronze pin I earned in Basic Cuisine.

Last Friday’s graduation at the National Gallery of Canada was sweet.  Sadly, more than a few of my classmates chose to skip it to get home for a few days to spend with family or to take a quick getaway. 

 

But I had a little taste of bittersweet in my mouth that evening.  On Thursday night I found out that not all of my classmates made it.  One drew possibly the most terrible dish for the exam, the Chartreuse du Riz de Veau, and it didn’t go well. He wasn’t there with us that night.  When I think about it, it could have just as easily been me drawing that – I’m not sure how I would have done.

I brought my parents, my aunt, and one of my close friends to enjoy the evening with me.  These folks have all supported this slightly crazy endeavour from the start, and I was so happy to have them there. I got a few fun graduation gifts too – including a bag of bubblegum!

Getting my certificate and transcript (oy.. yes, with actual grades!) was a fun moment, but the most fun was introducing my guests to the Chefs they have only thus far known as Chef 1, Chef 2, and Chef 3.

And, since it’s a Cordon Bleu event, you know the food is going to be good.  The catering was by Ottawa’s best caterers, Tulips & Maple, also the home of more than a few LCB alumni (Chefs and students).  I can highly recommend the Smoked Oyster, Eggplant and Lemon Pearl canapés. 

 And, oh yeah… that now-really busted up piece of gum?  It was in the sleeve pocket of my jacket, just because it seems to bring me luck.

So what have I been doing with my week off?  Silly goose that I am, I volunteered to help Chef 3 with the “Tour De France” short course at the school.  Short courses are a great way for the general public to get a little taste of the Cordon Bleu experience, and for the regular students to get a little experience helping the Chefs.  But more about that in my next post.

Just Thought I Would Mention....

I PASSED!  I just got the email from the school about half an hour ago. 

I suppose I shouldn’t have worried as much as I did, but it is in my nature to stress out about these kinds of things, at least until I get the official word.  So the email this afternoon was a pleasant relief.

Late Friday afternoon is graduation at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.  I’m fortunate to have both of my parents, my aunt, and one of my close friends as my guests.  They are all looking forward to meeting the mysterious Chefs they’ve heard so much about.

In the meantime, I’ve got a few things to do– like bringing my apartment up to health standards, getting a haircut (who knew I had this much grey?), and trying not to do the happy dance every five minutes!

While I haven’t yet seen the schedule for Superior Cuisine, I’m told we don’t get a very long break before it starts.  And that’s fine with me – I’m looking forward to it.

So the journey (and the blog!) continues. Stay tuned, because I think it’s about to get a lot more interesting.

And one more thing – that slightly bent and crumpled piece of gum I had in my pocket yesterday?  It just joined my collection of lucky charms.

The Final Exam: Good Luck Charms and Rack of Pork

I woke up this morning just before 6AM.  That’s a little early for me but, as you all know, today was the day of my final exam.

As I had predicted, I had my freak out on Sunday evening, then a night of fitful sleep on Sunday night.  Lots of weird dreams about having an oven that won’t light, and some strange thing about the new Pope, North Korea and a reenactment of the Spanish Inquisition.  I should not watch TV before bed.

But I spent Monday quietly reviewing my notes, washing and ironing my uniform, and giving my knives a sharpening.  Then around 11PM I decided that enough was enough and I wandered off to bed.

This morning I checked my knife kit, carefully folded my uniform, gulped down an extra cup of coffee, and assembled a few good luck charms.

I’m not normally superstitious, but stress brings out a little OCD in my personality.  I put on my lucky socks.

And I put on my lucky underwear (sorry boys… no pics of my undies… a girl must keep a few secrets!) and just as I was about to walk out the door, I grabbed one of the pieces of gum Chef 3 gave me last week and slipped it into the pocket of my uniform.  One more charm couldn’t hurt.

I got to school, and quietly waited for the exam to start.

The first part of the exam was the bon d’economat.  Essentially, it’s an order form for ingredients.  I had to, to the best of my memory, recall and write out the ingredients and quantities for a recipe selected by the Chefs.  I drew the braised rack of pork with olives.  I know I forgot a couple of things, but I was neat and fairly organized.  That counts, apparently.

Then the fateful draw – which recipe for the practical exam?  I tried to keep a sober and poker face as I chose and opened my envelope (#10) from Chef 3’s table.  I didn’t want the Chefs to see any stress on my face, or really any reaction. 

Guess what?  Braised rack of pork with olives…. Again!  What’s the chances of that?

I set my knife kit down at my appointed place in the kitchen, walked to the sink to wash my hands, then gathered cutting boards, serving dishes, and other tools.  I knew from Basic that the Chefs were grading us very specifically on hygiene and organization.  Since I was one of the two first in the room, I knew they were watching me carefully.

I don’t totally recall everything that happened over the next two and a half hours.  All the stress chemicals in my brain kicked in as I opened my fridge and saw my ingredients. As the other students gradually filled the kitchen, the Chefs began to wander around, peering in pots and lifting foil coverings. Few responses from them – just a nod and they would walk away.

Here’s where I know I had problems.  I really struggled to do the butchery of the pork.  Chef 2 wandered past and whispered – “Not that way.”  My mind and hands started to seize up a bit – WTF was I doing?  He looked at me like I was a slow-witted child, and took my cleaver and gave the bone a whack.  Ah yes…. Ugh…. Probably a few points off for that.  The rest of the butchery work seemed to go okay though.

I forgot/stumbled a few other times, but probably nothing that will really kill me.  I would have liked to give my side dish of ratatouille a little more time in the oven, but I think it was enough.  Oddly, the kitchen was out of eggplant, so it was an eggplant-less ratatouille - but it's not like I can be blamed for that - that's the production kitchen's fault, not mine.  Most annoying were my “papillottes”, the little parchment decorations for the ends of my bones.  Every time I would be working on them, I would turn around for a second and a breeze would blow them off my cutting board onto the floor, so I had to trash them and start again.  Then they wouldn’t glue together.  As the last seconds ticked down I said “Fuck this” and gave up on them. And, to be fair, the Chef who did that demo for that dish weeks ago didn't have them on his dish either. But my bones were pretty clean and I’d kept them wrapped in foil, so they weren’t too ugly.

I tasted my food all the way along and I plated it on time (ie, at the very last second), so no points off for being late. I washed my hands constantly, tried to keep everything clean, and made sure to give my meat time to rest.

At the appointed time, I washed up my knives, packed my bag, gave the steward/dishwasher a whispered “thank you!” and got the hell out of there as quickly as I could.

As I hauled my stuff out of the school, I saw Chef 2 having a smoke by the receiving entrance.  He nodded to me and said, “Very good.”  I stopped to chat for a minute and he told me he couldn’t say if I had passed or not – that was up to the panel of outside judges, but he did say “Very good Intermediate semester.”  It felt really good to hear that.

If you know me, you know I’m not much of a crier.  But as soon as I got home today and the door closed behind me, I could feel my eyes welling up a bit, both from doubts and relief. Could I have done better?  I don’t know.  I think I did my best, or at least the best I had in me today.

The second group of students is doing their exam this afternoon, and I expect by around 3:00 or so the text messages will be flying.  How do you think you did?  What dish did you get?  Did you study enough?  Did you lose your shit? 

And now we wait.  If we pass, we’ll know in the next day or so.  I’m off to (try to) take a nap, then going to meet up with some people later this evening.  My phone won’t be far from my reach, and I’m hoping for some sweet dreams.

Food For Thought

Friends:  I thought I was going to write this post all about the Market workshop we had on Friday, but that’s not what’s on my mind right now.  But I will give you all the quick hits.

I wasn’t especially happy with the group I had for the workshop, but we managed to pull off a pretty interesting menu:

Amuse Bouche:  “Molecular” Gin and Tonic with Mint. The picture is one from my “practice” version at home - what a terrible burden to have to eat the "mistakes"! I got the bubble problem solved in the workshop.  Perhaps could have been a palate cleanser mid-menu instead of an amuse – good advice.

Appetizer:   Golden Beet, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad.  Not heavy on technique, but wasn’t bad.  A little more acid from the grapefruit would have helped (and if it had been a real pink grapefruit!)

 

Fish Course:  Fried Calamari with Popcorn Puree and Red Pepper/Cumin Sauce.  If I’d only saved a few pieces of popcorn for the plating! A little more colour on the calamari too....

Entrée:  Steak Frites with Sauce Andalouse.  My plan on this one went a bit awry.  If I’ve made frites once I’ve made them a million times – results in this case were rather disappointing. Don’t ask how they got fucked up…!

Dessert:  Lemon Foam with Thai Basil Crème Anglaise.  Next time, a little more green from the basil for colour contrast (and I got a helpful tip today on how to extract chlorophyll for colour).  And I set the foam with gelatin instead of a more traditional technique like poaching.  It had a good punch of taste though.

The popcorn thing was probably the biggest hit of the workshop.  I think the Chefs really liked it – they certainly ate a fair bit of it, and the spoons came out every time another Chef wandered through the class.  The look on Chef 1’s face when I was popping the corn was priceless.  And we managed to pull together a beer pairing for the calamari (Beau’s Lug Tread) and the steak (Lake of Bays Crosswind Pale Ale).  I’m not sure anyone has ever done that before.

I really would have preferred not to have to lead the group, but I’m what the Myers-Briggs personality test calls the INTJ type.  A little more extroversion and I’d be a military field marshal, but I’m more the type to step into the gap when no one seems to be taking charge.  More or less what happened in this one.  

But I had a bit of fun, and when Chef 1 asked us to price our menu, I said $80 per person, which would have been about 38%.  I had a bit of leftovers, and given that we bought our stuff retail instead of wholesale (as most kitchens would), it would have probably made a profit.

But enough of all that… here’s what’s really on my mind the weekend before my exam. Perhaps it’s a bit disjointed, but that’s how my mind is working right now.

I’ve noticed over the last week or so that everyone has suddenly become a little more friendly and talkative.  I’ve talked to girls in the Pastry program in the locker room, had long conversations in the student lounge, and dinner and drinks a few times with various people.  Emotions -especially hope and anxiety – are very close to the surface right now.   One minute you’re flopped on the couch in the lounge, and the next minute someone is telling you that they aren’t sure that their dream of being a Chef is living up to their parents’ expectations.  Another minute you’re sharing a beer, and it turns into a philosophical discussion about the primal nature of our sense of taste and the formative childhood moments of eating grandmother’s cannelloni. It's truly amazing what people will tell you if you look like you are willing to listen.

   

Chef 1 warned us not to party too hard this weekend – he told us to save it for after the exam.  I think most people are taking that advice to heart.  I’ve had my nose in the book much of today (and got an amazing and helpful pep talk from The Stig), and my apartment is just messy enough that if I feel like procrastinating that I’ll at least do something productive.   Knowing me, the anxiety attack will kick in around dinner time tomorrow – I’ll start pacing and muttering bullshit to myself, have terrible and confusing dreams tomorrow night and then the calm will descend on Monday morning.  I’ll be in fine form by exam time early Tuesday morning. 

And I will say this – the support I’ve had from family, friends, and even perfect strangers this week has been amazing.  All the phone calls, emails, texts, Facebook messages, Tweets, and other comments have been truly overwhelming.  Please keep sending those my way.

Thanks friends.