chapter 5: day four (the risotto and the plate in the sink)

APRIL, 8TH 2010

Today was all about the grains, and some more potatoes. Which means, it was a carb fest tonight. On the menu today was Risotto Parmesan, Rice Pilaf, and Pomme Puree. Risotto is a pain to make, but mine came out okay. Consistency was good, right amount of runnyness, taste was good but i over pearled the rice so it came out a weird color. The pilaf was also ok, not up to par.. The pomme puree had too much pepper. So tonight wasn't my best night, bu

t I'm not bad. Tomorrow is our

first test, which consists of:

- 4-6 page written test

- a knife practical (12 different knife cuts)

- 3 dishes need to be made with NO recipe cards, I have no idea which recipes he'll be choosing.

It's definitely a lot of work, but I love it so much. I love where I am in life right now. Plus I'm starting to make friends in class. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with my classmate Alise, we've learned how to work together in the kitchen without necessarily working together.. If that makes any sense. We'll be eating at the 561, the schools fine dining restaurant, it's going to be great.

injury count for april 8th 2010: 1

- couple sliced fingers.

chapter 4: day three (the accident and the mediocre Ratatouille)

APRIL, 7TH 2010

Last night we made Braised Leeks, Glazed carrots, and Ratatouille. My leeks came out perfect as Chef Whitmore said, and my carrots were excellent, also what Chef said. If you've never had any of these i suggest you make them for yourself one day, they are AMAZING. I was more excited to make the Ratatouille, everything was going good until I got to that point, when i realized I wasn't

going to have enough time to make the tomato concasse and mince the garlic. Everything else came out great, my ratatouille was ok, chef gave it a low B, high C.. Not acceptable for me. Everyone ran late today, which means the people that finished their dishes were then forced to wash other peoples plates and pans, I was not about to get points taken off my grade for other people. Anyway, here are my glazed carrots, leaks, and ratatouille.

injury count for april 7th 2010: 3

- sliced wrist

- burned fingers

- sliced index finger

Chapter 3: Day Two (the accomplishment)

APRIL, 6TH 2010

Today we proceeded with lecture, took down copious notes, then off to demo it was to learn knife cuts. They're all pretty easy, except for Tourne, I can't seem to get those down for the life of me so I brought home some potatoes to practice on tomorrow. Today we were shown how to make "Pomme Vapeur" (Steamed Potatoes), and blanched spinach. Although my tourneed potatoes came out looking weird, I cooked them almost to perfection which then earned a pat on the back by Chef Whitmore, which isn't an easy thing to get, let me tell you. I'm slowly but surely getting my timing down, tomorrow I have to really push myself to do better, but for the most part I think I'm doing pretty well for the first couple days. Tomorrow we will be making Ratatouille, Glazed Vegetables and Braised Leeks, I love leeks AND i love Ratatouille, yummy!

injury count for april 6th 2010: 0

Chapter 2: Day one (the first day in the kitchen)

APRIL, 5TH 2010

First day of class was a blast. A lot of lecture, but once we started to cook it felt so awesome. The rush of being in the kitchen and having a set time to do something made me feel like I was working in a real restaurant. Our chef, Chef Whitmore is equivalent to Chef Ramsey from Hells Kitchen, he's a real hard ass but I love it. I've been needing this push for a long time.

We made chicken stock last night. Tonight will be dropping the stock, learning knife cuts, then proceeding to make blanched spinach and "pommes vapeur" which is steamed potatoes. YUM. We're going to be making Ratatouille tomorrow, I'm excited for that!

Time to do homework. Ciao

injury count for april 5th 2010: 0

Chapter 1: (the beginning)

April 5th is the day I officially start Le Cordon Bleu. It seems like just yesterday I was taking a tour of the campus and simply considering it...Oh wait...It was about yesterday... This has all happened so quickly. I'm beyond happy for applying when I did, otherwise I would have had to wait a couple months to start. I attended orientation yesterday, met the first chef i'll have for Cul Skills 1. I have to admit, listening to him explain what we would be doing for the first 3 weeks was a little intimidating, I panicked a little when I realized just how fast paced this school really is, but I'm not going to let it get to me. I received my tool kit with my Wusthof knives, they're currently getting engraved so I don't lose them or have them stolen. Tuesday I get my uniforms, I'm so anxious to start. I've already been reading up on my stock making since that is one of the first things we will be learning, along with knife cuts. If anyone has any tips, I would greatly appreciate them, I can always use the extra help.

edit: I also will be posting lots of pictures, and some recipes!