Day 3 at “La Fontaine”….frustration sets in
So finally the moment arrives where I’m silently cutting vegetables (in this case, it was my 6th case of camus artichokes…that’s the big, bulbous ones rather than the small poivrades) in the kitchen and I’m quietly thinking to myself that I’d much rather be working with the 20 fresh whiting (merlan) that the guy next […]
Day 2 at “La Fontaine”….
So, what do I know ? From the menu I can do, * tartare de bar et saumon * petite friture de calmars (3 / 4 mins à la friteuse, il faut défaire ou agiter les tentacules avec une grande fourchette une fois les têtes sont dans l’huile) * moules de bouchot à la marinière […]
Day 1 at “La Fontaine”
OK, so it’s started….now it’s down to business. My first day at “La Fontaine Gaillon” has started, 9 til 6pm. The team is good, professional, with most of them having worked together for a number of years having followed the chef, Laurent Audiot, from his previous 1 Michelin star restaurant. I’ll review my experience at […]
the big bang !
“Welcome to the Pleasuredome”, as Frankie goes to Hollywood sang back at the end of the eighties. Well I had my big day – 6 hours in the morning/midday shift, and 7 this evening….140 customers in total. I’m too tired to write any more, so I’ll simply copy the contents of a mail (in French) […]
the exponential curve effect…..
Before the CAP Cuisine started I would talk about the unknown impact that being in a “foody” environment would have on what I would be capable of doing…..I imagined that certain things that seemed impossible / unattainable, or even that I would not have thought about, would suddenly become possible purely because I would find […]
It’s starting to take shape
After a good day in 2 different kitchens I’d be tempted to say that this project of career reconversion is starting to take shape. First day in a real kitchen in a real restaurant….okay, cutting very real vegetables, but I felt good, not totally awkward and most certainly not out of place. This was my […]
end of week 2….on a downer
So there we have it, 2 weeks on the CAP Cuisine course and tonight I’ve lost the “buzz”. I think that it’s normal since there’s a bit of fatigue, it has to be said that the dishes that we are preparing aren’t the best in the world (moules marinière, roast chicken, chips tonight, yesterday steak […]
a good day at the office ;-)
Wednesday Week 2 of my cookery diploma, it started with a 4 and a half hour class at 8am, and was thus looking a bit tricky ! However, between Mr Faverol and the rest of us, we managed to get pretty animated by the history of cookery, development of products and techniques in the 19 […]
Game On !!!
So, I finally got my hands on my knives today….ok, it was only so that I could cut up some veg, but hey, I can honestly say that I was absolutely delighted at the end of the session (5 hrs)…..carrots maçédoine (biggish cubes), jardinère (batons), “ciseler” (cut in fine little cubes, whilst leaving the root […]
out of the frying pan and into the fire……
Tomorrow being my last day at work before switching “codes”, I’m starting to get myself into the frame of mind of next week. Went to get my knives, spoons, scissors, whisk, etc….today at “Lejeune’s” at Asnières…an anonymous industrial estate…a bit like the place where I learnt to drive back in Newcastle ! As I walked […]