Memories of my Mum…..
My Mum died at the end of January this year, quite suddenly, with pneumonia after a period in hospital for a broken hip operation. Nothing to do with cookery, I know, but I wanted to pay my respects to my Mum by writing down the speech that I made during her requiem mass on Monday […]
Preparing for the “Next Steps” – looking for a “Mentor” & visits to Newcastle
2008 hardly started and I have had 2 trips back home already to see my family in Newcastle Upon Tyne. One visit was for pleasure, the other for more personal and painful reasons (which I will cover in another post when the time is right). During this extended time in Newcastle I have been able […]
Mes livres de cuisine et des nouveaux pour 2008….
Quelquechose qui accompagne étroitement ma passion pour la cuisine est celle des livres de cuisine. L’un de mes magasins préférés à Paris est la Librairie Gourmande, où je pourrais tranquillement passer plusieurs heures à “déguster” leur produits ! A vrai dire, vu que souvent le prix des bouquins de cuisine est tellement élevé, je m’empêche […]
Stage en Entreprise – end of 2nd period at La Fontaine Gaillon
At the end of my second period at the Fontaine Gaillon, working with Chef Audiot and his team, I’m feeling more at home there, understanding better the relationships that exist within the team, seeing more calm in the chaos of the midday service. I’ve spent all of this time “au chaud”, as I explained in […]
2008 and back to La Fontaine…up and down with Brittany (asparagus) Spears and Gerard Dépardieu
3 days into my first week back at La Fontaine Gaillon after the New Year break back home in Newcastle, and I’ve already been “ok”, “down and pensive” and “up”. The good news is that I have finished my Wednesday session with a positive day where I managed to find my place in the team […]
La fin de l’année 2007 – chefs diary…….le bilan
alors….ça y est, dimanche 30 décembre, 01h55 et c’est la fin de l’année où j’ai pris mes premiers pas dans le monde de cuisine professionnelle – la transformation de consultant en cuisinier est loin d’être arrivée à la fin du cycle, mais, à la fin de ces premiers 3 mois (le 8 octobre me semble […]
Paris restaurants during the festive period……
This week I started my 2nd period of training in La Fontaine Gaillon kitchen – Wednesday to today (Friday) to be more exact. I was a bit apprehensive on Wednesday morning whilst going to work, but in the end, I picked up pretty much where I left off over 6 weeks ago. The team hasn’t […]
Queue de Boeuf au pressé de pommes de terre et céleri rave et racines d’hiver
A venir une description des recettes, mais commençons avec 2 belles photos !
Chefsdiary in Barcelona – part 2
Now that we’ve been back in Paris for a few days (and that the Christmas meal is over and done with) I just wanted to mention some of the main points from our final 2 days in Barcelona. On the food front, we continued to test out the suggestions of our guide book, this time […]
repas du réveillon – Trio de St Jacques
Dis-donc, 23h08, la fin de mon 5ème réveillon à Paris (avec 2 à Newcastle pendant mon temps ici en France), et une belle réussite au niveau du repas de Noël….je suis très content de moi, et pour cela, je devrais remercier à la fois l’équipe du Zephyr (ça fait quand même plusieurs fois que je […]