To Sybil and Bill:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for such a wonderful night on the town, in Paris. It was my first time to eat a delicious meal and share it with friends from back home.

This week was actually busy. A couple from home, Bill and Sybil Sylvester, also next door neighbors to my mother's house, came to Paris to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They invited me to dinner on Tuesday to a great restaurant, L` Atelier de Joel Robuchon. I met them there at 6:30. We enjoyed a delightful glass of champagne and looked over the menu. Poor Bill was in the middle of the two women gabbing the whole night. We all decided on the same thing, the tasting menu, with a red and white wine to accompany the respectful courses.
The night was wonderful. The food was unbelievable. The people superb. The set-up of the restaurant is a mix of Hot n Hot from back home. It is an open kitchen with a frame, if that makes sense. Imagine a wide open space; with tables and storage underneath. Then on top of the tables are huge opened window frames. In the "window panes" are large glass jars filled with thinly sliced and curled zucchini and orange peel; or a rectangular glass container holding stuff tomatoes or little mushrooms. The sight is so cool to see. It is dark what seemed to be wood and red linings to some of the furniture, my favorite color, so I loved it.
This place is so popular. There is a long line of people who wait to be let in at 6:30. The restaurant only takes reservations at 6:30 then it is everyone for themselves. I think they are always busy. I can see why. The food was unbelievable, 9 different courses. We started off with an amuse bouche, which really teased the taste buds, foie gras mousse and a light sprinkle of truffles went every so nicely with our champagne. It was served in a shooter glass with a little foam on top. It was so good, melt in your mouth good. Then the meal began. Scallops served raw and sliced very thin, a langoustine ravioli, a deep fried cod quenelle which was my favorite, water chestnut soup with foie gras and sea bass simply prepared. The seafood courses were all amazing and went perfect with the white wine.
The main dish was either lamb chops or sweetbreads. While I try to be adventurous, I opted for the lamb chops, as did Bill and Sybil. It was so good, little tiny chops and mashed potatoes. It was yummy! Then we ate a mixture of fruits in their own syrup with a dollop of basil sorbet (so good!) and finally dessert, chocolate sensation. It was exactly that. It had chocolate mousse, silver balls that were crunchy that were throughout the layers of chocolate and sorbet. It was amazing. Dinner was, well there are no words to describe it. If you ever get the chance to come to Paris, go eat there!
So Bill and Sybil, thank you so much for a wonderful meal. I had a great time.

As I said, this week was busy. Class was class, cooking and watching really boring demos. Cuisine was alright, but nothing too exciting. In patisserie this week we tempered chocolate, milk and dark. It was fun. I love working with chocolate. I have to try to work cleanly and come out of the practicals still in a white uniform. This is very hard for me, but I am improving. The students here have never tempered chocolate, so I was the first one to do it, without the chef looking over us. The chef told me it was superior! YAH ME. But I wish we got to do something different, since I had already tempered chocolate and done some of the treats. Oh well.

Friday was the student dinner. Our class is so big, they had to split us into two groups. I got to go to the better restaurant, Cafe Minotti. It is a wonderful Italian restaurant. The chef is a close friend to one of the chefs at school. The school rented out the whole place. Tables were pushed together in the three different rooms and we all met at the restaurant by 8. I sat with some kids who were in my group, A, and a french woman who I did not know. I was told the last student dinner, basic, they ate good food and drank way too much. Well the intermediate student dinner, we ate great food and people drank too much wine.
We were given an amuse bouche of a room temperature broccoli shooter. It was yummy. Then we ate thinly sliced tuna that was seared and served on a circle of puff pastry and a tomato compote. The next course was a shrimp risotto which was so good, it just needed a little salt and some cheese. The main course was a slice of veal with a balsamic reduction, gnocchi and a little wedge of cabbage. Then a cheese course of Gorgonzola and two slices of pears and finally the dessert of chocolate mousse, a crunchy middle and nuts on top of a chocolate glaze that surrounded the entire chocolaty mass. It was phenomenal! The dinner was served with red and white wines and we were given plenty of it. I drank espresso to finish the meal and enjoyed every last drop. Daddy, this is a meal you would have loved!
We finished the meal around 11 or so. People were drunk off of all the wine they drank and happy from all the food they just consumed. I left with a few other people to find a taxi a few blocks away. People were still there drinking and contemplating going out. I went home to find my bed and catch up on sleep.

This week was fun. I enjoyed myself. The meals I ate were unbelievable and I hope to eat like that again, very soon. It is Sunday, so I have prepare for another week of lame demo classes and cooking. Monday, I get to cook with pigs blood as a thickening agent for a sauce. I tried it in demo. I don't believe I will be taking this dish home with me. Well, stay tuned for more adventures....au revoir and a bientot.