I have been on the run, constantly. Everyday I been at school for many many hours, but it has all been worth it. Monday school began at noon, lasting until about 10. I had a practical and then a workshop. The workshop was interesting. We used fish and quail for a main and appetizer with only a few vegetables. I did a seared fish with leeks fondue and a balsamic reduction. Them a stuffed quail with peas, carrots and shallots with a julienne ginger fruit salad and roasted pepper with a sauce. It was an ok workshop. I just wasn't into it. Oh well, no one really was.

The next day was a slow day, with only a practical. I made a yummy pumpkin soup inside of a pumpkin. And then veal sweetbreads with puff pastry, an assortment of autumn vegetables and a nice sauce. It was good, minus the sweetbreads!

Wednesday, I woke up early to go to the superior patisserie class at 8:15 to see chocolate! The chef showed the class the assembly of a show piece. It was pretty cool to watch. I enjoyed it.
Then I had a demo and a few hours later a practical. I made two dishes with fish and vegetables. One dish had roasted fish with vegetables skewers. The other dish had roasted fish with layers of vegetables. It was great! It even tasted pretty good.

Thursday was the first day of Club Des Amis. We were at school by 7:15AM!! That part was not fun, but the day was great. Prep work began by 8 and we were off. The chef had picked my appetizer of butternut squash ravioli with a sauce and pistachios. I was so excited! The chef picked Andre's main dish of Florentine quail with sweet potatoes and a mix of mushrooms with onions. It was a great meal. For dessert, on Thursday there was an apple meringue with apple ice cream and hazelnuts. It was fantastic. For Friday, the dessert was a spicy chocolate molten cake with pumpkin ice cream. Everything was good.
Service went so fast. It began at 12:30 and lasted only for about an hour. We only served 6 people, two tables of 3. My dish got great reviews. I served it in a huge bowl dish. For Thursday I reduced chicken stock in sage butter then added cream and reduced it even more, whisking in butter at the last minute. The ravioli was huge, with sauce around it, then crushed pistachios, a drizzle of pistachio oil, micro greens and a sprig of chervil to decorate. It was gorgeous. Hopefully I will have a picture soon.
After service we went upstairs to meet our guests and say thank you. The head of the school was eating lunch with two other people. She could only say good things about the appetizer. She loved our meal. Everything was perfect! She loved the ravioli! I was so happy!!! Then we stayed around for a bit longer to eat and to devour the ice cream! We were out of there by about 3:30. It was a good, long day!

Little did I know that Friday was going to be even longer! We were at school by 7:30AM! Things were great! Prep work was easy, since most of the work was done yesterday. We all did our work and had time to do nothing. Service began by about 12:30 and we were done by about 1:30 or so. We went to meet out guests again and we were out by 2. I changed my dish alittle. It was still a huge ravioli, but it had a beurre blanc sauce and all the decorations were the same. Except I added a black pepper foam to the top - SO COOL!!! Service was great!
I had an hour and a half to waste before the next class at 3:30 - workshop. So I went to get food with a friend. Then we all hung around with people in the lounge and waited for class to begin. The workshop went well. I made half a chicken - seared and then braised in the oven - served with vegetables and a potato gratin on the side. For the app, I made seared scallops with wild rice and beet slices with a beurre blanc sauce. It looked great!
The chef is hard for me too read. It's hard for me to take what he gives me and improve on it. I like to cook simply and keep it simple. I don't want to change the food by being so intricate. I think simplicity is perfect, just make sure it tastes great, which it always does! I think the chef wants me to be more intricate on my dishes, almost over the top. So I checked out some books and I am doing research this week - hopefully it will improve my dishes. Right now, no one is failing, but no one has great grades. It is extremely hard to get a good grade - a 4/5. So hard. I want to pass, I want to do good. I guess I will have to study. We will see.
This weekend I am just lounging and doing some work. Next week is alittle easy going. All classes begin at 12 or after!!! WOO-HOO