I apologize for such a long absence of writing. Getting back into the swing of things has proven harder than anticipated. The layout of this course is quite different than Australia. Here we go to school just about every day for long periods of time. Instead of going on a specific day for each course and designated time, I am all over the place. In Australia, cuisine demo and practical were on the same day, from Monday until Wednesday from 7:30 until 2:00 and patisserie demo and practical were linked together on Thursday from Saturday from 8 until 2:30. In Paris, I go to school at different times for demo and for practical. I don't have to go to school on Saturday’s like I thought, just twice! I also have one Wednesday off of not classes. However we do have a couple classes at 6:30pm. It would be alright with me, but the next day we have to turn around and be at school for demo or practical by 8:30, which sucks. But I know this is worth it, so it's all good.

I have yet to experience the metro, because I walk to school everyday, a little under 2.5 miles there and back. It takes me about 30 minutes to walk to school - depending on how much I am awake and if it is raining. The walk is beautiful. I pass through a little town with markets and lots of people; it is all hustle and bustle, at certain times. It's great. I think the best part is going to school so early in the morning. For classes at 8:30, I am out of my apartment by 7:30...I have to extra time to change and get ready, we are allowed into the kitchens by 8:15 and you gotta get a good spot. But walking so early in the morning to class you can smell Paris at its best. The bakers have been up for hours and the morning pastries have been cooking in their entire splendor. It is an amazing smell. I pass about three or four bakeries and the smells are good enough to eat. It really is a lovely walk.

The first class in each course was a little nerve racking. I was so nervous the night before. Some chefs refuse to speak English at all, even though they can a little. Others are a little nicer and try. I've meet a few people, who are extremely nice, and they help me out. Actually one woman, Kelly, is from Maryland and she married a man from Birmingham, so we have had a lot to talk about. Class was great, a little rocky at first, but it turned out fine. Cuisine was very rocky...since I showed up 30 minutes late to the demo on Thursday; I missed what to do for the cockerel. The chef had to help me so much. I felt so stupid, but he was nice about it...at least I think so. He spoke in French, so I could not really understand him. The finished dish he was perfect though! In patisserie, the chef was very nice, I really like him. He teaches us demo and is just funny. He can speak English, so it helps me a ton! He would help me and then tell me to smile! I showed him my product and he told me they were perfect. So now I have confidence...I am slowly learning my way around the kitchens and how they do things. The French will come to me, eventually. Some of the students here did not speak French either, but now after doing basic, they can understand and communicate with the chefs and with other people. I am not that worried, but I try to listen and read in French. The recipes are both in French and English. I just keep telling myself I CAN DO THIS. IT will all work out.

I've talked to a few people who know people who have done the externships. They say it is worth it, but only if you get a small restaurant, well of course. That way in a small restaurant you are not stuck doing the dishes all night! However, the chefs have no tolerance for English, only in French. I am not sure if I will be doing an externship here in Paris. Instead, I might try to go to other home culinary schools. I think it would be beneficial. Or I might just be a tourist for a month and go see the sights, take my time in the museums, sit by the river, people watch by Notre Dame. Who knows. If I cannot master French in the next three months, I will not be applying for the externship, my rules. You apply for the externship at the beginning of superior, come middle March. So fingers crossed.

OH, I have forgotten to mention the kitchens. The kitchens are wonderful here. In any kitchen you walk into, there is a long marble table in the center. This is our work bench. Underneath are refrigerators and other various storage spaces for things. Around the work bench are electrical stoves, storage for pots and pans, spices, oil, sinks and convection ovens. It is beautiful. I think of Julia Child and I imagine her where I stand. I can picture her here, working. It is so cool. There are little white windows that look on the street and other homes, it is such an experience.

Well, I think that is all for now. If ya'll have any questions or want to know something, let me know. I'll try to answer it. Au Revoir

PS. Blogger.com has moved my blog from blogger to google. I don't know if this has affected anyone. If it has, I hope you were able to find the blog again with ease. The website said nothing would change. If it is to change, it is for the better. I hope that's true.

Bonsoir or bonjour,

For me it is 8:30 at night on 4 January 2007. I got home an hour ago from my first day at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. IT WAS AMAZING! It was everything LCB should be. Take for instance the structure, the building, it was PERFECT. It is a few stories tall, old looking and just perfect. It is definately better than Australia. I walked to school this morning at 8:50, to get to school by 9:30. It was a light drizzle of rain, then pouring, then nothing by the time I got to the school. I looked amazing! You enter the building going up a couple of steps and you are greeted by the admissions director and other various office people. Each speak French, English or another language. It is so cool. We got booklets, tags and were led to our rooms. I went into one of the demo rooms to be briefed on the internal rules and such. It was very informative and actually helpful.
Then we were led into the Winter Room, where it was so cold, and we got our uniform/equipment, lockers and locks, filled out office information and got a tour of the school. By this time it was past 12:30, almost one...I was late for my first class, cuisine, through no fault of my own. I changed quickly and one of the office ladies showed me to my class.
The demo rooms are just like school rooms...the teacher stands at the front writing on the chalk board or in my case cooks and the students look on and write everything down. There are flat screens angled throughout the room to show what the chef is doing and a huge three panel mirror that shadows the chef's every move. It is so much nicer than in Australia. There there were tv monitors that we could never see and the chef had to change them everytime he moved...in the beginning of school, the main tv busted. I was thirty minutes late to the class, so I missed some stuff. Hopefully I can figure that out later. The class went on with the chef speaking french and a translator telling us what he says in english! YEAH for me. At the end of class we are given portioned pieces of food that the chef has made - roasted chicken stuffed with butter and herbs, cherry tomatoes with goat cheese and sauted vegetables and oeufs a la neige with creme anglaise and blueberry sauce. It was fantastic. Then we were free to leave.
However, I did not have much time, I had another demo class at 3:30 for patisserie. This class was just as big, if not bigger and held in the orientation room. The aspects as in cuisine. At the end of the demo we were allowed to sample the almond cake, scottish cake and this other cake made of puff pastry, fro,age blqnc and apricots. It was all fantastic.
By this time it was past 6, I went to change out of my clothes and begin my walk home. I stopped off to buy bread and cheese (my dinner - a fabulous sandwich, really) and I got home by 8, I think. I was so tired. I took a long hot shower, made my kick ass sandwich dinner, popped in a dvd and went to sleep. I have to wake up early for tomorrow`s class at 8:30.
LCB Paris really is great. It is the first school and it shows. However, I did like having demo in patisserie to only those in the group. Also, I have to get to demo earlier to get a good seat. In Australia I sat in front to see everything. Here, I sat in the back...boo. I`ll work on that.
I will have to buy a few more things here. Here they give you three chef jackets and a scale, plus so much more. The people are nicer and more helpful, a huge bonus. I think I am going to like it here! However walking in the rain today will not be great for me.

Well...who wants to laugh...at my expense? Thought so.

So I had trouble sleeping last night. I tossed and turned and for the life of my could not fall asleep. The one time you need your chemistry or old English tape to help you nod off, it isn't there! Well...finally around 11am I was able to drift off into slumber land. At 12:30pm, my land lord calls - I need to go pay rent. So I get dressed, still half asleep and walk out the door, with coat, purse and scarf. OOPS! The key is still in the lock INSIDE my apartment. For safety measures I keep one the keys in the lock in my apartment to automatically lock the door when I come in. The other key is on my key chain, so I remember not to lock myself out without a key. Good going Laura! Smart move. So, now actually realizing what I did and coming out of my sleepy stage, I get down on my knees and try with my Swiss Army knife to push the key out of the key hole. You can imagine to my surprise, it did not work. I swallowed hard, part pride and part stupidity and went to hail a taxi to take me to my land lord's.

The land lord was not that helpful. It took me forever to find the damn place...through doors and locks and codes I was never given. Of all the cotton pickin nerve! I paid my rent and they called a lock smith to meet me at my apartment in an hour. Good. Well, again, being the smart one, I did not take the metro. I took a taxi to the Lourve Museum and walked the next couple of miles to my apartment along the beautiful Seine river. The water brings me peace and settles my mind - I think it is the rhythm of the waves crashing into one another. I was feeling better about myself and looking at my watching, running late to meet the lock smith. So I hailed another cab and drove the less then a mile to my apartment to meet the man. He had me in my apartment in no time flat. Amazing what a few pieces of paper (special I am sure and WD 40 will do for you).

So now....many euros short, a little smarter (we hope)and the lock smiths calling card, I am still tired. Today has been so eventful. See what happens when you try to be productive...you lock yourself out of your own place! Oh well, tomorrow will be better....I begin culinary school, again, hopefully the correct way!

I hope you all got a chuckle from my little escapade. I'm sure I will later.

Bonjour faithful readers,
Well another journey begins. I am safely in Paris, France for atleast 6 months to study at Le Cordon Bleu. It was a pain in the ass to get here, but the rewards will be worth it.
I arrived in Paris on December 29th 2006. Flying was a bit of a challenge, as always, but I got here. I finally got my luggage, after waiting for it for an hour and got into a taxi to take me to my place, 16 rue Gaston de Caillavet. It was a beautiful day to arrive in Paris, the air was crisp, the sky blue. Coming into the city, I saw the Effiel Tower and the river Seine. It was amazing to see this view. What a greeting! Here I waited for about an hour until my landlord came to let me in. He showed me aroundmy apartment which did not take long, signed some papers and then took me out to two stores where I could get the things I needed, like groceries and pots and so on. Then home to settle in.
My room... is just that, a large room. My apartment is one large room that holds my kitchen, closet, bed and lounging area. It is bigger than the room I had in Australia with nicer furniture! The bathroom is separate, which is nice. It is located to the right when you enter into the apartment. It is in it's own separate room. I have a large window that overlooks the city. There is a huge building in front of me, it blocks the Effiel Tower, but I can see the spot light of the Effiel Tower that revolves. Also, to the right of me, I can see Napoleon's Tomb, the gold just glistens. It's so wonderful. I am in Paris! I can't believe it. This really is amazing. I have to stop and soak it in.
I have not yet gone out to venture around my neighborhood, because of the nasty weather and because I can feel myself getting sick. The past couple of days the weather has turned cold and rainy. But the weather is great to just sit and get cozy in bed. I think my body finally realized that it had some time to just stop and relax. So that is what I am doing...relaxing. When school beings I will be going ninety to nothing again.
This time, I have a few more people coming to see me though. So that will be fun and something to look forward to. A friend, Brian will be coming over for a couple of weeks to eat and hang out. He is a chef and has done the program I am about to finish. He is friends with my sister. Then one of my bosses from Cafe Iz, Ken, is coming over in Feb or March, so it will be nice to see him. Of course I believe my parents will be coming over, a far less distance to travel than Australia, plus better food and more to see. I look forward to them coming.
For the next couple of days I am going to venture out, if the weather cooperates with me to find my school and get a feel for the neighborhood. There won't be anything interesting to report on, not just yet. School begins on 4th January 2007. At that time I will begin to write in the blog, until then, Happy New Year. I hope ya'll had a blast celebrating it. I drank the bubbly and watched movies. What a start the year!

Au revoir - Laura

I find traveling an adventure in itself. It truly is. Think about it, just the time difference from one place to another. We have it here in the United States, time change, from the East Coast to the West Coast. At times the time difference is mind boggling. I left today, Wednesday, the 13th from Australia and arrived home in Birmingham the same day, but I traveled a total of 23 hours. So weird!

I find traveling a tad annoying at times as well. You have to face long hours on a plane, all cramped up if you are not able to spring for business class or the first class cabin. In economy class you share a row with about two or three other people. It is not a pretty sight. There are tall people, short people, people who are slightly larger than you and those who are thinner then you (as most wish they were). The space back there in the economy place is sparse at best described. There are babies crying, kids kicking your seat and that one annoying person who always seems to sit right beside you, smacking gum or their food. Traveling is an adventure in itself. I have to remind myself of this.

I have been very fortunate to be able to travel all around the world. Most of my flights to and from these places have been so easy. A breeze if you will, to check in, get my ticket, drop off my bags and go to my gate to greet my flight. In the past year my flights have not been so pleasant. Case in point, spring break 2006. I went to Ireland with two girlfriends from college. It was a blast, but the flight getting there was not a fun adventure! We waited on the runway for an hour, just sitting, before we were allowed off the plane in Chicago to get to our other gate - the connecting flight to Dublin, Ireland. We ran, the gate just closed. We were not allowed to board. We were stranded in Chicago for the night. Not a happy camper.

The fun just keeps on coming, when I try to travel back home. The adventure never stops until you are actually home. Trying to come home early I changed my flight about two more times from the original flight. I was to leave from Sydney at 12:05 - I thought it was at right after midnight. It wasn't. The plane left at five after noon. I was in trouble. It was 9 at night, I was at the airport with three of my friends from the program and in trouble...I was not going home on Tuesday. I had to rebook my flight and stay another night in Sydney. I was going home on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Sydney time, I finally got to the airport. I was checked in about 20 minutes before the flight left - a very long line and only three or four workers on the counter to check people in. I got to the flight on time though, boarded on time. Everything was fine. My seat was in the middle of the row and in the middle seat. There was no wiggle room. But since I was short I figured out a way to sleep, for about an hour, on the 13 and a half hour plane ride. The rest of the time I watched movies and ate the two meals they gave us.

Los Angeles was not eventful. It was actually very easy. I was able to rebook my flight home from LA to Dallas to Birmingham. It was just a long layover in LA, but well worth it. I got something to eat and a very large coffee. Then I was on my way home. Again, a very full flight to Dallas. The couple behind me had a small child. She liked to yell at a very high pitch every so often along with a small kick. It was a great plane ride. I tried to sleep as much as I could. The flight to Birmingham was less full, I was able to spread out a touch to sleep for about an hour. The only real headache from this whole trip was the long plane ride from Sydney to LA and missing the whole flight all together. Morale of the story: read your ticked properly and remember international flights run on a 24 hours clock. Very important piece of information.

My journey through Australia and New Zealand have come to an end. It was a great journey and adventure. I learned so much about myself and my passion for cooking/baking. It was a great experience! Now to await for the next adventure in Paris....here I come.

This is the last entry I will be writing about, well for this adventure in Australia. My culinary adventure in basic cuisine and basic patisserie has come to an end. Today was my last day of patisserie, ending in the final assessment. I made a fruit flan covered in kiwi, strawberries and blueberries. I got very good marks. I also made palmiers and vol au vents - figures made out of puff pastry. It was a little hard at times, but I got through it. I had to remake the palmiers - the first batch was not able to be presented. But overall - it was good. I passed everything - theory tests and practicals. So I will get a diploma. Now we just have to wait what kind of grade I will get. Hopefully I will get distinction, meaning an A!

Culinary school has been a great experience. It has not only taught me about the food in this industry, but also the people you would be working with, the language barriers and about myself. It has been an interesting journey. I've asked myself if I would ever do this again. My answer: yes. I have been able to meet some amazing chefs and some interesting people.

There has been a minor hiccup in the Paris Le Cordon Bleu - I might not be going. The school has run out of space in the intermediate patisserie. They will let me know next week if there is room for me next term. Hopefully there will be room for me to go. Paris would be awesome, especially in the winter! To study there would be unbelievable. But things will work out how they are supposed to. I'll be returning to the States on Tuesday, December 12th - so I will be seeing ya'll soon. Happy holidays and a happy new year!

Check back here after the new year to see where I am - Paris to continue the culinary program or somewhere else entirely. Where the road will lead.....to another journey somewhere...waiting.

I'm in the Home Stretch..one day and counting.

I left off on Tuesday's happening. Wednesday was my last day in cuisine. It was nice. It was very busy! I was the only one who finished everything on the agenda. We make Fish timbales (a fish mousse) with saffron sauce, seared kangaroo with a sweet potato galatte and crepes, plain and filled with pears. It was a busy day in class - those who failed the desserts section yesterday, 3 of them, had to redo them today in class. It was bittersweet to be done with cuisine. So happy for it to be over, but sad because I am leaving Australia.

Thursday was kinda a slow day in class, patisserie. We had a practice day in preparation for Friday's class/assessment. I made palimers and coffee eclairs. After class, I had to take a cuisine theory exam. It was easy, lots of questions though. There were a few questions that made me scratch my head...but a few points lost here and there won't hurt, I figure. Let's hope that's right.

Today, Friday, was the first day for the patisserie final assessment. It went very well. We did not get feedback, but I knew I did a good job. Herve, the head chef at Le Cordon Bleu, came in to assess the products, along with the head pastry chef from the sister school (TAFE). When we came back from lunch, I found an eclair missing. That meant that Herve ate my eclair, meaning it was good enough for him to eat! That must mean something!! I presented 10 eclairs, all uniform shape, color and shiny/tempered coffee flavored fondant. The eclairs were piped with coffee patisserie cream. They were great! I also had to make two puff pastry doughs, in two different methods, English and French method. The methods are different because of the way you incorporate the butter, all the same ingredients though. It was a good day. Good products!

Tomorrow is my last day in basic, hopefully. Tomorrow is filled with making a fruit flan, vol au vents and palimers, in four hours. Tomorrow will be busy, but I think it will be fun. Tomorrow's class really will be bittersweet - the final day.

In class today, we got to go into the kitchen 30 minutes before the assessment began - meaning 7:30. It was like the running of the bulls, with all the students running in to get all their equipment first. It was crazy. You can get run over and get hurt in the dish room just reaching for a bowl. There are 14 of us. It's crazy at times. There are more than enough bowls, pots and pans, but limited numbers of mixing bowls. This causes alot of chaos, chaos that is not needed! So I just stand back, let them gather their equipment and then I go in. The same thing happens in cuisine, but instead of 14 students there are 43 students trying to gather all their equipment. In the cuisine kitchen there are not enough bowls, pots, pan, trays, strainers, measuring cups and so on....so it is a race to the pot room, a real running of the bulls! People can get hurt. The lesson I learned - make do with what you've got when your given it. It's crazy.

Say some prayers....for tomorrow's assessment! See ya'll soon.