First Week Complete!

As expected, Le Grand Diplome is very challenging. On most days, there will be a mixture of demonstrations and practicals from 8:30am - 6pm, composed of 3 classes a day. The days are long and tiring. I am glad to have arrived early in Paris to completely get over jet lag as I would have been hurting with the intense schedule if I hadn't.

Punctuality is extremely important at Le Cordon Bleu. Classes start at 1/2 past and roll call begins at 25 after. The rules state you can be up to 15 minutes late but it is at the discretion of the Chef as to whether he (no female Chefs) will allow a student to be even one minute late. So far, no Chefs allow the 15 minute rule and once roll is called, the doors to the room are locked from the inside.

In my first exciting week, I had several demos and 1 patisserie practical and 3 cuisine practicals. The demos are great because the Chef demonstrates 3-4 recipes, one of which you prepare in your practical. Because of this you are learning so much each day. The Chef works on all 3 recipes at once so superior notetaking skills is a must. You are encouraged to stop the Chef while he is demonstrating to ask questions. It is assumed if you do not ask questions that you already know the recipe or why he is doing something. It is a truly fantastic opportunity to be able to ask all the questions I've always wondered about directly to a classically trained Chef. There is even an MOF Chef on staff at LCB who teaches patisserie. To be clear, MOF is the highest distinction you can receive ever as a Chef.

The practicals are intense. The whole time you are working fast and furious to prepare to start the recipe -- getting all your knives out, preparing your workspace, gathering the correct utensils. You can't wear a watch for sanitary reasons so keeping track of time is challenging. After you are prepared to start, it's just a frenzy of activity in the kitchen. While you are working on your recipe, the Chef is coming around checking on everyone's work ensuring you are working correctly and he will stop and demonstrate if necessary.

Additionally, while you are working the Chef may stop the students work to demonstrate another skill which is cool because it's more personal learning. After the mad dash to finish, you look down at your beautiful finished work and realize you've done so much work for so little food. I have always had tremendous respect for where my food comes from and who prepares the food. This week in particular, I salute fish mongers everywhere. In our second cuisine practical, we filleted whole whiting fish. It was great because now I can practice with the fresh fish at the market, but it is so difficult to do correctly. My fish came out very nicely. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of my finished dish.

Once you complete your dish, the Chef will check your plate and then taste your work. This is the height of the ~2 hours of work. This climatic event last approximately 30 seconds as you quietly pray you have prepared the dish in the best manner possible. After the taste, Chef will give you the critique and then as quickly as you can you begin cleaning up your workspace to leave your area clean and ready for the next class.

It all happens so fast and this coming week the grading begins...

The following photos are reproductions of two of the dishes. I replated at home which is not as nice as when done at school. I will try to bring my camera to practicals.

Poached chicken with supreme sauce and rice au gras.


This dish is very delicious. The sauce and the rice are my favorite part. Yes, there is butter in the sauce but not that much.

Diamond cookies


Super tasty shortbread. Difficult to make a perfect round. Infinite variation can be made off of the recipe. We have ton of these at home because both my roommate and I are in patisserie so double of all sweets!