Amuse Bouche

Months have passed in this new world of cuisine. Where there was once 8 people in my class working towards the Grand Diplôme, there are now only 6. The program continues to be rigorous--the 3 months of Intermediate cuisine and pâtisserie were tough and the schedule as in The Basic term was mostly full of days in the kitchen, busily learning, cooking, baking--okay, all you foodies are probably envious, yes, it is really amazing when I step back and realize I go to school all day and practice my passion, and in Paris.

Many people have asked where I have traveled in europe while I've been living here. It's an absolutely great and valid question. The answer is Normandy (see the August posting) and only Normandy. While I know without a doubt that for myself I made the best choice in doing the Grand Diplôme, this program leaves absolutely no time for day or weekend trips. At the start of each term my follow Grand Diplôme friend and I scour the schedule and search for possible weekends that we can take a trip or maybe two. This term in Superior, we found just one shining weekend in March, 2 weeks before we are set to graduate. Well, you take what you can get and I will be off to Switzerland for a little snowboarding!

With all this scheduling nonesense, I have been absent from Macaroon Honey a bit too long. Going forward, I hope to provide you with a weekly amuse bouche or perhaps a petit four -- a petite bite of life here in Paris. Continue to enjoy and pass along this blog to other friends, hungry for more in life.

First course: Bûche de Noël
A bit of a look back now that it is February, but Bûche de Noël could still be found everywhere when I arrived back to Paris in late December, after a 5 week stay in the states. While my sister really wanted me to make an American yule log cake complete with a partially cut off branch, fork tines running through the "bark" and little meringue mushrooms growing off of it, it's just not what we are taught or what you can buy at the pâtisserie here in Paris. Here, they are expertly filled and covered with candy colors and shiny glazes. Okay, there are a few petite champignons here and there, I'll give you that.

View from a wonderful pâtisserie in the Marais (just outside of the St. Paul metro stop).

Courseulles sur Mer

The past 4 1/2 weeks have been more than challenging. School has been non-stop with 3 classes a day, a mix of practicals and demonstrations each day. For example, today I made Canard à la Orange, Gnochi and a Buche Noel cake. It was a long day and a lot of cooking. On top of it all, LCB is in the midst of final exams. Last week was our written exams where we had to review every recipe we have done so far, memorize the exact quantities for 8 - 10 recipes and review everything in our materials and everything our chefs have told us ever. Next up at the end of this week is our final, final exam, the practical exam. This is worth 50% of our total mark for the term. It is do or die.

In order to wind down from all the stress and prepare for this current week of studying, I went on holiday with a few friends to Courseulles sur Mer, in Normandy for the bank holiday this past weekend. We literally went to the train boutique and asked what tickets were available asap (and cheap). After going around and around with the ticket agent (at some point we thought we might be going to Switzerland), we purchased tickets to Deauville, France, about 2 hours from Paris. We knew nothing about this place. Because of last minute decision making, we also ended up with no hotel or plans for what we were going to do once we arrived, but we were all up for a fun adventure so I packed my bag with 1/2 the clothes I have here in Paris and was off for a much needed weekend.

Deauville


This town is gorgeous. With great food, markets, shopping--simply a picturesque town.

People drive lamborghinis in Deauville.


There are more photos to share, but Blogger is having technical difficulties, so I will post more photos and information shortly.