OMG………………………………………

I had orientation on Saturday, then my first class on Tuesday, first practical on Wednesday and geez I absolutely LOVE it!

Everyone is so warm and friendly, not the uptight French like I was expecting. Everything is translated into English so I don’t feel like I’m missing out because I don’t know French. And the chefs are so skilled, incredibly impressive, and one in particular is hilarious as well.

The class schedule is… interesting. It’s set until June- as in I know exactly when my classes are each day until then. Here’s the fun thing though (well maybe not fun), every day is different, every week is different. As in Monday I could have class at 8:30am, Wednesday all day, Thursday not at all, and then next Monday have class at 3:30. Weird, yes. But! As I was saying, it is set till June- so I can go ahead and plan side trips up till then when I have multiple days free. So not the best, but it works.

One thing about the uniforms, they’re pretty sweet w/ the Cordon Bleu logo on the jackets. But I’m short and have a rather large back side, so despite the small size fitting up top, I had to go up two sizes so the last button would fit around my hips. haha ugh. I think I’m going to go down one size, move over the last button, or just say who cares and wear my apron over it so it just fits a little bit better. 🙂 But on to more important things.

We made our first thing yesterday- Diamates aka “Diamonds” because of the granulated sugar around the edge of these shortbread/sable cookies. Super cute. We also learned how to make paper cones, which we’ll be using in our practical tomorrow morning.

They are the ones toward the middle without the chocolate. Oh and those aren’t the one’s I made- those are the chef’s from the Demo class.

A view of the class- kinda. Not the best photo b/c we’re really not supposed to be taking photos during class. shhh. The translator is the lady up front. There’s an angled mirror above the work surface so you can see what’s happening. There are also four TV screens on the wall where we’re sitting for more close up views.

The class format is to go to a demonstration class first where the chef shows you how to prepare several recipes, of only a couple you’ll be doing in the Practical class. The ingredients have been of the best quality- I’m an assistant this week so I’m responsible for getting together the supplies needed for the recipes before the practical class starts.

Here’s one interesting thing I’ve learned so far that makes total sense- when cutting out rolled cookies, the chef would flip over the cookie before placing it on the sheet. The reason was that the top has less flour, thus sticking a little to the parchment paper preventing it from sliding around, and it allows you to brush off the excess flour on top!

We’re making a Classic French Apple Tart tomorrow! Wish me luck…..