Just wanted to share a busy day in my life as a-wanna-be-chef and everything that's happening behind the scenes before a dinner service :)
A total of 56 dining guests got to taste the colourful and flavourful dishes below. Merci chefs and merci
Ferrandi Paris for this wonderful experience.
Happy reading,
Maison Emil Paris :)
So here was my day ... and look at the beautiful dishes we cooked and served :)
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| Pretty amuse bouche by both chefs |
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| Smoked egg with beer as starter by CH |
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| Green asparagus in sea bass as starter by CG |
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| Fish dish - Hay infused cod with green asparagus by CH |
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| Fish dish - Green lasagna and lobster by CG |
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| Meat - Squab wrapped in potato by CG |
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| Squab cut and served at client's table |
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| Meat - Foie gras cooked in sealed casserole by CH |
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| Dessert - Cubique multi-textured chocolate by CG |
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Minted cucumber ice, fromage blanc ice cream by CH
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Thursday June 5th
8am: I got to sleep until 8am today, yay :) Such a luxury to get to sleep 90 minutes longer, as usually I need to get up at 6.30 am. My mood is rising already :)
9 am: Dropped off my son at kindergarden and headed straight to my class at Ferrandi
It's a special day today as it's my last restaurant service in Ferrandi's training restaurant "Le Premier".
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| Training restaurant at Ferrandi - Le Premier |
Ferrandi International Section will be hosting a "diner des chefs" tonight, i.e. a dinner where two menus designed by two external guest chefs will be offered to dining guests.
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| Diner des chefs - asparagus as main flavour |
Our two groups in the International Intensive Cuisine Program will have the honour of cooking alongside two great guest chefs, Chef Christopher Hache and Chef Christophe Girardot. I am excited to learn plenty of new techniques from them :)
10 am: Introduction of guest chefs, Chef Christopher Hache (CH) and Chef Christophe Girardot (CG), and premium asparagus producer, Sylvain Erhardt
10.30 am: Review of dinner menu and explanation of chef Girardot's recipes with help from my teaching chef
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| Chef Girardot (left) explaining his recipes to our group |
11 am - 1 pm: Mise en place (setup), initial preparation and cooking
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| Mise en place/setup |
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| A happy team ready to serve :) |
1 pm - 2 pm: Lunch break
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| One of the desserts |
6 pm - 6:30 pm: Presentation of all dishes on the menu to our chefs
- Amuse bouche:
- Marinated cocles and razor clams, salicorne in coriander oil
- Savoury cannel with smoked eel and confit tomatoes
- Starter:
- Green asparagus in seabass, asparagus salad with citrus and organ oil
- Smoked egg with beer
- Fish:
- Hay infused cod, green asparagus with buckwheat
- Green lasagna with lobster, tomato and truffle oil
- Meat:
- Foie gras cooked in a sealed casserole
- Squab wrapped in Agria potato, confit leg, cherry jus
- Dessert:
- Grand cru chocolate multi-textured cubique, cocoa sauce
- Minted cucumber ice, fromage blanc ice cream
6.30 pm - 7.15 pm: Dinner break for chefs and "quality control" of dishes by the chefs
6.30 pm - 7 pm: Dinner break for students
7 pm - 7.30 pm: Cleanup & Setup for dinner service
7.30 pm: Dinner service starts :)
First order arrives and the show is on. It's hot, it's steamy, it goes fast, orders given and received, it gets loud sometimes... and it's fun :)
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| Amuse bouche for first table |
10.30 pm: Dinner service ends
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| Chef Girardot and Chef Hache - more relaxed now that the service is over :) |
10.30 pm: Kitchen cleanup (yup, we don't only cook, we have to clean up too)
11 pm: Debriefing & Thank You's
Everybody is happy for a job well done :)
11.30 pm: End of day
Time to go home to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and we have to be in the kitchen 7.45am for a new cooking class. It's intensive, but I am still hanging in there :)
Photo courtesy of Thierry Delabre, Stephane Gabrielly and Lukita Lusiviana.
