Fire Inside and Out

Exam Jitters

The last day of school finally arrived and I was giddy with excitement.

I came early just to soak it all in. I am on the cusp of completing my basic cuisine requirements and I cannot wait! We had one last thing to prepare and it actually looked promising, and something I may cook at home-veal paupiettes. I know you are dying to hear all about it.

The veal was pounded thin and and upon it was placed a mixture of shallots, parsley, tiny cubes of veal trimmings, and duxelles (finely chopped mushrooms) with a little Armagnac and white wine to give it a little oomph. The veal was folded around the stuffing like a little paper bag and tied neatly into a little pumpkin shape with a nice apron of bacon fat wrapped around it for flavor, and covered with a little mesh-like piece of fat that closely resembled a basketball net. I have never seen anything like it, but it was very useful in adding flavor and keeping the little veal pumpkin all neat and tidy for cooking.

The little veal balls were cooked in the oven, nestled in a liquid filled with diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions and a little more wine and veal stock. The whole room smelled delicious. The garnishments were turned glazed carrots and pearl onions with little lardons crossed like an X on the plate.

All in all a very satisfying dish to make and to eat. We worked quickly as there was a lot of chopping and a lot of things cooking at once and as the two hour and fifteen minute limit approached, we were running a little behind. One student in our class hit the mark time-wise, and I and another student were not far behind, but the majority of the class was struggling. As I finished plating my dish and presented it to Chef for evaluation the fire alarm began to sound and it was not a drill.

Yummy Veal Paupiettes

Everyone at LCB was forced to evacuate immediately and as we stood outside, our plates getting cold, people stood right up against the windows—which seemed a little dangerous—I mean, if there was a fire shouldn’t we have been farther away from the building? But that wasn’t all. Everyone immediately began to light up and have a smoke while we were standing there. I was kind of amazed, but also had to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. If your building is on fire in France, grab your cigarettes—calms the nerves. Priorities people.

After cigarettes were smoked and plans for after-class celebrations made, our little break concluded and we all marched back in again to finish up. It was possibly the most blasé fire alarm I have ever seen, but so typically French.

As we were already running behind, this totally derailed the finish point, and Chef immediately began yelling that we were all too slow and the fire alarm was no excuse. And so it goes at LCB. I gave a little shrug, packed up my things and headed out into the rain. He can be as mad as he wants to be. I am done here-for now anyway.

People standing smoking right by the door during the fire alarm.

That evening my daughter and I celebrated with dinner at Girafe where the food was delicious as always and views inside and out were spectacular.

Most beautiful cocktail ever!

The twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower always make me feel lucky.

I still have exams to get through but I have a good feeling about it. We have a written exam, for which I am hosting a study sesh Chez Amy. That ought to be interesting. Then the dreaded final practical where will be asked to prepare one of the 28 dishes we have made with no notes and no recipes. I am not sure I can memorize all of them before next week but I am going to try! Wish me luck!