Happy New Year Mes Amis! I am back in Paris ready for round two of my studies at Le Cordon Bleu!
Things are going to be different in 2024 —I am changing it up, stepping outside my comfort zone, and giving Patisserie a whirl! I suspect Patisserie will be very different and more difficult for me as it is is all baking and desserts—much more chemistry than cooking. Secret’s out —not my strong suit. I am an “add a dash of this”, and “throw in a little of that”, kind of cook. Patisserie will require much more discipline, and the dreaded, actual “measuring” of ingredients. Also, just to add a bit to the difficulty level, the regular course was full, so I was forced to enroll in INTENSIVE PATISSERIE. Kind of nervous. The difference between intensive and the regular is that intensive is compressed into 6 weeks instead of the usual 12. That means I will have closer to 40 hours of class per week instead of 20. I do not expect to see daylight again until February 8—after my final.
In order to get adjusted and ready for school, my husband and I arrived in Paris December 30 for a little vacay and we were both excited for time in Paris alone together before 2024 truly got underway. Sounds perfect right? Be careful what you wish for—you might get it.
We arrived, no problem, weather not too bad, apartment warm, and my wonderful housekeeper had even put up Christmas decorations so it had an extra homey feeling. All was well. December 31 dawned bright and sunny—getting us really in the mood for New Year’s Eve! We had planned a super fun day in fabulous Paris, with a great meal and lots of champagne. It started off well. A delicious lunch at my favorite—Caviar Kaspia, complete with said caviar and champagne. Followed by more champagne at Hotel Costes, followed by more champagne at Cheval Blanc, when all of a sudden, I began not to feel so good. Not so good turned into terrible, followed by death is surely better than this sometime before midnight, and for the next three days I was down for the count. Never got out of my pajamas and never left the apartment. The dastardly flu had got me. My poor husband literally had to forage for food over the following days as everything was closed and I could not even think about eating, let alone helping to prepare or acquire meals. After caring for me for 72 hours straight, and seeing and doing absolutely nothing in Paris, he finally departed on the 3rd, leaving behind a Z-pak and his best wishes for my recovery. So we had our alone time in Paris…it just somehow missed the mark.
A very tasty morsel at Caviar Kaspia!
A still perky balloon from Cheval Blanc, a remnant from New Year’s Eve before it turned bad!
I was finally feeling a little better yesterday and today I actually washed my filthy hair and put on some makeup and made it to my LCB orientation. Boy have I missed LCB. The place was bustling with aspiring chefs all trying to get their gear together, put on their uniforms and figure out where things are. I breezed in feeling confident, got my locker assignment and hauled my knife kit, uniforms, bowls and scale up the the three flights of stairs to the ladies locker room and stuffed it all in. Now you can see why everything has to come out before you can even take your clothes off to change.
My uniform is buried at the bottom under the knife kit and bowls
Rid of all those accoutrements I breezed back down the stairs to be greeted with this hilarious sign below—The Buddies Desk—which as you can see has no buddies anywhere in sight. So typically LCB. If I need help I know where not to look.
Sadly no buddies.
Further descending the stairs I spied the set up for the welcome party that was to follow orientation. It looked a little skimpy—a few champagne bottles and no food—though it was billed as featuring Gallettes des Rois— which is a special cake in France to celebrate the Wise Men’s arrival in Bethlehem, but which I always envision as that dorky cake you always see around Mardis Gras time that is purple and green and has the baby baked inside. Truly terrible. In any event, it didn’t look that great to me, so I decided to pass and hurry back home to continue my convalescence before my first day of class on Monday. Though I was sorry to miss my future patisserie classmates—hoping there might be one or two who are super fun and age appropriate—fingers crossed.
A little light for the 150 new recruits!
Even though I am now alone, the good news is I have nothing going on till Monday— so an entire free weekend to do WHATEVER I WANT. Which I can tell you now, includes a trip to the flea market and the Fondation Louis Vuitton where there is a huge Rothko exhibit that I do not want to miss. Finally, I also want to walk as much as I can while the Christmas lights strung across most of the streets in the neighborhood are still aglow—they stay up till almost the end of January, which would bug me no end in Dallas, but which I adore in Paris... go figure.
Thanks to all for the encouragement! Xx
Bonne année, Amy. Not even the first day of class and you already have me amused, educated and entertained. Your classmates will be so lucky to have you in their class. Best of luck with Intensive Patisserie. You can do it! Can’t wait for the adventure to unfold AND to read about it. As always, thank you for sharing!!