Piano lessons

Seventh week of studying cooking in Culinary Arts & restaurant management

So, the last week of studying cooking has arrived!

Regular tests to check our knowledge are on the menu…

In that context, preparations of meat and fish are imposed and evaluated by a chef. The 25 students in our class are split in groups of half or one fourth of the class depending on the various training modules, 13 students in our case. Working together necessarily creates cohesion and affinities; in fact, a sole common passion drives us: guess which one…

So it was that all week, after having prepared our stations, material and foodstuffs, we had to execute basic techniques of French cuisine, placing our preparations on a plate to have them tasted by our chef. Implacable, the verdict always fell during the tasting: cooking and seasoning always came to the forefront.

Amongst these recipes, the inescapable white veal stew in traditional style, navarin-style lamb or else the famous sauté whiting à la meunière appear on the list… Those who are adepts of dietetic cooking should stay away!

Each day, during these 2 hours of examination, I find myself thrown into a fire drill, with all the adrenalin that goes with it…

On this battlefield where the challenge is constant, your concentration takes control: nothing matters around me and all my senses are focused on a single and unique objective: giving the best of myself. Hot ahead! I burn myself when grabbing a pan just out of the oven; I flame the cognac; I take a quick look at my glazed onions; too late, they are burned! I start over, I peel the onions, the knife slips… Ouch! Go on, put a glove on it and get back to the front lines… This series of actions and the demands that stem from it can sometimes make teamwork complicated. Nevertheless, the teachers and chefs at the Institut are there to reorient each student if needed, and transmit to us the taste for excellence by giving us the tools necessary to strive for it.

Overall, each week was an excellent exercise because it helped me to better position myself within the section. Personally, I was able to face my shortcomings and weaknesses by constantly putting my work into question without having my passion diminish.

François Marchenay, 1st year student in the Culinary Arts & restaurant management