Truc

If you have a cast iron pan heat it up really hot and sear it quick then your fine. devein the foie gras though. We also soaked our foie when we were makeing the torchon in milk over night and deveined it.

I remember my first time eating foie gras, it was a small piece on a plate left over from a piece of foie that my chef was cooking for a special client and offered me the piece. At this same place i got to try a real authentic foie gras torchon (welll they did it sousvide style) made very simple with reglise (like a licorice powder used to make icecreams etc) it is served cold and melted in your mouth withs ome great toastes french baguettes. oh the memories.

Hello, this is strange, because I was actually thinking about starting my own catering business. And honestly, I have no idea where to start. I have some of the cooking equipment and I want to do this as a hobby. I used to cook professionally, in kitchens but it seems like catering is a whole different world. Just beingout of the cooking gig for a while I just wanted to do some part time catering on my days off from my job and before I start school again. Any advice would be great!

Mike i like how you mesh "drug addicts, alcoholic and culinary school students in the same sentence." Any who I am also some who recently got out of the game from the culinary scene and let me say that its quite hard to just give up. I stll have those times where I ache to go back but then most of the time im glad im not doing it anymore. Although, if you are thnking about going into the industry like everyone already has said, work in a restaurant you would like to work at first for at least a year full on. Stage in between adn dedicate your time time to some more exclsuive restaurant and offer them your free labour and learn. And after you do that you could decide to go to culianry school but IMHO the best way to learn is to buy a plane ticket to Europe, travel eat and work adn as apprenctice (get a visa first) and learn that way. I did this both and worked and learned and had great experiences but after a while the realities of the industry just took a toll on me and I just had to leave. I might go back to it do some part time work for a caterer for fun or start a small business but who knows. Good luck and be sure to take care of yourself above all.

there was one book that I bought while I was in France, I dont remember the exact title but it from the ecole ritz-escoffier, and they do modern twists on old classics and it is amazing, I think its actually a study aid though but it still great nonetheless. The recipes are modern but feel authentically french if you know what i mean. Lots of great recipes, new techniques, information of french products and preparation methods for various products etc...i highly recommend it.

there was one book that I bought while I was in France, I dont remember the exact title but it from the ecole ritz-escoffier, and they do modern twists on old classics and it is amazing, I think its actually a study aid though but it still great nonetheless. The recipes are modern but feel authentically french if you know what i mean. Lots of great recipes, new techniques, information of french products and preparation methods for various products etc...i highly recommend it.

Hello, just some personal advice, i think having livedand worked in France for a while, i find that you can go to majority of the cafes and bistros and get a great meal. MY favourite was just wxploring the local scene and trying the food at the hole in the wall places and they always turn out great. Also, the attitudes from the south of France to the North of France vary greatly. The south is more realxed and everyone is much more pleasant. The north is more umm... how to I put this... more stressed and a little rude. Paris is a great city though i visited all the land marks and you could have stayed int he louvre for days not really scratch the surface. Food quality throughout France though is superb. I can't say the same for London though, don't get me started n my stay there. Its kinda hit and miss there. I just loved how the French viewed food there, its amazing, just the level of respect and quality there is hard to find here. As for suggestions to restaurants, I dont really, know, most of them are amazing anyway.

has anyone mentioned tiramisu? thats my favourite!

I totally sympathize with you man, I just recently left the industry. I have thought about this time and time again and its really hard to say why. The kitchen is a strange place though. Mys elf i burnt out faster than normal becasue of my competitive attitude always comparing myself and just beating myself up for things i could not control. Although as the days go by and in my situation it was not the cehf who made it a bad experience but its something that I couldnt explain. I just didnt feel as if I was enjoying it as much as I did anymore. I was woking in France at this point and the kitchen I was working in was very welcoming i made some great friends, but something was missing an di couldn't explain it. I was working long long hours, i had no friends outside of the kitchen, barely spoke to my family, I was a social outcast. I came back home at some point and started to look for a job and when i finally got one at a very prominent place, i just didnt want to go back anymore and it was just a feeling I got that just told me it wasnt where i belonged anymore. I have thought about going back from time to time and i can only describe it as the "itch" it can be very rewarding working in the kitchen butit comes at a price. I am going to give myself a few years off from the industry, im not saying that i wont go back for sure but i am going to go back to school and get a busineess degree before i decide. I come from a back ground where educationi s very important so going to cook for aliving didnt appeal to my family, but I ended up deciding what I wanted to do with my life because it is my future right. Well it has come full circle now and im going back to school not because im being pressured into it by my family but because im choosing to go back n my own terms. Anyways this has turned out to be an interesting rant for me haha nice to get things off my chest. But to close i just wanted to wish you the best of luck and you know you might find yourself back in the industry and you might not and its not a matter of you're too weak, too whatever it is, you do what you think is right for you, what make you happy. I know it can be confusing though, because you will probably tink " well, cooking makes me happy, so is that what i should be doing" or even "i've been doing it so long, why stop now, just a few more years." But really make up your mind 100% before yiou make your decision. What's really important in your life, for me i realized it was my family cuz you only got one and your loved ones will alwys be there for you so don't neglect them. OK take it from someone whos been there and back you'll know what when its time to leave and when to go back. LAter

awesome paris is such a wonderful city. ALthough i haven't worked in Paris, i cannot give you any advice on how the people are because in the south of France the attitude are much different. Although, where can you get the most out of your stage then in PAris right? I think ArtisanBaker said it perfectly, BON COURAGE! C'est pas facile. WHen I recall my stage, i would describe it as the best and worst experience of my life, you'll meet alot of people and make alot of friends im really excited for you, im sure you'll do great.

I love cookbooks too but i tend to only buy cookbooks that are a good reference point and can teach you something new like techniques from different types of cuisines etc... books that get alittle wacky and more complicated ill buy if they are on sale or cheap like in a art book store.. but the wacky stuff i usually leave to my imagination!

Oh the good ol' baguette. When i first arrived in France it was the first things that I got, along with some camembert and Jam. So delicious. It was umcomparabel to any other breads that I have tried. You cant get that quality here. Im a little spoiled though because i worked in a kitchen in France and we always had an array of different bread and I was always learning about a new product they had in France that i have never seens before. In the restaurant (quite small maybe 70 covers on a normal night not big enough to justify producing out own bread) we had these petit pain smaped like little tiny baguettes that we would heat up inthe oven before service from the freezer. They were absolutley delicious though just the right amount of crisp crust and soft and fragrant interior. At the end of the night My favourit part would be taking a few and eating it with some cheese or "rosette" or other cold cuts i could find in our staff fridge. MMmmMmm it hit the spot thats for sure after a long shift.... Even my friends from italy when asked that they will miss the most about french food (although very proud of their italian food) they said it would the bread. It will be interesting when my very good friend the pastry chef from France moves to montreal (boulanger by trade). I will go visit him and ask him about this. After we crack open a bottle of wine hes gonna smuggle back with him and that wheel of cheese tucked safely in his jacket LOL! (Who knew the french do smell! Just kidding!)

Are you doing this stage in France? Or somewhere else. And how often are you going to be working there?

I think it would be fittign that my first post be here. Just alittle about me, i used to be in the restaurant industry and im taking a "break" at the moment to go back to school and study some business. Im not sure if I will continue inthe cooking arena but I know I will stay close to the food industry. I came back from working in France and everything was just different when I got back. Anyway I was hankering to make something so i whipped something up the other day andthis is what I got. Its some of my favourite flavour combos. This is a steak au poivre, with caramelised onion and sauteed pdt, red wine sauce, quenelle of blue cheese whipped cream and wilted arugula (a cause to the heat from beef) on top! Enjoy!