TDG: Food. France. Now.

[Bux]

I'm a regular Jean d'Arc.

Jeanne d'Arc, non?

[Louisa Chu]

I'm a regular Jean d'Arc.

Jeanne d'Arc, non?

Oui, Chef! Jeanne d'Arc!

[Louise Quatorze]

LC--I believe I may have been the first to ask about bringing my pet and Mme. Gallagher said no because who knows where it would lead. I had bought a special blue collar and leash at Samaritane for the occasion and thought he should share it with me. He had much to do with my joy at being in Paris; Westie owners from all over the world would stop and give a pat. Not to mention my neighbors knew I lived in their quartier and was not just a tourist.

Superior exams were changed right after I graduated. We worked in teams in three, self-chosen, and had two hours to prep before going to the demo kitchen where we could have one assistant. Forty-five minutes to plate the technical and 2 hours to plate the final. Three plates for the judges and one for pictures. I ended up liking the demo kitchen, lots of room, lots of pans and the kibitzing from the chairs was helpful. When my mandoline was acting up (It really was!) two classmates in the audience offered up theirs. Our group was quite a team and we always helped each other out. When someone would show up at an 8:30 am practical direct from the clubs, or Amsterdam, we would divide up the tasks: one would do his mirepoix, another dismember the chicken or turn the carrots. We were happy they showed up at all. One student cut himself badly enough sharpening his knife for the Boeuf Bourguigon he dropped out the course entirely so we thought it best for the impaired to stay away from sharp objects. It was us against the school and not each other. My biggest complaint about the final exams was at the end all we received was a number. Every other dish we prepared received a verbal response and then there was no indication on what was good or bad which I found frustrating.

Chef Bruno, is he the one who looks like Richard Nixon? I found most the chefs very entertaining and thought they would make a great sitcom. I gave up on the idea but now since it not only OK to deride the French but encouraged, it could be a winner.

My puppy has been vary patient and is now demanding some attention and I need to sugar my cherries. I have been candying some cherries to coat in chocolate for another test recipe; you start with a 3:1 sugar syrup and add 100 g. of sugar every day for a week until the cherries are all sugar. And people think organic is healthy.

Good luck on the stage. We ate at AD/PA and were given a tour of the kitchen afterwards, it was spotless. The meal was excellent but the sight of six people running over when a friend tried to remove his dinner coat was truly memorable. They upped the AC and all was well.

LQ

[Louisa Chu]

LQ, it's Chef Guy - Guy Shock - who's usually down in the sous-sol, who looks like Tricky Dick. My classmate Chin Sin dubbed him Chef Mirepoix back in Basic because of one of his early rave outs on the cut. That and because he demanded the same kind of uniformity from us students. And I suspect because we were anticipating that he'd be the victim in some kind of Poirot murder mystery.

Chef Bruno - Bruno Strill - just started last fall 2002. You would love him. An officer and a gentleman.

What kind of cherries are you using? And sans chocolat they are non-fat too.

What did you eat at ADPA? And did you go during CB? I hope to dine there before and after my hopeful stage. See how my perceptions will inevitably change. But I can't go there during - that's too weird.