L'Ecole des Chefs

[PaulaJ]

The program/school sends you a chef's jacket, embroidered w. their

name and yours prior to your departure plus an apron. There was

a certificate mailed to me after completion of the program. You are instructed to supply yourself w. additional jackets, rubber soled shoes and chef's pants.

M. Boyer was present at Les Crayeres 4 out of the 5 days. I did get glances of him in his chef's attire on these days during the service hours and presumed him to be mingling among guests. One time he walked into the kitchen and handed a sous chef a note/piece of paper. The only

period of time he was in the kitchen was 45 minutes one day during

lunch. He stood at the command post, passing the plates and clapping

for service but did not cook or otherwise touch the food. Thierry Voisin

was present at the command post for most of the rest of the time.

Sometimes he was assisted by M. Guilland and if M. Voisin was absent

for brief periods, M. Guilland took over. He also appeared calm and competent.

The elevator of which you speak is found at your [sharp] left as you

begin entering the service area. It is located across from the very confined space in which the sommeliers operate. The elevator [now,no giggles] goes both up and down. The 'up' opens into a supply closet

whose door opens onto the hallway of a guest floor. 'Down' leads

you to the laundry, patisserie and butcher's area as well as staff

kitchen and bathroom. Also at that level ---and perhaps also below

and outside-- there are storerooms.

As you may have gathered by now, all desserts must come up

on the elevator. This [or so it appeared to me] led to a certain

amount of scurry-if not chaos- during the middle-late service. The

elevator is petite. During service they load it with a pizza rack [i'm

certain that there is a more elegant name for this...but I don't know it.]. They 'stop'/hold the elevator at the basement level. Then as desserts

are prepared they are rushed to the rack [run there if it includes

ice cream--which many dessert plates do]. Then the assistant jumps

in and rides up a floor to the main/kitchen level. He then 'holds'

the elevator while the desserts are off-loaded by the waiters

and then repeats the loop. The trays of dry mignardises have

been placed on a kitchen shelf by mid-morning and those that required refridgeration were added at service time. So these plates could be

picked up at the waiters' 'leisure'....a term which did not apply to their

day! I must admit that I came away with great appreciation of the

service personnel including their poise.

[cabrales]

As you may have gathered by now, all desserts must come up

on the elevator. This [or so it appeared to me] led to a certain

amount of scurry-if not chaos- during the middle-late service. The elevator is petite. During service they load it with a pizza rack [i'm certain that there is a more elegant name for this...but I don't know it.]. They 'stop'/hold the elevator at the basement level. Then as desserts are prepared they are rushed to the rack [run there if it includes ice cream--which many dessert plates do]. Then the assistant jumps in and rides up a floor to the main/kitchen level. He then 'holds' the elevator while the desserts are off-loaded by the waiters  and then repeats the loop. . . .

PaulaJ -- You guessed my question. Based on my only two meals at Crayeres to date, the desserts are not as strong as the rest of the meal. That's not a negative statement, but a comparison of the relative appeal of different parts of the meal. I wonder whether the problem with the elevator might have produced some limitations on the range of desserts that might be available. There were only two patissiers the day I toured the kitchen. Do you know how many there are normally (given that one is so distracted by the physical movement of the dessert), and who the chef patissier is?

What did you think of the sommeliers and who is the lead sommelier? I liked the wine service team when I visited.

The program/school sends you a chef's jacket, embroidered w. their name and yours prior to your departure plus an apron.  

Was the restaurant's name in a medium blue stitching, and yours in red below?

Finally, what sort of information was requested on the application form that you filled out? Was there an indication that culinary skills are required?

[PaulaJ]

I love desserts but found Les Crayeres' to be uninteresting. I

would not think of them as 3* nor equivalent to those of other

2 and 3 star culinary meccas I have visited. There tended to

be a certain item [chocolate tart] w. swiggles of fruit puree and

an ice cream. More in the 1* range. This evaluation extends to

the tray of mignardises. Of course, one could argue that I

didn't get to sample all of them...but items such as macaroons...

were not as tasty as some Parisian bakeries.

I never learned the name of the Pastry Chef. He was a dour man

who never spoke nor made eye contact w. me. It was difficult not

to feel rudely treated although I also didn't 'feel' much connection between him and his two junior team members. One of the latter

had the infinite patience to place 3 pieces of fruit on each of about

100 petite bisquit almond or a dollop of frosting and 1 raspberry

atop an equal # of lemon curd tartlettes. The other young man may

have been newish. M. Dour seemed displeased w. him, altho again

I could not say for certain. This chap had the elevator duty. He was a

tall, somewhat bulky fellow and it was quite a sight to witness his

running to the elevator w. the dessert plates . In the morning there

was also an older man whose rhythm making the brioche and other

morning pastries suggested much experience.

I mainly dealt with 'food' and did not engage with the sommeliers.

I guess that I could/should have made an effort in that direction. In

the kitchen itself you don't really see them as their station is near the

elevator.

The names on the jacket were in black [i think] ...at least, thankfully, not in red. There was no choice, not that that was an issue for me.

[cabrales]

Below is a March 24, 1999 article in The Washington Post on the Ecole des Chefs program ("Kitchen Privileges: Pay Big Bucks and You Too Can Slave in a Paris Restaurant", by Deborah Baldwin):

"Jana Bonomo was on her dream vacation. For six happy days last Christmas, this housewife from Long Beach, Calif., worked from 8 in the morning until well after the dinner hour in the Paris kitchen of French celebrity chef Gus Savoy. One day she sliced three crates of apples; on another, 'I cleaned about two kilos of mussels,' she recalled fondly. And, rubbing a blister, she added: 'I russed 200 pigeons--actually, it was 208.' . . . . Bonomo paid $ 2,015 just to slave alongside a celebrity chef. Her internship--airfare, ground transportation and lodging not included--was arranged by Ecole des Chefs, a U.S.-based service that since last May has acted as a matchmaker, pairing 'interns' or stagiaires like Bonomo with elite restaurants in France. . . . To work from morning to night in a three-star restaurant [savoy had not yet been promoted], Ecole des Chefs stagiaires pay $ 2,515. If they are professionals--chefs from less stellar restaurants--they pay double."

The article proceeds:

"Status internships help raise Savoy's profile among the upscale travel set and enable him to share his know-how with a highly appreciative audience of repeat customers, she said. Aside from overcoming language problems and answering the funny questions that inevitably emanate from Americans, participating chefs are asked to turn on the charm, offering a warm welcome, an egalitarian attitude and discounts to the interns from overseas that bring down the cost of a typical Michelin-ranked meal to a bargain $ 100. While Jacquet-Bentley declined to say what percentage of her fees go to the chefs, it's apparently enough to persuade even the toughest to treat their trainees as special guests--a strategy that pays off in terms of word-of-mouth advertising. Not that there isn't an element of altruism, according to Jacquet-Bentley. 'Though the money is nice, they do it as a labor of love,' she said . . . . [A]ll [chefs] are current or potential media stars--a key ingredient in the Jacquet-Bentley recipe. . . . Plunged into the mayhem of the typical top-drawer restaurant, some of the Ecole des Chefs interns try to make themselves invisible and spend the week hiding in a corner and taking notes. And, in, fact they don't have to work. 'It's flexible,' said Jacquet-Bentley."

[PaulaJ]

Interesting article which would have encouraged me had I

read it upon publication. Was it a promo i.e. authored by

L"Ecole in some form? ---It resembles most of the 'articles'

I have read from the program. I certainly allow that other

participants could have had a much better experience, namely

cooking [in some form] alongside of "a famous chef". Apparently,

they forgot to engage Chef Boyer re: "turn on the charm".

Perhaps he is too famous for this program, but then, he shouldn't

participate.

Incidentally, the current edition of Travel & Leisure magazine

ranks Les Crayeres #1. It is an enviable operation.

[cabrales]

PaulaJ -- The article does not appear to be promotion in essential nature. However, many features of the program decribed in the article were favorably framed by an Ecole des Chefs administrator.

Could you describe how the $100 discounted meals at a participating Ecole des Chefs restaurant might work? Were you given access to discounts of this nature, and could you, had you chosen, taken advantage of the discounts multiple times immediately following or prior to your internship?

[PaulaJ]

I don't know the answers to those questions. I also have no

idea as to whether this would include just yourself or your

spouse also. I suspect that it might vary from place to place.

I do know that the program's information states that some

participants [unlisted] offer rooms at a discount. In my brief forays,

Meneau alledgedly did so. Boyer said 'no availability' and

Lameloise referred participant to a low priced, nearby facility.

Obviously, there are also some Relais Gourmands to whom this

couldn't apply.

[magnolia]

I hadn't seen this post or I would have piped up a bit earlier: there was an article in last weekend's Telegraph (UK) by Harry de Quetteville, who participated in the Ecole de Chefs programme and was assigned to Arpege.

His impression was one of being on the side-lines of a well-oiled but frenzied machine... he didn't expect to be - and was not - taken under anyone's wing - everyone was courteous and cordial and he was given a task to do, but no concessions were made just because he is a journalist (which the chef must have known because he has written about Arpege before, and the few times I've been there, there have always been journalists in the restaurant). De Quetteville described trying to stay out of everyone's way and feeling most comfortable as an observer, kind of a tourist-voyeur... very interesting & relevant article if you can get your hands on it; there doesn't seem to be an online link available - the article appeared in the July 13 or 14 issue.

[lizziee]

In the August issue of Gourmet, there is a blurb on Michel Trama.

"You tell him what you want to cook; he'll teach you how to make it. Trama runs custom-designed classes at L'Atelier des Sens, a specially built kitchen just down the street from L'Aubergade.... He's the only chef of his stature in France who will personally give you a cooking lesson.... Here are some suggestions to get the best out of Trama: Think foie gras and ask to see a demonstration of his signature foie gras hamburger; take advantage of his artistry with duck; and, finally, pick a few dishes from the menu.... Trama, by the way, speaks excellent English and has a terrific sense of humor."

(011-33-5-53-95-31-46; trama@aubergade.com; fullboard and one-day cooking class, $285, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only)

I have never done the cooking class, but L'Aubergade is definitely worth a stop.

[cabrales]

lizziee -- Thanks for the update. That's an incredible deal -- for full board and a one-day cooking class.

E Loubet at two-starred Le Moulin de Lourmarin a reasonable drive from Aix-en-Provence also furnishes certain cooking classes, market excursions, herb-gathering sessions, etc. His cuisine is appealing, even before the availability of cooking classes.

[cabrales]

I was browing the Ecole des Chefs website, and noticed that, when you click on the little hat in one of the columns listing the chefs, a few have "statements" about their view of the program. Most (like Boyer) don't.

http://saveurs.sympatico.ca/ecolechefs/Che...lish/france.htm

For example, see Troisgros' helpful statement:

http://saveurs.sympatico.ca/ecolechefs/fra...h/troisgros.htm

Other chefs describe their respective styles of cuisine:

http://saveurs.sympatico.ca/ecolechefs/fra...ish/chibois.htm

http://saveurs.sympatico.ca/ecolechefs/fra.../westermann.htm

http://saveurs.sympatico.ca/ecolechefs/fra...ish/loiseau.htm

[Jinmyo]

Very interesting, cabrales. Thank you.