First, the end results of my day's labor, unpacked back at the apartment and displayed!
 |
| Potato and Mackerel Terrine with Horseradish and Dill |
 |
| Country Pork Terrine with Rabbit Livers |
 |
| Vegetable Terrine with Tomato Coulis |
 |
| Happy Mariellen! |
This really is a hecuva deal. We arrived at about 8:15 and were given our recipes, aprons and towels (which are ours to keep) and were escorted up to the student dining room for coffee, tea, juice and getting to know each other. Then up to the top floor student kitchens at 8:45 for instruction by Chef Patrick Terrien, the head teacher at LCB. [UPDATE: one of my correspondents asked if Chef's last name was pronounced "terrine!" I didn't listen closely enough. Must go to another class of his and ask him to say his name!] We worked right along with him, prepping ingredients and making our first terrines until about 11:30. Then it was back to the dining room for lunch (terrines (!), salads, breads, cheeses, wine, coffee) and relaxation (we had been on our feet all morning) and chatting with fellow students and popping more ibuprofen! Then back up to the student kitchens at 12:30 for more instruction, prep, tasting and fun with Chef and classmates until 3:30 when we got our certificates and shook Chef's hand. We packed up our terrines and sauces and headed to our various corners of Paris. I treated myself to a cab - I would have been hard-pressed to spend any more time on my feet!
Where else can you get a day's worth of training from a world-class chef, cooking apparel, food with which to impress your friends (assuming they're in Paris with you), meals, a day's entertainment, and aches and pains worth writing home about for a mere 190 euro (about $250)? Pretty much nowhere else!
By the way, the terrines are deeeelicious! From the sweet-subtlety-with-a-kick of the mackerel & potato terrine to the intensely concentrated flavors of mushrooms, red bell pepper, confited tomatoes, spinach, zucchini and chicken of the vegetable terrine, to the earthy-salty-garlicy-meatiness of the country terrine - these three terrines cover all the bases! What a treat.
Here are a few more shots from the class. Now, be careful that you don't drool on your keyboard!
 |
| Chef and translator |
 |
| Chef introducing himself and the plan for this class just after we arrived in the student kitchen |
 |
| We got to use Chef's ancient but very effective mandoline for slicking our zucchini |
 |
| Baking parchment is used constantly. I loved this way of storing it in tall cans in the windowsill! |
 |
| Our country terrines, just out of the oven |
 |
| The confited tomatoes |
 |
| Assembling the vegetable terrine |
 |
| Holy mackerel! Gorgeous fish being prepped |
No comments:
Post a Comment