Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #3

Instruction #3 brought us to Normandy. Worldly known as the landing site for the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. Gastronomically known as an apple haven.


Chef Caals – neat-freak, sanitary psycho – led the group. Hygienic containers lined up perfectly. Recipe ingredients intentionally placed just so. And a sponge permanently attached to his left hand.

Going into today’s lesson I had less than desirable feelings towards Chef. Stemming from my Basic Cuisine chef meeting. Where he basically told me that he didn’t know who I was and that he couldn’t advise me in any way.

As the day proceeded my heart slowly softened. By the end I think I feel in love a little bit. His cleanliness stems from the same neurosis as mine. Our organizational habits are similar. And his ability to gracefully cook is a personal aspiration. I could however, do without his cockiness or his snide remarks towards his assistant.

I’m not head over heels – culinary speaking – yet for Chef Caals. Perhaps with a little more time I will come completely around to liking this guy.


Instruction #3 - Normandy

• Fish stew with dry cider
• Pan-roasted guinea fowl with Calvados sauce
• Apple tart with creamy caramel

Practical is tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. So more on that later. For now, let’s finish our conversation about Normandy.

The main ingredients that always spring to mind are apples, dairy cattle, and of course, camembert. Apples tend to find their way into most dishes. But. Are more significantly used to produce other products – cider and Calvados, namely.

With no regional wine production, cider is the main substitute. Calvados – an apple brandy – is also used to infuse flavor.

Situated in the north west of France next to the English Channel many maritime elements find their way to the tables of Normandy. As demonstrated in today’s first plate, fish stew with dry cider.

Creamed-fumet with dry cider and Calvados. Accompanied with scallops, langoustines, crawfish, and sole. Completed with quickly sautéed spring onions in olive oil.

Crawfish. According to Chef Caals. Need to be deveined, ALIVE. Hold the fidgeting crustacean by the mid-body shell. Pinch the center tail. Twist. And pull. Removing the digestive-tract. Promptly add to a screaming hot pan lined with olive oil. To end the suffering. I suppose.

After the crawfish murder-scene, Chef proceeded with the menu’s main course. Pan-roasted guinea-fowl with Calvados sauce.

Fowl. I’ve come to realize. Is all roasted in the same manner. Just like our chicken and duck recipes we prepared the guinea-fowl. Substituting cider and Calvados for white wine in the sauce. Which was finished with cream. Passed with some ridiculously cut vegetables.

Dessert, as you can imagine, was centered around apples. Puff pastry tarts, lined with apple slices, laid on a creamy caramel sauce. The sauce – furthering expectation – was made with cider, honey, and crème fraîche.

Perhaps feeling the Normandy-vibe Chef helped himself to some of the dry cider. The first glass was to taste. To see if it was still cold was his excuse for the second glass. The third one, to empty the bottle. Noticeably buzzed by the end of class I noticed his graceful cleanliness slip a bit. Splashing sauces. Banging pots together. Misplacing ingredients. All with flushed cheeks.