Le Cordon Bleu - Rungis

Field-tripping. Our class traveled the short 7.2 miles from Paris to Rungis.

Known as the world’s largest market, this place was impressive. So large that we traveled by bus from hall to hall. Nine buildings the size of a small airplane hangars dedicated just to vegetables and fruits. There are similar shops for beef, poultry, butter and cheese, pork, fish, and even flowers.

As a true market, most activity finished by 11 a.m. Even earlier – 4 a.m. – for fish. Things move fast and in tons. Wholesale items are only for restaurant and chef industry members. Think of Costco on horse-steroids. Here are a few facts.

Rungis in a nutshell

• €7.767 billion annual sales
• 1199 companies
• 12,000 employees
• 573 acres
• 1,462,191 tons of foodstuffs, annually
• 19 on-site restaurants

We traveled from pavilion to pavilion marveling at the size and volume of it all. There were two official Rungis tour-guides at our disposal answering all sorts of questions.

My operation management soul was on fire. Reeling from happiness and excitement. I couldn’t help but to imagine the logistics department and all the fun algorithms, charts, schedules and plots they must have. A little piece of heaven for me. I could have spent a week. If you get the chance, it’s a must visit.

Le Cordon Bleu - Wines of the World #6

The last class. Not just of the term. But forever. Completed Wednesday night. This meant more than farewells, it indicated test-time.

Wines of the World included notes from New World Vineyards – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, South America (Chile and Argentina), and California. Wines of Europe – Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Burgundy. Bordeaux. Spirits and fruit brandies. And fortified wines. A ton of information.

The test came in two sections. Written – various true/false questions. Ranging from inquires about the type of wine produced in Austria. To the largest exporter of the world. Up and down, I ended up alright. Let’s put it this way, I think I passed.

Part two – wine identification. Only by smell. Four glasses of amber liquid were presented. Required to identify the Cognac, Armagnac, marc, and Calvados. The later two were easy. Marc – a.k.a. grappa – makes you want to hurl. Alcohol so strong it goes right to your head. And calvados – made from apples – had the appropriate pomaceous aroma.

Determining the difference between the first two challenged. As our instructor said, you’ll either get a 50% or a 100% on this section. Not so encouraging.

It is said that Cognac is more refined to Armagnac’s earthy smell. Unable to tell the difference I committed my physical reaction to memory. Noting Armagnac burned my nasal cavity more than its counterpart. Scoring 100% on this section, this proved to be a good tactic.

We finished our last class with a small chat about fortified wines. Wines with added alcohol – namely brandy. Port, Sherry, Madeira, and vermouth are the most common.

First a regular table wine is made. Or at least the process is started. Fermentation, as we know, is the transformation of sugar (naturally within grapes) into alcohol. Depending on the desired sweetness of the finished fortified wine, neutral alcohol is added – halting fermentation. The sooner it is added, the less sugar has been transformed into alcohol. Resulting is a sweeter beverage.

Certain types of styles of fortified wines are aged, either in bottle, oak, or both. And must contain certain levels of alcohol.

Near the Spanish–French border lie the Pyrenees. An environment full of sunshine. Allowing late harvest (October) to occur. The long, warm weather slowly shrivels grapes on the vine, concentrating overall sugar. Perfect for Rivesaltes production. With only 16% alcohol this wine can still be served with a main course of meat and fruit. Unlike 19% Port. Which should be enjoyed as an after dinner drink.

There are three types of Port – white, young ruby, and Tawny. White, is just that, white Port. Young ruby is a young Port that is made from different harvests. And tawny are different aged Ports which are further aged, turning a reddish brown color – hence the name, tawny. Tawny Ports can range from 10 to 40 years old. These are best for drinking, whereas ruby Ports are better suited for cooking.

Port is made in the Duoro Valley of Portugal. Sherry from Andalusia in South-West Spain. Madeira from the island of Madeira off the coast of Africa. And vermouth refers to a method, not location.

Like wine, fortified wines can be white, red, or rosé. We tasted a white Sherry-Fino. Fino – one of the three sweetness levels – is the lightest and driest. A great accompaniment to walnut cake.

Sherry is made in the presence of oxygen – unlike any other wine. This forces oxidization. If you know the smell, or taste of Sherry, then you know oxidization. A unique experience to say the least. I struggled with this glass. A bit too rusted iron-y for my taste.

Session #6 – Tastes

• Rivesaltes, 2005
• Port-Tawny by Dalva
• Port by Taylor’s, 2003
• Sherry-Fino
  

A whirlwind class, nonetheless. Marking that the ends have begun to surface. Le Cordon Bleu. Paris. And France all together. Are slowly. Systematically. Wrapping themselves up.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #25; Practical #25

Soups are often forgotten during warm weather. But, if done well, a soup can be enjoyed anytime of year. If nothing else, it can be made cold.

Started Chef Terrien. Commenting just before his note about how he’d move quickly. He was afraid we would fall asleep, or perhaps he would.

The night before our class celebrated the Superior Dinner at the Park Hyatt. A festive event for all. Needless to say, nobody – including Chef – got enough sleep.

Leeks smothered in butter sweat through, giving flavor. Potatoes added for thickness. And water to turn the vegetables into soup. A quick blend with salt and pepper prepared the liquid for the refrigerator. Where it chilled and thickened entirely.

Milk infused with bacon. And whipped cream with herbs garnished the dish. Some simple croutons and dried pancetta plated for decoration.

The soup was very good, but in my opinion, should have been served hot. And I had to stretch my mind to get the bacon flavor from the milk. But, the herbed cream was more than delicious.

The name of the sauce is peppered nage. So I added pepper. Heaps and heaps. Finding the sauce to be too spicy in the end. I blamed the recipe to Chef Maleek. Pointing out that the word pepper is in the title and how I wouldn’t want my clients to be disappointed if they couldn’t taste it. He agreed with me and said it was the recipe’s fault.

Apart from over doing it with the spice. My fish was cooked well, garnish – fennel and onion brunoise – nicely presented, and the flavor of my raviolis was great.

A dash of Madeira to sautéing shallots and mushrooms helped the ravioli shine. Mixed with finely chopped parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon. And finished with salt.

I would pass on the brill fillets – not my favorite fish. And I certainly will not revisit the sauce. But the raviolis are well worth remaking.

Dough of flour, potato starch, salt, and hot water was a bit sticky in the beginning. A small addition of more flour and potato starch rectified this. Once passed through a pasta roller to the finest setting I mounded the mushroom mixture in the center. Folded and cut in little raviolis. One minute of poaching completed the preparation.

We’ve seen more interesting desserts than today’s pineapple and strawberry mixture. I suppose the most exciting thing on the plate – which wasn’t that good – was the Campari sorbet. Even the crisp fans lacked enthusiasm.

Instruction #25

• Chilled leek and potato soup and creamy smoked bacon foam
• Brill fillet, peppered nage, mushrooms and herb ravioli
• Pineapple and strawberries in syrup with ginger, crisp fan and Campari sorbet

Le Cordon Bleu Instruction #24; Practical #24

With Chef Clergue on vacation. We’ve been seeing a lot of Chef Terrien. Who knocked it out of the park again during lesson #24.

Salmon marinated in sugar, coarse salt, crushed coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, and orange and lemon peel sat overnight. A gentle unearthing of the fish and a slow bake – 65 degrees Celsius – did this dish right.

Cooked/marinated/raw perfumed salmon paired nicely with warm potatoes and arugula. Everything gaining flavor from lemon, mustard vinaigrette.

A special cucumber sorbet added a bit of fun to the plate. Bringing in a fresh taste to help the salmon. As well as a bit of coolness to balance the heat from the rest of the dish.

Lamb is a favorite of our class. We are always happy pupils when it shows up on the menu. Even today’s traditional method didn’t deter us.

Boned lamb saddled regained shape from ground veal, truffles, mushrooms, carrots, and herbs. Roasted at 180 degrees Celsius for about twenty minutes.

Left over stuffing allowed rolled cabbage to happen. Filled with carrot and daikon bâtonnets and haricots verts. This was my least favorite item of the day. It resembled salmon stuffed cabbage or ballottine – Intermediate nightmares – a bit too much.

Of all the recipes shown at Le Cordon Bleu it is the dessert ones that I will make time and again. Without alteration. The cuisine recipes are more for technique. Most of which will never see the sight of my table.

Crispy tuiles stuffed with chocolate mousse and chestnut cream. Proudly stood on the center of the plate. Decorated with crème anglaise and imbibed biscuits. Another. Must do.

I’m off to practical. So. Barring any disasters. I shall report later.

Instruction #24

• Marinated salmon cooked at low temperature, cucumber sorbet
• Black prince saddle of lamb, vegetable chartreuse
• Chocolate and chestnut crisp like a mont-blanc

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #23; Practical #23

I don’t know if it’s him. Or the recipes. But. Every time Chef Terrien cooks. His food is phenomenal.

Demonstration #23 blew me away.

Instruction #23

• Salmon tartare, celery root rémoulade, herb jus and crispy potatoes
• Duck breast roasted with spices, orange glaze daikon radish, Anna potatoes, apricot chutney
• Fine orange and chocolate tart, blood orange granita

Fresh salmon mixed with lime juice, olive oil, shallots, cilantro and shiso made up the tartare. The secret flavor – shiso. This Japanese leaf adds fennel and mint notes. Expanding the freshness of any dish. Green leaf shiso is more common than the related purple leaf. If you’re looking for this herb at your local Asian market try under the alias names; Japanese basil, perilla, purple mint or Beefsteak plant.

Marked with celery root rémoulade – julienne celery root, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, shiso, and cilantro. And herb jus emulsified with peanut oil and miso.

Slow cooked duck breast crisped beautifully. And happily took to apricot chutney, carrots with cumin, and Anna potatoes. For the later, no one seems to know who Anna is. But preparation shows small potato rounds in a flower shape. Baked in tiny molds.

Being a chutney fan, I think it fits nicely on any meat plate. Honey dissolved in white vinegar and dry white wine. And spiced with four-spice and fresh ginger. Slowly melted dried apricots. An easy and great accompaniment to duck breast, salmon, and pork.

The day’s dessert calls out to my mother – a diehard orange-stick fan.

Orange marmalade lined the bottom of chocolate shortbread pastry. And topped with melted dark chocolate, butter, cream, yolk, flour which was folded into meringue. A grandeur orange stick, to say the least. Finished with blood orange granita.

As for Chef Terrien? All in a day’s work.

Le Cordon Bleu - Final Exam Market Basket

The last great unknown. Has been revealed.

The market basket – ingredient list – for our final exam was distributed on Friday. Eliminating mystery not just of itself. But of Le Cordon Bleu.

There are no more surprises, questions, or first experiences that will come with my time at school. Everything has been exposed or experienced before. It is all common.

The chefs have complained about the previous Superior class. How they weren’t quite up to LCB standards. Lacking creativity and luster. When the list was distributed. Chef Terrien said that we have the capability of being the best graduating class. Because of that. They gave us some challenging, new, and interesting ingredients.

We must make four, identical, vegetarian amuse bouches – small tastes – served in shot glasses. And four, identical, main course plates with one stuffed vegetable, one simple garnish, and one composed. The shot glass may be hot or cold, whereas the main must be served hot with a jus or sauce.

Obligatory Items
1 free-range guinea fowl
100 g duck foie gras
300 g haricots verts
½ bunch pearl (spring) onions
300 g fresh Paimpol white beans in their pods
4 fresh figs
50 g arugula

Other Items Available
Pancetta
Chicken breast
Red bell pepper
Cantaloupe
Zucchini
Olivette tomatoes
Mushrooms
Parsley
Cilantro
Basil
Ginger
Potatoes (waxy type)
Lemon
Lime
Agar agar and gelatin
Phyllo dough and brik pastry
Chicken stock
And a variety of pantry items like vinegars, eggs, milk, wine, spices, etc…

In a week and a half we will have a practice round for the final exam. Similar to atelier #1 and #2, but with only five hours. This will give us a chance to test, practice, and iron out any kinks. It is also an opportunity to get some feedback from the chef. Then a week later. The final exam. Sure there are practicals and instructions still to be seen. But. At this point they are almost non-existent. Focus is clearly on the final exam, in hopes of graduating.