Today was a long day in the kitchen. This morning in pastry, we made fig shortbread with a pistachio crème anglaise and this chocolate wafer thing that the chef deemed a “cocoa arabesque.” This lesson and the last one we did are the Cordon Bleu’s pastry department’s so-called plated dessert portion. I am very used to plating cuisine items, but I am green with desserts. I wasn’t terribly pleased with my plate and I don’t think the chef was either, but he didn’t have anything too negative to say. P.S. Don’t expect me to make fig shortbread for you anytime soon…it’s not very good.

In cuisine, were made lobster with risotto, zucchini blossoms, and vanilla-scented fennel purée. I am a huge fan of vanilla in savory dishes- it’s a really great contrast to pork, grains, and, as I now know, fennel. My plate is a little busy and a little messy. We had the new chef. He’s come from the Ottawa school, and he has an ego the size of Canada. I really dislike him. To make a hectic practical even worse, Canada chef had a photographer following him today. Our kitchens are not very big to begin with, and a cameraman trying to get a good shot is a huge liability. I resisted the urge to burn him every time he invaded my station. I got through okay, but I am hoping not to have this chef a lot. He searches for little things to criticize instead of being helpful or constructive. For example, he dug through my bowl of brunoised (tiny cubes) zucchini for a full minute until he found three pieces that were not exactly the same size. “They need to be regular,” he said.

Oui Chef.