Finally, after almost two weeks of non-stop mise en place, I did lunch service today, hopping happily between plating entrées and desserts. As I was putting the finishing touches on a Cappuccino des fruits exotiques, the chef and pastry chef (aka itchy) were designing the plating for the new menu item, the millefeuille aux marrons. The chef reached for the powdered sugar shaker, and asked me, “You know what we call this? It’s a branlette.” I could tell he wanted a reaction, but I didn’t have one. “That says nothing to me chef,” I replied. He may have explained it to me in French or found a word in English, I have no idea. I couldn’t pay attention to the chef because Itchy was behind him acting it out for me, wildly making an exaggerated jerking off gesture, with facial expression and all.

Now that is one way to make vocabulary stick.

Note: this is the vulgar, slang word for such a device, as one might expect it to be. It is hard to picture a little French grandma wandering around the kitchen going, “Let's see, where did I put that wanker?”