Graduation, basically

Today (Sunday) will be our one-month anniversary in Paris – and I must say it seems so long ago that we were actually living in Florence (Italy not South Carolina). I suppose that comes as a natural result of the intense nature of the past three weeks or so, particularly for Susan but for us both as well. This past Thursday Susan completed the Basic Patisserie (Pastry) course at Le Cordon Bleu and graduation ceremonies were on Friday. (I posted photos online; you can see them by simply clicking here.)

The ceremony itself was quite a well-orchestrated affair – very much like high school graduation and very much unlike the complete absence of any sort of “closure” at Apicius this past May. Chairs were set up in the “Winter Garden”, the student lounge at the school. The seats were all full – students and quite a few guests in attendance –in fact it was standing room only. After a few words by one of the school administrators, all translated from the French of course, several of the school’s head chefs were introduced and the two who had been in charge of the Basic Cuisine and Basic Patisserie programs respectively were given an opportunity to say a few words before the certificates were handed out. (By the way, speaking of translation issues there was one student from Spain I think who didn’t speak either French or English and whose mother I believe was translating for her.)

Following the ceremony everyone retired to the demonstration class room where there was food and champagne set up for toasting the new graduates. The talk was all about baking, cooking and the school and naturally everyone felt that great sense of relief that comes from completing something that demanded so much of one’s intellectual and emotional energy compressed into a short space of time.

(I should point out a bit of curious perspective here. Just the day before, Thursday, several students from the Basic Patisserie went out to lunch following the practical portion of the final exam: Paul, Lori, Ann, Susan and I, Tatiana, Diarmid, Laura, and Valerie. Following a nice lunch the talk naturally turned to the school and there were a number of points raised about the unfairness of some of the written exam questions (accurate) and then the conversation turned to the school’s approach to marketing, that there seemed to be more of a focus on image than on technique, etc. The next day while reading Julia Child’s last book, “My Life in France”, Susan came across Julia relating how her favorite chef at Le Cordon Bleu, chef Mangalette, who then ran his own restaurant, lamented to her that Le Cordon Bleu “was focused on a mad scramble for money rather than on the excellent training of their pupils. The school had lowered its standards, he said.”And this more than 60 years ago!)

After the reception several of us – Valerie and Lori (who had been in the same group with Anna and Susan) and Lori’s friend Georgia -- joined Anna and her husband Pietro and their two kids for lunch. The day was absolutely gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky, bright sun, blue sky, perfect temp and we were in Paris; all in all a pretty awesome combination. We made plans to rendezvous at the restaurant at 1 pm.

Pietro suggested a restaurant, La Ferme Saint Simon (on rue Saint-Simon, near the Rue de Bac Metro), which he knew fairly well. We placed our trust in Pietro since he is something of an expert when it comes to dining out in Paris: he eats out frequently in the city and has developed a keen sense of what’s good and what’s not so good. Better yet he knows where the really good food and wine values are in a city that is often mistaken for being a bit on the extreme side when it comes to dining costs. (He should put a guide together; his knowledge is so broadly based and thorough.)

So we arrived at the restaurant and, given that many Parisians were still on holiday, Pietro found a place to park right in front! We went in, sat and chatted as we waited for the rest of the group to show up (Lori, Georgia and Valerie). As time slipped by and the staff became a bit anxious – the restaurant was going to stop taking orders after 2 pm – and although the rest of the group had not arrived, we started ordering. Which proved to be just the tonic since we had no sooner placed our orders and Pietro was just about to begin ordering the wine when the other three showed up.

We all had a pleasant afternoon – and most had fish I might add, sea bream (“dorade”) seemed to be the hit of the afternoon. It was baked with a crust of grains and seeds on the skin-side and made eating the skin a real tasty treat – something which surprised even Pietro! What a grand time we had together before everyone went their separate ways.

The food generated the conversation as it seems to do naturally in France (as in Italy) and of course the conversation turned to Le Cordon Bleu --- but on a more upbeat note than the previous day’s luncheon. The simple fact is that this wonderful experience had been a truly fantastic accomplishment – the fact that they did it all is amazing to me even now. Naturally I suffer from prejudice of a sort – a strong sort I admit – and can’t wait to see what the intermediate level will bring for Susan and by extension for me as well. Still I felt a pang of sadness for those folks not going on – I understand why they can’t or won’t since they all have other major demands on their lives right now. I can only say that from my perspective for Susan to enroll in the entire diploma program was, is, I believe, the smart move. There won’t be any half measures: just A-Z, alpha to omega, beginning to the end.

This is a great time to be alive and in Paris, believe me.

Wish you were here,

Steve