Well as I'm sure some of you heard I had quite a day today. I woke up early to come back to Lyon and ended up on the wrong train.....HOW is that possible ? Well the sign said Paris Lyon and I thought that was the line and I figured that makes sense. Now there werent any conducters or people around to ask at that hour so I sat down. Someone was in my seat but i figured that since it was early I wasnt going to bother him. But as we went to the next stop and the train started to fill up I said to the guy he was in my seat. He looked at my ticket and said, " no sir, you are on teh wrong train. This train is going to Paris." I said to himthat it stops in Lyon adn he told me it doesnt. And at that moment the doors closed and the trains tarted its express track to Paris. And I was stuck. So I went to Paris and had to buy a new ticket to come back to lyon. But my luck would have it that all the 2nd clas trains were booked for the day adn I had to get back fast to meet with the chef. There were limited 1st class seats so with my discount I didnt pay that much but it was a lot to swallow. I guess I am lucky in a way that the conductor didnt make me pay full fair to Paris, as they usually would because he was impressed by my french. HAHAHA Well I am back here and I start work on Monday working 2 -3 days a week So I will try to maybe get a second job.
And now I am home. The owner here is making dinner for a bunch of people so I helped out a bit, bought some wine and cheese to go along. We are having Thai green Curry. Anyways gotta run
talk to you all later
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
marseille
I need to head back to Lyon because the chef where I am working asked me to come in for a meeting tomorrow and hopefully start on Saturday so I have to go back early. Its ok I can always go back.
Today was fun as I spent the day on the water following the race that the guys daughter was in some college olym[ics and she was on the american team. They came in 10th place in teh first race and then 2nd in teh next race (which took 4 hours). Although all in all I had a great time.
I then went out for dinner and had bouillabaisse agian for dinner ( ithink im bouilabaissed out) to make sure that the product was consistant from restaurant to restaurant and it was. Supperb. Although I think all the seafood made my stomach grumble!!! lol not used to it i guess. Anyways the food si great here, wouldnt mind coming back. But this mrnign I saw the coolest stuff. The fisherman all come back to port around 9 adn bring back the fish they catch out in the medditeranian ocean. And then they line up and sell the stuff with the fish still splashing around and jumping. For me it was really cool others maybe not feel the same way. When I get back to Lyon Ill upload the pictures from Marseille.
ok imgoing to bed gotta get up early tomorrow to catch the early train.
au revoir
Today was fun as I spent the day on the water following the race that the guys daughter was in some college olym[ics and she was on the american team. They came in 10th place in teh first race and then 2nd in teh next race (which took 4 hours). Although all in all I had a great time.
I then went out for dinner and had bouillabaisse agian for dinner ( ithink im bouilabaissed out) to make sure that the product was consistant from restaurant to restaurant and it was. Supperb. Although I think all the seafood made my stomach grumble!!! lol not used to it i guess. Anyways the food si great here, wouldnt mind coming back. But this mrnign I saw the coolest stuff. The fisherman all come back to port around 9 adn bring back the fish they catch out in the medditeranian ocean. And then they line up and sell the stuff with the fish still splashing around and jumping. For me it was really cool others maybe not feel the same way. When I get back to Lyon Ill upload the pictures from Marseille.
ok imgoing to bed gotta get up early tomorrow to catch the early train.
au revoir
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Marseille
IT is a good thing I am here in Marseille today. First of all the train ride was fun because for msot of the trip the area aroudn me was loaded with chinese girls that wouldnt shut up...Me adn the person in front of me kept looking at each other thinking the same thing. JUST BE QUIET ALREADY!!! but they werent. At least they got off earlier than me at Avignon so for the next half hour it was peace adn quiet for me. But when I got here I went to the hostel I called last night near the train station and they were fully booked!! well i guess the french side of me kicked in because I laughed. It ended up beign a good thing. The area aroudn the train station is heavily populated by arab gangs and is kinda sketchy/dangerous at night. So they directed me to another oyuth hostel, which right now is really full as well and a lot cooler and probabyl the coolest hostel I have stayed in yet... oh wait I've only been to one other one, but you get the point.
Anyways I checked in put my bags down adn left right away for the beach (2 minutes from here) A really cool nice beach. After all this is the mediteranian over here. (I will put the pics on my facebook) so I walked for an horu and a half up the coast line (magnificant view adn so beautifull at night) in search of a certain dish that MArseille is famous for. Bouilabaisse is a fish soup made form the fish from the medditeranian. anyways jessica might remember my intesting interaction with the chef from 398 west regarding bouillabaisse which was funny. Anyways the point of the matter is that I found a place and ordered it. It was really good although not like what I was told it would be. Mainly because the people who told me how it would look and taste have never been to Marseille or anywhere close to here and therefore dont knwo what they were talkign about. Anyways I really enjoyed my dinner. So as I was ordering dessert a guy sitting at the table behind me strikes up a conversation with me. Turns out hes an exchange student from Seattle here in France for one semester learning French. As I am leavign though this tabel next to me asks me to come over. They thought my accent was american but I corrected them and told them I was Canadian. Its a good thing that they didnt get offended because they were from Rhode Island. Why were they in MArseille you ask? Well turns out one of them lives there, her mother came to visit and stayed because her grand daughter is on the American Olympic rowing team and they are competing her in Marseille!!!! How cool is that. Anyways the girl is practicing tomorrow so the family rented a sail boat and they invited me to come sailing with them tomorrow all day here on the medditeranian..!!!how awesome is that?? In return I cook them dinner. I said you dont have to ask me twice. So I guess I am going to have some fun tomorrow!!! everything happens for a reason, thats forsure. And that is what happened to me today.
Anyways I checked in put my bags down adn left right away for the beach (2 minutes from here) A really cool nice beach. After all this is the mediteranian over here. (I will put the pics on my facebook) so I walked for an horu and a half up the coast line (magnificant view adn so beautifull at night) in search of a certain dish that MArseille is famous for. Bouilabaisse is a fish soup made form the fish from the medditeranian. anyways jessica might remember my intesting interaction with the chef from 398 west regarding bouillabaisse which was funny. Anyways the point of the matter is that I found a place and ordered it. It was really good although not like what I was told it would be. Mainly because the people who told me how it would look and taste have never been to Marseille or anywhere close to here and therefore dont knwo what they were talkign about. Anyways I really enjoyed my dinner. So as I was ordering dessert a guy sitting at the table behind me strikes up a conversation with me. Turns out hes an exchange student from Seattle here in France for one semester learning French. As I am leavign though this tabel next to me asks me to come over. They thought my accent was american but I corrected them and told them I was Canadian. Its a good thing that they didnt get offended because they were from Rhode Island. Why were they in MArseille you ask? Well turns out one of them lives there, her mother came to visit and stayed because her grand daughter is on the American Olympic rowing team and they are competing her in Marseille!!!! How cool is that. Anyways the girl is practicing tomorrow so the family rented a sail boat and they invited me to come sailing with them tomorrow all day here on the medditeranian..!!!how awesome is that?? In return I cook them dinner. I said you dont have to ask me twice. So I guess I am going to have some fun tomorrow!!! everything happens for a reason, thats forsure. And that is what happened to me today.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
catch up
I couldnt log onto here yesterday but jessica showed me how so I am back...I am trying to learn french. So I bought a book that is supposed to help with grammer and it has i guess a bit although I am not really sure how one is supposed to learna new language so any input on that is greatly appreciated.
otherwise i dont really have much to report on since I dont know what the future holds for me here in France which is somewhat exciting but also frustrating so I walk around a lot going from place to place etc.
otherwise i dont really have much to report on since I dont know what the future holds for me here in France which is somewhat exciting but also frustrating so I walk around a lot going from place to place etc.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Croix Rousse market
Ok so At downsview park there is a "farmers market" for those who have ever gone to a farmers market you have not gone to one until you have gone to one here in France. The one near where I live is actually the most famous one here in Lyon. So when I was told about it my eyes grew wide adn I decided I was going. And so I did. My flat mate has been very nice to me so I decided to cook dinner for him and his girlfriend, as well as another person maybe not sure yet.
But anyways the farmers market spans like 4-6 streets and its all locally grown foods from the hills around lyon and its really nice to see. Everything is fresh, and about 85 percent of the stuff looks divine. they have fresh fish meats cheeses etc. all looks really good and very appetizing I posted some pictures on my facebook becasue I cant put them on here for some reason. So I will try to describe some things here although I am sure i am probably going to be the only one so excited about what I am writing about. In canada and the US we are very lucky to get alot of products from around the world, however because the shelf life is so short the products are usually frozen or dried out and the chef would need to rehydrate it, how you loose some of the flavours. So here I am standing in middle of the market looking at differant varieties of mushrooms some of them I have never heard of becasue they are exclusive to this region as they grow only in the hills of Lyon and are not known outside the region. And other mushrooms that are only really grown properly here in France adn the ones that are grown in north america have such a short growing season and usually the stuff doesnt look good. So I bought for dinner Black Trumpet mushrooms, lyon chantrelles, golden chantrelles and another mushroom I dont know what its called but it looks like a Lobster mushroom. we will see how they come out when i cook them but im so excited. Another thing I am so lucky and honoured to be a part of here in France.
Ok I have to go look at an appartment so I will be back later
But anyways the farmers market spans like 4-6 streets and its all locally grown foods from the hills around lyon and its really nice to see. Everything is fresh, and about 85 percent of the stuff looks divine. they have fresh fish meats cheeses etc. all looks really good and very appetizing I posted some pictures on my facebook becasue I cant put them on here for some reason. So I will try to describe some things here although I am sure i am probably going to be the only one so excited about what I am writing about. In canada and the US we are very lucky to get alot of products from around the world, however because the shelf life is so short the products are usually frozen or dried out and the chef would need to rehydrate it, how you loose some of the flavours. So here I am standing in middle of the market looking at differant varieties of mushrooms some of them I have never heard of becasue they are exclusive to this region as they grow only in the hills of Lyon and are not known outside the region. And other mushrooms that are only really grown properly here in France adn the ones that are grown in north america have such a short growing season and usually the stuff doesnt look good. So I bought for dinner Black Trumpet mushrooms, lyon chantrelles, golden chantrelles and another mushroom I dont know what its called but it looks like a Lobster mushroom. we will see how they come out when i cook them but im so excited. Another thing I am so lucky and honoured to be a part of here in France.
Ok I have to go look at an appartment so I will be back later
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Dinner
So dinner was great. Great food, great wine, great company all around great.
But it seems I may be getting accustomed to some french customs and I like it a lot. For example, a cheese course. We had one for dinner tonight after our main course and I really liked it. The French eat only soft cheeses like brie, chevre cammembert etc. and with the right wine just brings out the flavours. I dont know what the other people at the dinner table were thinking when they ate the cheese, but I had a sip of wine with mine (wine was Saint Joseph from Cote De Rhone) and the flavour of the wine brought out the earthiness of the cheese and I really liked how it went from being just a soft melting cheese to a world of flavours that seemed to just go on and on. But dinner was simple just stuffed eggplant. My host who likes to cook a lot has a lot of disgust towards chefs and it turned into a long conversation about why chefs in the world are so egotistical. I tried explaining why a lot of chefs are so possesive of their food, but i think it fell on deaf ears. OH WELL what can you do? But I brought dessert from my favorite patissierie (bakery) here near my appartement and I was once again very pleased with the pastries. I had a Tart de Citrn (lemon tart) Praline de Chocolate, Praline de Chocolate avec Cafe, and the last one not sure what it was called but it tasted really good with a cracker crust. Very good.
and that is that just overall good.
But it seems I may be getting accustomed to some french customs and I like it a lot. For example, a cheese course. We had one for dinner tonight after our main course and I really liked it. The French eat only soft cheeses like brie, chevre cammembert etc. and with the right wine just brings out the flavours. I dont know what the other people at the dinner table were thinking when they ate the cheese, but I had a sip of wine with mine (wine was Saint Joseph from Cote De Rhone) and the flavour of the wine brought out the earthiness of the cheese and I really liked how it went from being just a soft melting cheese to a world of flavours that seemed to just go on and on. But dinner was simple just stuffed eggplant. My host who likes to cook a lot has a lot of disgust towards chefs and it turned into a long conversation about why chefs in the world are so egotistical. I tried explaining why a lot of chefs are so possesive of their food, but i think it fell on deaf ears. OH WELL what can you do? But I brought dessert from my favorite patissierie (bakery) here near my appartement and I was once again very pleased with the pastries. I had a Tart de Citrn (lemon tart) Praline de Chocolate, Praline de Chocolate avec Cafe, and the last one not sure what it was called but it tasted really good with a cracker crust. Very good.
and that is that just overall good.
today
Good afternoon for me at least...Today was pretty uneventfull as I went to shul and then to my brothers friend for lunch. I think his wife thinks that since I am not french I eat a lot cuz she makes a lot of food...mind you its delicious so I don't argue. PLUS she even plated some of lunch because here in france presentation is everything to these people. Otherwise I am heading out soon to go to dinner with some friends they are cooking for me so I will bring dessert. Of course it has to be chocolate based. Otherwise things are I guess going well I am constantly reading my french dictionary/handbook adn I even watched french tv and although I didnt understand I am trying to listen and speak as much french as possible so it will sink in maybe while i am sleeping.
Friday, October 23, 2009
chocolate
I asked my landlord if he can help me get a bank account. He says no problemadn walk to the bank. (here in france everythign is a beaurocracy so we made and appointment). On our way back he stops in front of a chocolate shop (pretty common here as well) and says he knows the chocolatier and feels that he makes the best chocolate pastries in all of lyon. So we go in adn I buy one thing and he buys one thing. So I bought a chocolate prailine and let just say you can only take about a bite or two adn then you are done. This thing is so chocolaty and delicious and rich that there is only so much you can eat before it becaomes too much.
Just thought id share that with everyone.
Just thought id share that with everyone.
Good morning
So for everyone waking up now. Today is a great day in Lyon. After two days of torrential downpour (which in turn means the streets are relatively quiet) The sun is shining without a cloud in the sky. Which means only one thing I have great news for everyone.
Pending of course confirmation of my passport and visa.....Hooda got a job!!! I got a one month contract at a restaurant working as chef de partie (station chef) for Garde Manger (cold kitchen) Now I am only going to be working 2-3 days a week but its a start. The way the french work is you work for lunch service go home sleep and come back for diner service! How cool is that? So now I have to learn French hardcore. Any suggestions?
So my take on Lyon so far: It is a beautifull city. I walked up the hill a few times (really good for cardio) its about 1000 steps to take to go up to the place I am in. Interesting facts about lyon in case anyone wanted to know: There is about 1 pharmacie, 1 lingerie store, one condom stand per 2-3 streets! wierd eh?
On the weekends the squares are full and everyone is milling around shopping enjoying themselves, there are street performers and its all very nice and interesting. I am really looking forward to going to the farmers market on sunday though.
so for now au revoir et salute
Pending of course confirmation of my passport and visa.....Hooda got a job!!! I got a one month contract at a restaurant working as chef de partie (station chef) for Garde Manger (cold kitchen) Now I am only going to be working 2-3 days a week but its a start. The way the french work is you work for lunch service go home sleep and come back for diner service! How cool is that? So now I have to learn French hardcore. Any suggestions?
So my take on Lyon so far: It is a beautifull city. I walked up the hill a few times (really good for cardio) its about 1000 steps to take to go up to the place I am in. Interesting facts about lyon in case anyone wanted to know: There is about 1 pharmacie, 1 lingerie store, one condom stand per 2-3 streets! wierd eh?
On the weekends the squares are full and everyone is milling around shopping enjoying themselves, there are street performers and its all very nice and interesting. I am really looking forward to going to the farmers market on sunday though.
so for now au revoir et salute
Thursday, October 22, 2009
woke up at at 2 am
so when I got home there wasnt any internet connection so I went to bed. But I woke up a few minutes ago don't know why So i checked my computer and voila there is internet so I figured I would blog.
So today took me on a great adventure walking back to one of Chef Bocuses restaurants outside the city limits (dont ask why I didnt take the metro) but I went hoping to meet with the girl in charge of HR. I did and she was very hesitatn but a lot of persistence and she said as long as I learn french adn get my visa worked out(which I did) then she will think about it. So I will email her and try to convince her to give me a job. Otherwise I had a great dinner as well had a piece of fish with pasta. Presented very nicely, tasted very good adn they even said I can come back in the morning to talk to the chef. But I also want to learn how they make crepes here so I think I will try to spend some time tomorrow at a creperie and see if someone will teach me.
Yehuda
So today took me on a great adventure walking back to one of Chef Bocuses restaurants outside the city limits (dont ask why I didnt take the metro) but I went hoping to meet with the girl in charge of HR. I did and she was very hesitatn but a lot of persistence and she said as long as I learn french adn get my visa worked out(which I did) then she will think about it. So I will email her and try to convince her to give me a job. Otherwise I had a great dinner as well had a piece of fish with pasta. Presented very nicely, tasted very good adn they even said I can come back in the morning to talk to the chef. But I also want to learn how they make crepes here so I think I will try to spend some time tomorrow at a creperie and see if someone will teach me.
Yehuda
new day
Well yesterday it rained as if it didnt rain all summer here in lyon and the streets became empty because the lyonnaise people dont like rain. I still had a great dinner and really enjoyed the food met some very nice people got a lot of information that I will excersize today but I first need to go to Pual Bocuses office because they are hiring for cooks in the kitchen so we will see and do my best to get a job there.
on other notes things are I guess just taking them as they come. Walking around learning things talking to people etc.
Anyways otherwise just enjoying my self I went to the museum yesterday which I am sure I wrote about it was interesting thats forsure. IT is of course very nice to be able to get in places free because I am under 26.
Otherwise I am off I got things to do, people to see adn places to go.
yehuda
on other notes things are I guess just taking them as they come. Walking around learning things talking to people etc.
Anyways otherwise just enjoying my self I went to the museum yesterday which I am sure I wrote about it was interesting thats forsure. IT is of course very nice to be able to get in places free because I am under 26.
Otherwise I am off I got things to do, people to see adn places to go.
yehuda
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
lyon
well I went to the Jewish area even the lubavitch area of lyon but no one could really help me out with either a job or place to rent so Jessica pushed me to go out and make it a Yehuda Day. So I went to the art museum and walked around for a while looking at some interesting pictures and sculptures...WOW the french are really enamoured with womens breasts!! haha!! but anyways it was nice and free since I am under 26. I am exasuted though so I think I will take a short nap and go out again later and go for dinner as well, hopefully a job will come from this dinner though.
wish me luck I kinda need it.
yehuda
wish me luck I kinda need it.
yehuda
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Chef Bocuse
SO I will try to write properly and with the proper grammer what I did today adn what I kind of came to the conclusions about Lyon so bear with me please.
So as some of you know I have beena bit down lately which hasn't been good for my morale. Trust me it is tough walking around a city askign people in broken French for a job or looking for an appartment in a city where you are lucky if a shoe box is empty to live in. And top that off with coming back to a small expensive hotel room with bare walls to look at (not the biggest morale booster). But anyways on to the probably best and highest point of my tripso far! Iam sure everyone is waiting for it....
As promised I went to have lunch at the top chef in the worlds restaurant here in Lyon. What an amazing experience it was.
Now for the whole story....
When you make reservations they tell you to take a taxi for one also that to book off two hours for your meal. SO you get there they bring you the menu etc just like a normal restaurant. Then when you order they bring you an amuse bouche .. A REAL AMUSE BOUCHE (a little something to wet you appetite) which was pumpkin soup with chesnuts and a small brioche bun. Now the soup was great but it tasted like melted craft cheese!! haha but that is only because of the amount of cream that was in it. To be honest though it tasted amazing.
Then for my entree (first course in France) I had three kinds of duck.
1) Duck Terrine stuffed with Foie Gras, pistacchios and truffles.
2)Foie Gras terrine
3) Duck consomme gellee with celeriac and Black Truffles
To put into words how delightfull and delicious that tasted I think is impossible, they were simple flavours that just meshed into one amazing dish.
Although I have had a lot of duck lately I think I may be getting ducked out a bit.
That is when the fun began first Mrs. Bocuse came into the dining room adn welcomed the guests and says she hopes you enjoy her husbands food. about 5minutes later Chef Bocuse came into the dining room and introduces himself to me. Of course I recognized him so I stood up shook his hand and introduced myself. In my best French I explained who I was and what I was doing here, but he didnt understand me so he said merci adn continued onto the next table. He took some pictures with some patrons. MY waiter saw what happened so he calls the chef over and in a much better French he tells the chef who I am and why I am there. Chef Bocuse looks at me smiles, takes the napkin off my lap, takes me by the hand and stands me up. I thought he wanted to take a picture with me standing up thats all. But he doesnt let go of my hand and instead leads me through the entire dining room and straight into the kitchen. Everyone stared at me wondering who I was that I was being led by the hand by Chef Bocuse.
When I got into the kitchen Chef introduced me to his Chef De Cuisine and his Sous Chef. Suddenly one of the cooks cleared off the pass (plating area) and Chef called over his Chef De Cuisine and Sous chef to join in the picture with me and him. After we took the pictures Chef told his Chef De Cuisine (main guy in the kitchen) to give me a tour of the kitchen. Which I got and when I was done I thanked everyone and went back to my seat getting lots of stares from the customers. I sat down at my seat and my meal was served I had:
Pigeon with cabbage stuffed with mashed potatoes and I believe a quanelle of calf's liver and a sweet potato chip with a sauce for the gods. How to describe pigeon. I guess it tasted very earthy but really good. I think its definitelly an aquired taste. But either way the pigeon leg was wrapped in pastry adn a design cut into the pastry which I thought was cool.
(skip ahead an hour)
When I was done eating I was waiting outside for the taxi and chef Bocuse comes back from visiting another one of his restaurants. He sees me outside and tells me to sit down on teh bench next to him. He asked me a few questions and I answered them but then he asked me some things i didnt understand in French so I politely told him I only understand a little french. So he asked me for my resume. When I opened my knasack I told him I had come fully prepared in hopes that he woud let me stage for the day. He smiled looked over my resume and he asked me another question and then said he would call me at a later time. He walked inside the restaurant and thanked me for coming.
Even if he never calls me I learned some very valuble information today. Simple food is better than all the fancy things chefs are doing these days. The food was simple not too many ingredients on one plate but nice and tasty. The cooking was very classical flavours but simple and I liked that. I also realized what I wanted as chef and how I wanted to be as a chef.
The rest of the day I walked around old lyon and handed out resumes getting turned down left and right so that wasnt good but i focused on the positive and teh day adn it helped clear my head and know whatI wanted for the future and for the rest of of my stay in europe.
yehuda
So as some of you know I have beena bit down lately which hasn't been good for my morale. Trust me it is tough walking around a city askign people in broken French for a job or looking for an appartment in a city where you are lucky if a shoe box is empty to live in. And top that off with coming back to a small expensive hotel room with bare walls to look at (not the biggest morale booster). But anyways on to the probably best and highest point of my tripso far! Iam sure everyone is waiting for it....
As promised I went to have lunch at the top chef in the worlds restaurant here in Lyon. What an amazing experience it was.
Now for the whole story....
When you make reservations they tell you to take a taxi for one also that to book off two hours for your meal. SO you get there they bring you the menu etc just like a normal restaurant. Then when you order they bring you an amuse bouche .. A REAL AMUSE BOUCHE (a little something to wet you appetite) which was pumpkin soup with chesnuts and a small brioche bun. Now the soup was great but it tasted like melted craft cheese!! haha but that is only because of the amount of cream that was in it. To be honest though it tasted amazing.
Then for my entree (first course in France) I had three kinds of duck.
1) Duck Terrine stuffed with Foie Gras, pistacchios and truffles.
2)Foie Gras terrine
3) Duck consomme gellee with celeriac and Black Truffles
To put into words how delightfull and delicious that tasted I think is impossible, they were simple flavours that just meshed into one amazing dish.
Although I have had a lot of duck lately I think I may be getting ducked out a bit.
That is when the fun began first Mrs. Bocuse came into the dining room adn welcomed the guests and says she hopes you enjoy her husbands food. about 5minutes later Chef Bocuse came into the dining room and introduces himself to me. Of course I recognized him so I stood up shook his hand and introduced myself. In my best French I explained who I was and what I was doing here, but he didnt understand me so he said merci adn continued onto the next table. He took some pictures with some patrons. MY waiter saw what happened so he calls the chef over and in a much better French he tells the chef who I am and why I am there. Chef Bocuse looks at me smiles, takes the napkin off my lap, takes me by the hand and stands me up. I thought he wanted to take a picture with me standing up thats all. But he doesnt let go of my hand and instead leads me through the entire dining room and straight into the kitchen. Everyone stared at me wondering who I was that I was being led by the hand by Chef Bocuse.
When I got into the kitchen Chef introduced me to his Chef De Cuisine and his Sous Chef. Suddenly one of the cooks cleared off the pass (plating area) and Chef called over his Chef De Cuisine and Sous chef to join in the picture with me and him. After we took the pictures Chef told his Chef De Cuisine (main guy in the kitchen) to give me a tour of the kitchen. Which I got and when I was done I thanked everyone and went back to my seat getting lots of stares from the customers. I sat down at my seat and my meal was served I had:
Pigeon with cabbage stuffed with mashed potatoes and I believe a quanelle of calf's liver and a sweet potato chip with a sauce for the gods. How to describe pigeon. I guess it tasted very earthy but really good. I think its definitelly an aquired taste. But either way the pigeon leg was wrapped in pastry adn a design cut into the pastry which I thought was cool.
(skip ahead an hour)
When I was done eating I was waiting outside for the taxi and chef Bocuse comes back from visiting another one of his restaurants. He sees me outside and tells me to sit down on teh bench next to him. He asked me a few questions and I answered them but then he asked me some things i didnt understand in French so I politely told him I only understand a little french. So he asked me for my resume. When I opened my knasack I told him I had come fully prepared in hopes that he woud let me stage for the day. He smiled looked over my resume and he asked me another question and then said he would call me at a later time. He walked inside the restaurant and thanked me for coming.
Even if he never calls me I learned some very valuble information today. Simple food is better than all the fancy things chefs are doing these days. The food was simple not too many ingredients on one plate but nice and tasty. The cooking was very classical flavours but simple and I liked that. I also realized what I wanted as chef and how I wanted to be as a chef.
The rest of the day I walked around old lyon and handed out resumes getting turned down left and right so that wasnt good but i focused on the positive and teh day adn it helped clear my head and know whatI wanted for the future and for the rest of of my stay in europe.
yehuda
Monday, October 19, 2009
tomorrow
hi everyone
todays post wont be long because I didnt have the best day possible I walked around handing out resumes and getting sad at the fact that I am now in limbo with what the future holds over here in france but I hope tomorrow will bring better news so stay posted for tomorrows because tomorrow I will go to the restaurant near Lyon which is the whole reason for coming to France, and pretty much beg for a job. So we will see how it works out and I'll take it from there. I guess I do have to get used to doing things as they come my way, so I am learning and trying to come up with solutions to the situations that arise. any words of encouragement are greatly appreciated
todays post wont be long because I didnt have the best day possible I walked around handing out resumes and getting sad at the fact that I am now in limbo with what the future holds over here in france but I hope tomorrow will bring better news so stay posted for tomorrows because tomorrow I will go to the restaurant near Lyon which is the whole reason for coming to France, and pretty much beg for a job. So we will see how it works out and I'll take it from there. I guess I do have to get used to doing things as they come my way, so I am learning and trying to come up with solutions to the situations that arise. any words of encouragement are greatly appreciated
Sunday, October 18, 2009
bon noit
SO its been a long day btu a very productive one at that. I have been directed towards some good restaurants and tomorrow i start my search for a job. I have made some friends here which is good.
I had dinner with a friend of my brother srulik tonight. Turns out he is married toa friend of my sister in law and she also went to school with my sister devora..what a smal world. Thats all that I can think of. otherwise things are good on this end and I am really excited and ready to start cooking
I had dinner with a friend of my brother srulik tonight. Turns out he is married toa friend of my sister in law and she also went to school with my sister devora..what a smal world. Thats all that I can think of. otherwise things are good on this end and I am really excited and ready to start cooking
found an appartment
Yey so all my worries are now out the window. I found an appartment to live in, in Lyon. I am staying int he fourth district its a quieter one but still very close to downtown Lyon. What I realized quickly is this city isnt as big as I thought. SO I really can walk everywhere I go. So anywyas since im sure everyone is wondering I am renting an apartment from a nice guy he is divorced has a gf (that has her own place so shes almost never over) a son (who is there 2 weekends a month. and down the block on weekends they have a farmers market. YES A REAL FARMERS MARKET!! not like the fake ones at downsview park or downtown. This stuff is brought in fresh from Burgonge brittany bordeaux madoc beaujalais etc. so how could I say no? The owner of the flats brother was a chef and father was a chef, and he has some contacts and he said he would call some people for me. But tomorrow I will get the key and probably move in on Wednesday. Anyways I am out to go find work now. wish me luck
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Lyon a beautifull city
Although I woke up late this morning I still made it in time for my meeting. Turns out there is a film festival for Clint Eastwood this weekend in Lyon so the Metro is free! That doesnt mean I took the Metro all day. I walked quite a bit today. My journeys took me to the 4th district here in Lyon, and as soon as I got out of the station this si what was happening. Pretty much a circus, there were rides, games, they were on the streets , sidewalks it was so cool. It doesnt look like a particularly crazy neighborhood but it was nice. I like the layout of Lyon so far and I can really walk anywhere. SO I found agencies today but they are all closed until monday So I am going ot enjoy myself tomorrow and explore the city. I am sure there are some interesting tourist sites.
So while wlaking back from the 4er to the hotel which is in 1er I walked through Place de Bellachure. So yesterday when I was there the place was deserted but today packed with a safety fair. It was basically a fair of the police force, ambulance, fire, safety etc etc. But teh funny thing about it was, just on teh other side of the fence was a rally being held for teh distruction of Israel by a bunch of Palestinians. I thought that was kind of interesting to see. Of course I took pictures. Its getting dark outside, so I am in my hotel room for the night.
oh and by the way I have a cel phone now adn can be reached any time, just please keep in mind France is 6 hours ahead of Canada (times wise but light years away otherwise)
33 6 34 64 37 35
So while wlaking back from the 4er to the hotel which is in 1er I walked through Place de Bellachure. So yesterday when I was there the place was deserted but today packed with a safety fair. It was basically a fair of the police force, ambulance, fire, safety etc etc. But teh funny thing about it was, just on teh other side of the fence was a rally being held for teh distruction of Israel by a bunch of Palestinians. I thought that was kind of interesting to see. Of course I took pictures. Its getting dark outside, so I am in my hotel room for the night.
oh and by the way I have a cel phone now adn can be reached any time, just please keep in mind France is 6 hours ahead of Canada (times wise but light years away otherwise)
33 6 34 64 37 35
Friday, October 16, 2009
day un in lyon
So I arrived here ok but on the train ride and it was great. But the interesting thing about my trip is that on the train was riding fast past the many farms and chateauxs it was amazing to see how they were all seperatedinto small plots. Animals grazing and of course seeing the french country side it was a ll beautifull to see and take in. I havent tried the lyonnaise food yet but I almost walked into my first micheline star restaurant today adn i think I will drop off a resume there
Lyon
I just arrive lyon, checked in well, nice room nice people fits the budget now im off to find a place to rent for the time that I am here.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
answers to comments and closing notes for today
SO today ended off very well, having drinks with some people in the middle of paris, friends of friends and having more frenglish conversation!! haha but it was good had some good beer during happy hour for cheap.
so yes jessica is right!! I walk all day and take the metro only if the destination is too far although I have walked at least one of the two directions. I also walk about 5-6 hours a day which means I have lost weight. (Have I mentioned the area im in is pretty hilly?) I plan on sending home some food if not in december at least earlier since some of the stuff is sooooo good and delicious but to rest everyones worries the amount of butter/cream/cheese etc, that gets consumed here I am yet to see any overweight or obese frenchies because they walk and bike everywhere tehy go...which means a lot of cardio!! anyways the next post will probably be from lyon as I will be traveling there in teh morning!! yey
so Au revoir et salute and good night from Paris
so yes jessica is right!! I walk all day and take the metro only if the destination is too far although I have walked at least one of the two directions. I also walk about 5-6 hours a day which means I have lost weight. (Have I mentioned the area im in is pretty hilly?) I plan on sending home some food if not in december at least earlier since some of the stuff is sooooo good and delicious but to rest everyones worries the amount of butter/cream/cheese etc, that gets consumed here I am yet to see any overweight or obese frenchies because they walk and bike everywhere tehy go...which means a lot of cardio!! anyways the next post will probably be from lyon as I will be traveling there in teh morning!! yey
so Au revoir et salute and good night from Paris
museum of national history
so can you imagine I went to the museum of national history? Neither can i. But Jessica said I should go out and do something since I feel kind of Blah toda, so I knew where I could get free internet and knew there was the museum next door to it. I sorta know my way around the latin quarter now, to a degree, well at least from my hostel to the Gare De Lyon about 2 km away.
So anyways I went in and its free if you are under 26. So I walked around to take pictures and look at wooden skeletons of differant animals. Eventually I got bored of it and now I am outside the museum on the internet.
Just a funny thing this morning, I spent about 2 hours trying to find the appearently jewish restuarant industry in paris, (I first got directions but they were wrong) and I stumbled upona side street that had olden day shops and store. I stopped in one to watch the fish monger shuck scallops, saw fish that I have only dreamed of in Toronto. And also fish that you can only get frozen in Canada and the US. other stops included the butcher and boy do I have some cool pictures of pheasants partridge and real quail not teh fake stuff thats called quail in canada. But most of all I walked intoa Charcuterie ont he street and saw pates, terrines, chaux faux (I think thats how its spelled) anywyas blew my mind and had to taste the food. SO that was lunch couscous with delicious fresh mergues stewed chicked and a meat ball made up of three differant meats witha sweet harrisa sauce..mmmm tasty now I am going to just continue goofing around on the internet to kill time
au revoir
So anyways I went in and its free if you are under 26. So I walked around to take pictures and look at wooden skeletons of differant animals. Eventually I got bored of it and now I am outside the museum on the internet.
Just a funny thing this morning, I spent about 2 hours trying to find the appearently jewish restuarant industry in paris, (I first got directions but they were wrong) and I stumbled upona side street that had olden day shops and store. I stopped in one to watch the fish monger shuck scallops, saw fish that I have only dreamed of in Toronto. And also fish that you can only get frozen in Canada and the US. other stops included the butcher and boy do I have some cool pictures of pheasants partridge and real quail not teh fake stuff thats called quail in canada. But most of all I walked intoa Charcuterie ont he street and saw pates, terrines, chaux faux (I think thats how its spelled) anywyas blew my mind and had to taste the food. SO that was lunch couscous with delicious fresh mergues stewed chicked and a meat ball made up of three differant meats witha sweet harrisa sauce..mmmm tasty now I am going to just continue goofing around on the internet to kill time
au revoir
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
2 days into paris
So many things to write about but only thanks to jessica do I now know how to properly blog...so anyways .... I went to the bathrooms here and although they are expensive to use ..they are cleaner then my own bathroom...so i think im bringing a french maid back with me to clean my house....hahah... so much to talk about though!!
Ive walked through most of Paris in the last two days .. which is good because ive lost my spare tires..which is good!!
Anyways I had dinner last night, which right away reminded me as to why I am here in France. Although the food needs an aquired taste I loved the meal and witha bottle of wine dinner cost me less then 25 euros, and it was absouletly amazing.
Today though had me walking through paris as I said. But I think I forgot to mention how gorgeous it is to walk down the street and see pretty much an open market with such delicious artisanal foods, made fresh in so many differant parts of France. I had a great cheese although I dont know what kind it was. But as part of the open market I was tasting a lot of food. I stopped at a shop that was selling spreads. I tasted one...loved it and then I started talking to the vender in Frenglish (half French half English), and I tasted a bunch of the spreads and by word of god I felt like I was in a candy store. so I bought a few of them and got a fourth for free!!! I continued down the street and saw a foie Gras vendor. So for the rest of my breakfast I had Foie Gras and Duck Pate!! The guy just kept giving em Foie Gras on a Fresh Baguette (from the vendor next to him) so I bought a container of Duck Terrine.
I saw many sites along the Seine river but didnt go into the buildings.
For dinner I bought fresh and I mean fresh baguetts, they just came out of the oven and still very hot!! and made subs for a few fo my hostel mates and we drank wine and had subs. All for less then 5 euros a person.
Anyways I will get better at writing and not be so scatter brained when I write this blog but tomorrow I am off to versaille and to get a cell phone as well, so i'll update then.
au revoir et salute
Ive walked through most of Paris in the last two days .. which is good because ive lost my spare tires..which is good!!
Anyways I had dinner last night, which right away reminded me as to why I am here in France. Although the food needs an aquired taste I loved the meal and witha bottle of wine dinner cost me less then 25 euros, and it was absouletly amazing.
Today though had me walking through paris as I said. But I think I forgot to mention how gorgeous it is to walk down the street and see pretty much an open market with such delicious artisanal foods, made fresh in so many differant parts of France. I had a great cheese although I dont know what kind it was. But as part of the open market I was tasting a lot of food. I stopped at a shop that was selling spreads. I tasted one...loved it and then I started talking to the vender in Frenglish (half French half English), and I tasted a bunch of the spreads and by word of god I felt like I was in a candy store. so I bought a few of them and got a fourth for free!!! I continued down the street and saw a foie Gras vendor. So for the rest of my breakfast I had Foie Gras and Duck Pate!! The guy just kept giving em Foie Gras on a Fresh Baguette (from the vendor next to him) so I bought a container of Duck Terrine.
I saw many sites along the Seine river but didnt go into the buildings.
For dinner I bought fresh and I mean fresh baguetts, they just came out of the oven and still very hot!! and made subs for a few fo my hostel mates and we drank wine and had subs. All for less then 5 euros a person.
Anyways I will get better at writing and not be so scatter brained when I write this blog but tomorrow I am off to versaille and to get a cell phone as well, so i'll update then.
au revoir et salute
Sunday, October 11, 2009
And its here
Tonight I actually am off to France. It has been a dream of mine and Jessica's for about 2 years. It is exciting that this is actually happening. I promise to be a better blogger than this post.
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