Taking a break from the regular format...so much has happened in the last week that if I try to write about all of it, this entry will be a book! So, here we go for lots of photos and snippets of life in Paris during the past week.

Last Tuesday night, most of my classmates and I were part of a French television show called Ce Soir ou Jamais.  Our school invited us to attend the show because world-renowned chef of ElBulli in Spain, Ferran Adría,  was the special guest. Ferran Adría is a molecular gastronomist who mixes cuisine and science in the kitchen of his restaurant, the main draw for the select few who enter ElBulli's doors as diners during the 7 months the restaurant is actually open. If you're interested in having the ElBulli experience, be prepared to call the restaurant on a designated day in October, the only day they take reservations, and fork over at least 300 Euros for an unforgettable meal that can contain up to 35 courses. Maybe I'll get there someday...at least I got to sit next to him on television! 

Pineapple Carpaccio 

Opera 

Olive macaron

Grignotine 

Mendiants

We had dinner service last Wednesday and even though only 7 of us were present, it was by far the smoothest and most enjoyable service we've had. Everyone pitched in since some sections were short (1 person doing plated desserts for 60 people) and despite being short-staffed, we finished early! There were compliments from our chef for working so well and compliments from the dining room...can't beat that.   

Succés

Feuilles d'automne 

Chef working on his pastillage/sugar masterpiece 

The final product 

Thursdays after restaurant service are spent finishing what we started at the beginning of the week. This week we made a Succés, hazelnut buttercream sandwiched between two almond meringue sponge cakes and Feuilles d'automne, layers of chocolate mousse and sponge cake decorated with "leaves" of chocolate. The succés was a success (haha!) and fairly easy to make while the feuilles d'automne was my worst nightmare. There's nothing like working with chocolate sheets that aren't thick enough with really hot hands. Every time I picked up the chocolate, the heat of my fingers burned a hole in it on contact leading to some very interesting leaves. 

We also watched chef do pastillage and sugar work to decorate a cake for his boss' wife. The things you can do with food are amazing! 

Baguette dough...it's alive! 

We thought the container was big enough...obviously not 

Baguettes and spring sun...what could be better? 

Bakery on Friday was complete with pain de campagne (country bread), croissants, pain au chocolat, and baguette dough with a mind of its own. We used two types of rising agents in our dough which lead to an overflowing and gooey mass that we managed to control and turn into tasty baguettes. 

Jardin d'Acclimation - Americans in Paris event 

Rick Odums dancers 

There's a really interesting event called "Americans in Paris" going on at the Jardin d'Acclimation until May. Booths with American food, books, etc. plus American police cars, schools buses and SUVs are scattered throughout the park thoroughfare with various sporting events (dunking contests, baseball games, golf) and performances (music and dancing) taking place. A little piece of America right in Paris...

The person who truly sparked my interest in French culture and provided me with a solid foundation of French was in Paris this week...craziness! Mr. Langa, my high school French teacher, was here with some Beaumont students doing a one week trip through France and Spain and thanks to some haphazard planning, we met up on Saturday. About 10 years ago (I'm getting so old) I was sitting in his classroom daydreaming about visiting all the places in Paris he taught us about and drooling over the pastries in the photos he taunted us with and now, I'm here, living that daydream and making those pastries. Thank you Mr. Langa for planting the seed ;) 

I spent my first weekend of vacation grooving to kompa and reggae at two concerts I went to at La Villette, a huge park in the north of Paris. I can't get over how much there is to do in Paris; I love this city and I might just need another year here to explore all this city has to offer.