We started our morning by going to the Convention Market (on Convention between rue Al. Chartier and rue de l’Abbe Groult) near school. Chef took us to the various stands and talked about the various products. At the fish stand, he talked about how the fish labels must denote whether it is wild or farmed and if it is wild, it should state which ocean it came from. He also spoke about how to tell if scallops are fresh, how shrimp is rarely sold raw in France, and how it is by law that all poissoneries must display their fish on beds of ice. Fish should be stored at 0 - 1 degree celsius, which is translated to storing the fish on a bed of melting ice.
Our next stop was the charcutier (pork butcher). Each piece of the pig is used in some way so that nothing is wasted. We saw everything from the snout, the feet, the tongue, ears, and innards. They are used to make terrines, sausage, and various meat cuts. Back in the day when there was no refrigeration, people needed a way to store the meat; therefore, they cured it, smoked it, or preserved it in some way. Even though their processes were based on the days without refrigeration, the meat is still prepared in the same ways today.
We stopped at several fruit and vegetable stands and Chef pointed out ways to tell if the produce was fresh. For example, when buying asparagus you should look at the ends of the stalks. The ends should look as if they have been freshly cut instead of dry and shriveled. We also saw many types of mushrooms and potatoes. Chef also explained which types would be best for different dishes. I wish we had all of the different kinds of produce so readily available back home!
At the butcher shop, Chef explained the importance of the tracking stickers/tags on the chicken. The French pride themselves on chicken from Bresse; it's supposed to be the best kind available. Chef also taught us what to ask the butcher about the chicken: how old was it when it was slaughtered? what was it fed? what kind of living conditions did they have?
We strolled along the entire market and also stopped at a fromagerie and a boulangerie/patisserie before heading back to school. Once we got back, Chef told us to get changed into our uniforms and meet him in the upstairs demonstration room. Chef had an "allowance" to buy stuff during our market tour so at each stop, he picked up a few things. When we got upstairs, Chef was cooking the scallops and the sausage and the assistants were helping him cut up everything else. We had a large table filled with salami, sausages, crevettes, oysters, scallops, bread, various kinds of cheese, choux pastry with sugar, pound cake, almond cake, strawberries, and more. To top it all off, they served us wine! At 10:30 in the morning, we were enjoying wine at school and having a feast while we were at it!
I had a little bit of time before my next class so I headed to a nearby cafe with some girls from school to grab a cup of coffee. At the first cafe we stopped at, the guy turned us away saying that we couldn't just have coffee... weird.
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For our first practical, we made the grilled salmon, emulsified butter sauce, byron potatoes, and sauteed spinach from yesterday's demo. It turned out pretty well and the potatoes looked quite impressive in the way they were shaped and baked.
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Immediately following the practical, I headed to a demo class where Chef made stuffed veal, a meat glaze, glazed onions, glazed & turned carrots, and a duck terrine. He also showed us how to debone fowl, taught us the different elements of terrines (lots of fat!), and created the gelatin for the base of the terrine platter.
Immediately following the demo, I headed to my practical class to make the stuffed veal, meat glaze, glazed onions, and glazed & turned carrots that we'd just learned in our demo. I rushed through my practical (I didn't even reduce my sauce!) and I was ready to go home.
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