During my practical class today, we made Quiche Lorraine and began our puff pastry, which we'll finish off during our next lesson. We had my quiche for dinner later at night. I'm so glad that my Le Cordon Bleu tuition also covers dinner most nights of the week. It's like 2 for 1!
I had a 4 hour break today so Quinn met me for lunch at Le Bistro Landais. We had the formule, which included an entrée (appetizer) or dessert, plat (main dish), and an espresso (café). Of course, my fav part of the meal was Quinn's side dish of potatoes.
We lingered for quite a bit at lunch and meandered over to a nearby park to enjoy Polaine's pain au chocolat and chausson aux pommes on a park bench. It was so sunny today in Paris, probably one of the nicest days since we've been here. I had a slightly different perspective on our mid-afternoon snack today having just seen what goes into making puff pastry. I won't tell you how much butter there is in it!
This week's guest chef demonstration was given by Chef Poyac who is the head chef of the French Senate (how cool is that?!). The chef made all sorts of yummy, complex dishes. It was nice to be able to sit through a demo and not have to stress about taking down every detail of the recipe into my notes and committing it to memory for a practical. Instead, I felt like I was watching the taping of a Food Network TV show. The best part is that they give us little tastings of what he makes during the demo. I'll have to practice making some of the dishes at home.
Chef Poyac putting ham foam on goat cheese in a crispy brioche crust with oven-roasted tomato and red bell pepper
Roasted langoustine with botargo, saffron risotto, and sautéed cockles with curry
Star anis and cardamom roasted mango, orange flower tuile, and yogurt sorbet
Some of our tasting plates (the best part!!)
There was also a presentation by Père Fabre fromagerie. We were able to taste different variations of goat cheese, fresh and aged. We also heard the background of how the cheese is made, the credentials of Père Fabre, and got some tips on cheese in general.
Ed and Pachi stopped by for a glass of wine before heading to dinner at Le Grappillon down the street. It's been really nice having friends from San Francisco come and enjoy Paris. 
Now, I'm off to bed to catch an early train into Champagne tomorrow! Yay!!
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