Rabbit... mr. easter bunny :-(

My first class of the day was a "conference." We weren't sure what was in store but it turned out to be a Q&A session with the head chef for Basic Cuisine. The purpose of the session was for Chef to solicit feedback on what we liked, what we didn't like, and what we'd like to see more of now that we're almost halfway through our course.

Some of the comments mentioned were around providing more context and suggesting variations around the recipes taught in demo class, but after a bit of discussion, Chef had us convinced that this sometimes wasn't possible because there's already so much going on during the demo classes. Chef usually has multiple things on the stovetop, something in the oven, and is working on something on the marble all at the same time. It's already a bit challenging trying to keep up, and with the language barrier, sometimes it makes things even more difficult.

One female student asked why there weren't any female chefs teaching the course and that sent the chef and the class into a long winded discussion about history and females in the workplace. Some of the chef's comments were of an old-school point of view, and it was clear that he saw cuisine as a male dominated profession. He stated nonchalantly that a female couldn't command a 100-person kitchen and that if you had 10 females working together in a kitchen, they would just fight...

Another interesting discussion was around the grades. Someone had asked when we would be able to see our grades and how we are doing. Chef explained that in 10 weeks, grades mean absolutely nothing and that we should just strive to soak up as much knowledge as we could, especially considering that it was difficult to judge a group of people that came from such diverse backgrounds. He said that you can only "grade" someone in cuisine after many, many years in
the kitchen. He had a good point and made me worry less about our written and final exams.

For my afternoon practical class, I made the rabbit from yesterday's demo with a creamy mustard sauce, skewered rabbit kidneys and liver, and sauteed potatoes. The most disturbing part about the rabbit was looking at its eyes (they're glossy and bulge out towards you), but as soon as we used our cleavers to chop of their heads, that problem was solved.

I was so excited that we would be making sauteed potatoes since its one of my favorite things in Paris. We made the sauce (from the juices of the cooked meat), sauteed the potatoes (just like the French!), and made the skewers; we finished in less than 2 hours (class is usually 3 hours long). I'll definitely make the sauteed potatoes again (and again), but I'm positive that I'll never make another rabbit in my life.

It's warmed up quite a bit in the last couple of days, and Parisians come out in full force when the weather is nice. Quinn and I went to our neighborhood glacier, Deliziefollie, for more gelato. I've decided that their caramel ice cream is out of this world (probably my fav gelato that I've ever had), but all their other flavors are pretty average or just slightly above average.