FRENCH CLASSICS

Today we were introduced to 3 French classics, dishes we order without much thoughts. I did OK even though I was constantly seeking help in the kitchen. Chef, is this correct? Chef, what happened to my sauce? Chef, what did I do wrong? It is banal but I will say it anyway, there are a lot more than meets the eye in cooking, detail recipes notwithstanding. On Day #1 they all said ' .... remember, there is so such thing as a stupid question'. I accepted the invitation at face value, and I wonder if they regret it now.

* Carre d'Agneau Persille : Rack of Lamb with Parsley Crust
* Ratatouille Provencale : Vegetable Stew Provencale, no, not the mousy Disney version
* Pommes Anna : Anna Potatoes

What I love most are the historical background & anecdotes that accompany the dishes. We have to Google every dish before class, information we acquire on this exercise alone is invaluable for the rest of my 'foodie' existence. Global assignments & travels have made Chef Steve a wonderful story teller. For example; how the French fell in love with potatoes way back when or, the beach restaurant in Sicily that only serves one single dish of lobster pasta? Equipped with a mountain of recipes my goal is to discipline myself to practise, practise & practise until I reach that 'standard' I seek, as a 'wannabe home cook'.

GOOD MORNING!

The picture was taken in the locker room only this morning. Note how small the locker is, that said my 'double course' status allows me the privilege of 2 lockers, which is a true luxury. It may be 6-days a week but my energy seems abundant and my stamina holding up, not bad for an old guy. Note my full gear, including the tasting spoon on my left arm, which is part of uniform at LCB. The rule is 'absolutely no double dipping allowed' ie you have one taste, finito, if you want another, wash that spoon first. BTW that little red thing I am holding is my daily lunch. To amuse myself I rotate the color of lunch bewteen red, green & orange. Breakfast is 'Health Nut Special' ie all-bran cereal with yogurt. My only indulgence is a tiny 150ml bottle of full cream fresh milk which comes with the fresh towels everyday. I am told this is an Aussie hospitality tradition, they probably thought I just got off a refugee boat or something. I reckon 5g of 'fat' from this delicious national product is not going to make a difference to my Olympian physique. On Cuisine days I eat what I produce but for Patisserie I only take a taste and give the goodies away. Why, I do not have a sweet tooth. Dinners are mostly vegetarian otherwise, the freshness of the produce here is unmatched. I feel slimmer but there is no scale anywhere to confirm, I think weighing oneself at a culinary mecca of repute is bad manners. Who cares, as long as I stay happy.

CALF'S LIVER & BACON

The Octopus Salad shown in the previous blog was mine but this one came from Chef Steve. I was rushed and did not have time to take a picture of my own dish before 'time'. The house rule is : 'if the plate is not presented 5 minutes after the bell it will not be marked'. Since practical kitchen work takes up 65% of our grades - the remaining 35% are on assignments and theories eg food safety, occupational health, legal requirements etc - no one dares cross that line. Again LCB aims to train us to deal with the pressure of timely delivery in a commercial kitchen, no small task for the faint-hearted. The verdict today was interesting ' ... your dishes are always well-seasoned, because you have a sensitive palate'. I presume that is a plus? I guess years of blatant taste-bud indulgence is finally paying off. Before I close I must confess I am much more relaxed at Cuisine classes, Patisserie still gives me the chills. Please do not ask me why, only Andrea, who has been through the baptism of fire would understand my 'fear'.

HEAVENLY!

Today is the kind of day I dreamed about before I came here ie learning to cook my all time favorites. Not just one, but two at the top of my list, in the same lesson. Chef Steve plays the psyche of his students well, it is supposed to be Lesson 7 ie commencement of Week 3 but he decided to teach Lesson 23 instead so we struck gold. The menu was (1) Grilled Baby Octopus Salad with Herbed Black Olives/Lemon Vinaigrette (2) Pan-Fried Calf's Liver with Bacon & Jus. We also learned 2 side dishes; Buttered Spinach & Onion Frita le Francaise ... delish! We are allowed to take everything we cooked home - no ingredients though, so I had a field day.

PEAK & VALLEY

I forgot to report on my 2nd 'Waterloo' after the Gateau Weekend. Just one day after my full-marks I fell from the Peak all the way to Shau Kei Wan! This atrocious picture is proof. I simply could not manage; the dough was not right, the thickness was not right, the stacking was not right as it required a scientific mind & nimble fingers, both I lack, lastly they were too sweet .... pitiful is the word. Most of the class made 20 from the same ingredients, I could barely manage 10. 'I appreciate the fact that you kept trying though' was all Chef Michael could mutter, trying desperately to be kind I am sure. What a blood bath!

L'ART DE VIVRE & AMITIES GOURMANDES!

At orientation we were given a booklet which opened with a letter from the President of LCB Andre Cointreau. I finally managed to read it last night. Commissioned in 1895 the 'Blue Ribbon' aims to represent not only French culinary arts, but French culture at large. LCB has an extensive network of 27 schools in 16 countries, and a student body of 20,000 taught by 80+ International Master Chefs. We are reminded that with Sydney at our doorsteps everyone should take every opportunity to explore 'L'Art de Vivre' ..... described as a key mission of the course, raison d'etre again, perhaps?

A round trip train ticket to Town Hall in the middle of the city is A$6.20 .... it takes almost an hour, to the minute, from the moment I closed my door at Metro Inn ie walk to the station, waiting, and the 35 minute ride. Trains are right on-time! Today is Mother's Day so the mood was festive in the city, lots of hugs & kisses & hand holding with Moms across all ages. Cointreau is right, we ought to make the best of Sydney, obviously a sought after location. Too bad I have school 6 days a week so I only have Sunday to play, and play I will.

A cool sign off from the Academic Director of Culinary ... 'Amities Gourmandes'. Hey, as a conscientious junior I will certainly do that, too.

30 YEAR FRIENDSHIP

Almost 30 years ago in 1980 three young Asians became the first Management Trainees to join Johnson & Johnson Australia in Sydney under the IDP ie International Development Program. Jaime Castro from Manila, Dicky Adiwoso from Jakarta, & Raymond Tang from Hong Kong. Our Aussie colleagues called us 'The Triad'. To make a long story short, we made the collective effort to keep up since, and our lasting friendship is the ultimate winner.

I left J&J in 1985 to join the executive search world. Jaime had an illustrious career with MNCs, after J&J he joined Alcon Pharmaceutical where he retired as the regional boss. Dicky chose the commercial route with Bakrie Brothers after J&J and became the 'ultra-businessman' I can never be, even if I try. Our J&J ties led to a fascinating business relationship in the late 80's when we collaborated to recruit the CEO of P.T. Seamless Pipe in Chiligon, partnering with Krakatau Steel. The dimensions, the complexity, the impact, the politics, the players really opened my eyes. It was my first global search project, working closely with high power candidates from U.S. Steel, Sumitomo Steel & Italipianti etc. I found myself totally inadequate on the one hand but I also matured professionally on that steep learning curve, thanks to Dicky's introduction.

Jamie & Duitay live in Manila with their 2 adult children whom we knew as toddlers. Dicky & Igal sent all 4 kids to 'uni' here (Aussie code for college) as a result of his own exposure. Being the baby in the group he is still active. Dicky owns a huge cattle farm in South Sumatra, partnering with Aussie cattle farmers which is why he is here a lot. Dora & I hosted a memorable 'First Triad Reunion' in Hong Kong back in March. The next one is Manila, and then Jakarta when we plan to bring our 2nd generation together & stay at Dicky's beach house, next to the farm. I am sure the steaks will be top class, probably on-the-house too, since daman owns a few thousand heads down the road. Right Dicky?

The picture was taken by Dicky's honorable #2 son, in front of 'The Little Snail' on Darling Harbor circa May 10th 2009. For the record I ordered 'Chicken Cordon Bleu' out of sheer respect for my alma mater. Dicky is my witness since he took the bill, and I let him.

The Chinese have a saying (and we have lots) on the 3 key things we must have when we get old .... Old Partner, Old Capital & of course Old Friends. Thank you Dicky & Jaime for being such wonderful 'Old Friends', here is to our next, and many more reunions.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

To all Mothers out there, whose love is 'The Greatest Love of All' .... remember that tune?

* To my Mom, 88, affectionately known as Grandma or GM, who enjoys health & longevity;
* To Dora the Mom of our terribly spoiled but precious daughters & of course, Kaya;
* To my dear Sister Lilian, the Mom of Katz & Papagano;
* To Terriann the Mom of Jello;
* To Andrea the Mom of Snoopy;
* To Jessica the Mom of Moses!

Make all Mothers special, today, and everyday from now on!

PATISSERIE MORNINGS!

I have Patisserie 3 days a week ie Thu/Fri/Sat starting 730am. Alarm goes off at 6am as I need 30 minutes for my routine of shower, shave, cereal, fruit yogurt & news on TV .... before leaving at 630am for the 20-minute quick walk to school so I am not rushed in the changing room, so I can review my 'work-flow' Q&A before the chefs rain on us. I am the only early bird in the family, Dora and the girls will never survive this regimen, especially our nocturnal offsprings aka Andrea & Jessica.

Look at that first-light outside my picture window, it is breath-taking and so beautiful to wake up to. I am mesmerized, every morning. I always take a couple of minutes to watch the unfolding skyline, it is magical. Now you know why people say 'some of the best things in life are free' ... here is one, from me, to you, with love!

THERAPY

Psychologists say mild physical labor can be a form of therapy for stressed out souls. I agree. To me washing dishes & wine glasses after a party is a good way to unwind. In the early days of our marriage (before children pirated our serenity) Dora & I had no helper, yet we entertained almost as frequently as we do nowadays. She did most of the cooking, I helped with mise en place. My main role, however, was cleaning the kitchen afterwards, a task I loved. A bottle of Johnny Walker Black, a bucket of ice, radio on - no IPODs then - I would be happy as a lark for a couple of hours, relishing every moment. I am certain the therapy bit has lots to do with 'satisfactory completion'. These tasks are not demanding, one just gets on, in whatever fashion one wants until they are done. It is something the work place today does not offer what with clients, bosses, coworkers, revenues, profits & of course, office politics .... ad nauseum. Who needs any of it?

Coming to the main point of this blog : that strange object in the picture is an item some of you might still remember, albeit remotely. It is called, very good .... an ironing board! You may not be as far gone the Hong Kong Way as I suspect. You are not going to believe it but you all have one at home and someone (obviously NOT you) actually uses it every day. Unimaginable, isn't it? In my book ironing is a close second to kitchen cleaning as therapy for stress. My ironing board is a permanent fixture in the room now since I have to 'look my best' at LCB so I iron my uniform, my scarf, my hat ... every night.

You see how blessed I am here in Sydney? On a daily basis I get to act out my passion, I become a student all over again, I am taught by the best in the culinary discipline .... above all, I get therapy from cleaning the kitchen during the day, and ironing at night.