Well this culinary adventure started about a month ago, and I'm sitting here in disbelief in how it's actually over, how quickly it passed, how hard it was, how many cuts my hands have suffered, and how I'm going to miss my classmates, most of whom are now returning to their regularly scheduled lives. Two are continuing on to Intermediate and some said they would return for their graduation from Superior.
The Basic Cuisine Intensive course started with twelve students. Quickly, one of them transferred over to Pastry, and two dropped out before the final. Of the nine of us who attempted the final exam, only eight passed. It was heart-breaking to hear this morning that one of us got a 48% on the final exam, and thus wouldn't graduate. I believe it is possible for him to challenge the results, but doubtful it will make a difference. He worked so hard, but I think a large part of it for him was the language barrier. He really deserved to pass, but he really fucked up his Bernaise sauce. Rough deal. I guess they weren't kidding on the first day of classes when they said that the Ottawa school is known to be the hardest and they actually do fail students. As an aside, at the Superior level, two sessions ago, only 6 of 10 students passed. Yikes!
My final dish was certainly not my best, but it was my best effort given the stress levels involved. I got an 8/10 on the Bon D'economat (shocking!) and above a 3/5 on my veal chops, so it's as good as I could reasonably expect and in line with what I was doing during the regular session. Most people do 20% worse than a regular practical, but if that had happened, I would have been perilously close to failing.
Graduation was a non-event really. They briefly introduced the school staff, and then handed out the certificates, a bronze pin (which I will cherish even more than my ITIL foundation pin -GEEK JOKE-), and a class photo. Chef Benoit handed me mine, shook my hand, and asked me if I was continuing, and I said "Unfortunately, I have to return to my real life." and he looked disappointed but we both laughed. The later stages are definitely interesting, including butchery of a lamb, advanced plating, costing, etc. but I'm not sure if my story includes me devoting 6 more months of my life towards this hobby.
Last night, most of us went out for drinks, and I asked my classmates two questions: What did you learn? If you knew how it would actually be, would you have done it?
Some answers to the first question were:
- Lots about sauces
- Different cooking methods
- How to cook different kinds of meats
- Knife skills
The answer to the second question was a universal YES. Some people talked about the opportunity cost and financial cost (you can definitely do a lot with the tuition and 5 weeks of holidays) but all said it was a wonderful experience that they are glad they did.
What I learned can be summarized in classical French style cutting and turning vegetables. Take the time to do something right, because people take way too many short cuts in life. At the end of the day, there is a right way to do something, and a wrong way.. and often people are in too much of a rush to do things properly. Also, with proper practice, technique gets really good and fast.. (Chef Benoit and Chef Gilles can turn carrots in under 10 seconds, whereas it still takes me closer to 90).
Thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed the ride.
Point final.
-THC
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