Winding it up, Preparing to travel!

It is hard to imagine that my class time at Le Cordon Bleu is complete. The past seven months have flown by! The official ended to 7AM line up came on March 24th & I felt a bit differently on my last day of class compared to my first! The eagerness to continue learning remained as well as the excitement and apprehension of "what's next". The biggest difference is in the sudden realization that I won't see many of these individuals ever again. My favorite few will be in contact as we progress through this next phase. But the knucklehead brigade that I have crafted stories of and frustrations about will no longer share my morning air!





The end of class was not without a bit of drama so here goes!





We had several papers due in this class. The grain paper, the bean paper, the pasta paper & a final one on potatoes. Our class is broken up by days. For example, if the paper was due on day 7 of class, we knew that was Tuesday of the second week. There are five (5) class days in each week (really?). All of these due dates were listed in the paper syllabus given out on day one of class as well as being online in our class student portal area. Now, papers are due at the beginning of class and as shared before Chef has us do a recap of our paper for our fellow students. On day 20 (a Friday) our pasta paper was due. Since we are adults and in a school of higher education Chef did not remind us on Thursday that the papers were due in the morning.



Meet Moe ... and his two friends.... Larriette & Curly! Moe has been an argumentative sort of know-it-all since day one (back in August). If he is by himself he is actually OK, but with his pals around he is generally difficult to take. Now this holds true for his friend Curly too! He is a very nice young man until Moe is around and they have to complete with who can be the loudest or most crude. And Larriette ... the girlfriend that goes along with the group. Moe has a chip on his shoulder a mile wide and this is reflective in his "everyone is out to get me" attitude.



So, the pasta paper is due on day 20.... and yes, only half of the class had completed the assignment and this was rather disturbing for Chef. Moe pipes up and complains that "we were not reminded that the paper was due, it's not fair", blah blah blah, I was just waiting for "and the dog ate my paper" excuse! In his very calm and commanding voice, Chef simply asks Moe if he will need to be reminded to go to work when he is in the industry too? This really got Moe going and then the others who had not completed the paper began to jump in and complain. Chef shuts it down pretty quickly and gives the class a lecture on personal responsibility and preparedness for the job. He was very angry and yet seemingly empathetic to this students plight. He reminded us that on the first day of class he shared that it took a great deal to make him angry and that the limits were being pushed. And in with his very strong accent says "or, to put it into your English slang... it takes a great deal to piss me off"!! After nearly 15 minutes of this ridiculous exchange Chef agreed to giving those students an extension 'til Tuesday to finish. And warned that if it was not done by then to not bother showing up for class.


It was on this day that I completely understood the way in which we were being evaluated in this class. The papers were an important self learning tool, the foods prepared in class were critical for mastering techniques, the text book was a resource for understanding the cultures that influence foods, but it was ATTITUDE and INTEGRITY that we were really being measured on. Now, some may argue that this is all too subjective.... but it is also a dose of real medicine. You can know how to do this or that & you can master many techniques, but if you have a poor attitude & lack the integrity to hold yourself responsible, you will not be successful. This lesson holds true no matter what your profession. Chef, Marketer, Retail store owner, Sales person, Debt collector... you choose... those who are successful always have good attitudes and take ownership of their responsibilities. Have I mentioned he was my favorite Chef instructor?





Of all the things we learned in this class one of my favorites were the various flatbreads. Flatbreads are common in nearly every culture. You have Tortillas (corn) and Tortillas de harina (wheat flour), Aloo paratha (potato-filled), Lefse (potato), Coca d'spinacs (with spinach and pine nuts), Harsha (Moroccan), Pita Bread (pocketed) and Chapatis (Indian). My favorite Flatbread... the Chapatis. Likely due to the butter! It has a rich (buttery) texture and delicious with nearly any condiment. It is often called "rotis" in Pakistan and northern India and is very common throughout the continent.



Chapatis



2 tsp. salt

16 oz. warm water

1.25 lbs Atta Flour (use 1 lb all purpose & .25 lb of whole wheat flour if unavailable) You may need to add more to get the correct consistency but start with this amount.

2 oz. melted butter (Traditionally Ghee is used, Ghee is clarified brown butter)

**Atta flour is a whole wheat flour very high in gluten & protein. Because of the high gluten it can be rolled out very thin.

• Combine the salt and water.


• Add the flour to the mixing bowl (with a dough hook). With the machine running add the water/salt mixture.


• Once the dough has formed, check it's consistency. If it sticks to the bowl, add a little more flour as it should be soft NOT sticky.


• Mix the dough until it becomes smooth and stretches easily without tearing (looking for that gluten window!) it will likely take 10-12 minutes.


• Once the dough is developed, remove if from the bowl, cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.


• After 30 minutes resting time, divide it into 12 pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece about 1/4" thick.


• Using a griddle at 375 or a large Saute pan add the butter and heat. Cook the flat breads on one side for about 1 minute, then turn over to cook for 2 minutes and flip once more back to first side.


• Allow the dough to cook until done, air bubbles will form in the dough as it cooks.


• Remove from the griddle or pan and serve.

There has been a tradition at Le Cordon Bleu that until my last day of class had not been utilized for a while. Those students who have completed the classroom portion of study and are heading out to their externship ... walk the halls of the school while the remaining students stand in line-up formation and cheer them on. So at 10:15AM on March 24th I was among those who had finished class and participated in this honored tradition. I must say that it was a very nice gesture & a unique way to end my time at Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta. From there Chef had us all head outside for a photo session. There were hugs and pictures and time to reflect on the ending of another rotation of class for many and the ending of an adventure for me! The time has gone so quickly and while I have learned a great deal I have also been reminded that one never stops learning in this business of cooking, of being a Chef. I managed to end my time at LCB with the coveted "blue cravat" signifying honorary academic performance. That was a goal I set for myself and have managed to achieve. It sure feels good to know you can still teach an older dog some new tricks!



Stay tuned for more adventures.... My externship begins next week in Sorrento, Italy.

Ciao!