This service was already our fifth so it’s not obvious to have something new going on. Some of the services I had in the past were very exciting and challenging and some less. This time we were warned a long time ahead that it’s going to be a special occasion and we should invite our friends and families to dine (no one of my friends and family came!!). The service was hosted by two guests chefs from restaurants in Paris. We were working with Chef Daniel Rose from “Spring” and Anglo B was working with Chef Grégory Marchand from “Frenchie”. This was an opportunity to experience new types of cooking, new ideas and have a different prospective of the service as a whole.
This is why I was more let down when I couldn’t find it challenging or interesting for me. I still never cooked the entree dish in the restaurant service and had hoped to be in the oyster entree group. Instead I was placed in the Amuse Bouche group. We had a day of preparations on Monday when we spend few hours in the kitchen with chef Rose helping the pigeon group and the stock making. We had nothing to prepare for the amuse. Then on Tuesday we came early and cleaned the scallops, finished all the preparations for both of the services that day and didn’t even rush anything. The service itself was very slow. Not many tables had got our scallops and we weren’t that busy. I was already in a similar situation our first restaurant service when I made the Amuse with Rob and Barbara and we felt left out of the game. This was even worse because the dish was so simple it didn’t require much. It was tasty but in my opinion this is a dish that fits a person who is also doing another station in parallel.
We finished first and started cleaning the kitchen while everyone else was in the middle of the service rush. The next day’s service we had absolutely nothing to do except taking some of our things out of the fridge. I asked few times to have a go and try opening the oysters but I was refused due to lack of special oyster knifes. That’s a stupid reason and it made me angry and depressed. At some point Andreea, Alissa and I started the preparations for Friday’s regional meal. That was the highlight of my day and thankfully made me feel a little better.
The special menu of the dinner
Amuse Bouche:
Saint jacques Rotie en Coquille, Cochon noire, Salad pomme verte, persil, vinaigre cidre
Tartare filet, radish, hazelnut, parmesan and white truffle
Entree:
Pearl white oyster, vinaigrette, mustard leaf
Smoked trout, radish, parsnip, green apple
Poisson:
Sole, sauce poulette, shellfish
Sea scallop, chorizo, parsley-shellfish sauce, autumn root vegetables
Viande:
Pigeon, almond cauliflower puree, watercress, pomegranate
Saddle of venison, celeriac kumquat
Saint jacques:
The scallops waiting to be harvest in the morning
This one carried a lot of weight over his shoulders
Slicing the black pig's bacon
Was very strong and flavorsome
Scallops are going to be cooked under the salamander (some butter), with the shell, until sizzling. Andreea's job
Apples sliced thinly with the mandoline per order, then julienned and dressed with vinegar.
Salad is ready, this was my job in the group
Our station in the middle of service
We also used the plates cupboard due to lack of space
Orders start to come
The sizzling scallop
Wasn't sizzling when it got to the table.
Tartare:
Chef Grégory Marchand helping Yohay deal with the white truffle
Couple hundred euros just for this piece.
The branoise are waiting
...
Looks like a beautiful bite
Oyster:
Very meaty and fat type of oysters were ordered for this service
Half were breaded and deep fried
Half were served raw in the vinaigrette
Chef Daniel Rose helping the Oyster group plating their dish
Cherry vinegar, jus de veau, olive oil and all the oyster juices, with the raw oyster on top
Sweet radishes, daikon
Mustard leaf and the panko with beer batter oyster
Smoked trout:
I don't really know what went there but I think there was something to do with red cabbage juice, celery juice and apple squars
The trout was smoked a la minute in a special smoker grill box
On the pass
Sole:
A huge chicken stock was placed for the fish dish
Clams cooked in white wine and pulled out of their shells
The sole was cut with the bones to several pieces so that it can be cooked on the bone for better results
Razor clams, our old and long friend
Cooked sous-vide and cut to pasta shapes
While service, chef is helping the sole group
Ihsuan carving the sole from the bones after cooked
Yes, it's fish in chicken sauce. First day presentation
Second day presentation looked a bit more refined, but served with the bones. Looks kinda cute I think
Scallops:
St. Jacques seared with thyme and garlic, parsley juice with herbs, mussels and cockles marinated with lemongrass, ginger, star anise. Lemon zest and garlic infused oil, lemon caviar beads, spinach, turnip, salsify and watermelon radish. Spicy chorizo chip
...
The pass filled with dishes
Pigeon:
Gutting and cleaning a lot of pigeons. Separating breasts and legs from carcasses.
Legs sous-vide with herbs and orange peal and cooked in low temp, as does the breasts, then left for two days to age
Seared last minute and served with cauliflower and almond paste, jus de pigeon and pomegranate
Venison:
Served to the customer like a lollipop
...
Tasting some of the dishes before service begins.
Some service time videos:
After the service, Chef signing our menus
Raising a glass of champagne
Anglo A group photo!
We waited for the two services to end, and the cleanings to finish to attack all the leftover oysters. We literly attacked them
Ericka trying to gain some control over the situation, but it's too late, Alissa already ate at least 4 (and me too 🙂 )
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[…] sixth restaurant service this week. What I think about the services did not really change since my last post about the fifth service. I’m feeling these are the downfalls of the Ferrandi’s program. […]
Mashav,
Did you ask Stéphane why you are asked to do the amuse bouche again? It doesn’t sound fair to you. I thought they would rotate everyone so that each one gets to do a different thing each time? Also, I remembered you being the service manager twice and didn’t get to do the preparations? There must be a mistake or someone overlooked in the organization of the restaurant services?
For the upcoming course, I will definitely tell the chef in the restaurant services if I were to be asked to do something more than once.
Hi Thomas
The thing with the restaurant is that it’s 7 times, and there are only 4 stations. Meaning: each one of us does each station twice for the exception of one. This is why I did the AB twice. It does makes sense. The problem is that it means sometimes (which is more than once), you haven’t got a lot to do. The other group Anglo B had an arrangement that only one person is doing the AB this way he has a decent amount of work to do. In our case it was 2-3 people every time and I believe this was the mistake. Also I had complaint about the situation but the response was “there’s nothing we can do” plus they made me feel bad that I said anything. If you’re missing something to do, they will find you something to clean, to arrange or help the other groups, but for me it didn’t make me feel I was “part of the game”. Anyway I have written my opinion about it but I don’t think anything will change as it seems everyone else was happy about how it went. I proposed the idea of 4 restaurant services instead of 7 but instead the idea of also making the dessert was more appreciated. About being the Chef de partie – this is a good job with more responsibilities, even though you may have to give up some of the cooking in the service itself. I had it twice and I wish I had it more times like others which were chef de partie even three times.
Thanks for your concern and good luck with your personal battles 🙂 (I definitely had my share)
Also I forgot but I think specifically this service with Chef Daniel Rose, maybe he was a bit afraid to give us anything too complicated to cook because his name was on the line. The AB tasted good but it was so easy to make, and no one could tell him anything about it (his decision).
Thanks for the clarification. I guess lunch and dinner x 3 is already 6 services plus the last with the guest chefs.
I believe you must be doing your exams now. Good luck with it. Have you decided which restaurant you will be interning at after this month?
All the best
Thomas, you still didn’t get it quite right. 7 services meaning 7X2 (dinner+lunch the next day with a similar menu).
I had a post about each one of them and for your convenience I just added a tag:
https://www.eatingcookingfooding.com/tag/restaurant_service
My exams are finished and school is over. Starting stage in less than a week! Keep following upcoming posts for more info. When is your first day at Ferrandi?
Oh that’s a lot of services! Glad that you had the chance to get hands on during these services. I’m sure they will be very helpful for your internship.
We start on the 7th February and I must say that your blog (probalby the best blog on Ferrandi) is being closely reviewed by many of us in the February class.
Do you know what kind of restaurants you all will be attending for internship? Are they mainly Michelin starred restaurants and if yes, which ones are people in your class attending? Again thanks for your always prompt answers.
Good luck on the internship! I’m sure you will love it!
[…] the restaurant service we had at Ferrandi with Marchand as a guest chef, you should take a look here. Our table was booked for 7pm, and we were the first to arrive and be sitted, admiring the cozy […]
[…] our chefs. The climax was when I found myself doing almost nothing in the guest chefs restaurant service, which supposed to be one of the highlights of the program. There were also many high points like […]