The Art Of Picking Herbs, First Week Of Stage

Ohhhhh! It was a hard week. I don’t know where to start so I’ll just start from the beginning.

Monday

This day had to be the hardest day because I had no idea what’s gonna happen once I finish something, and I had no orientation in the kitchen what so ever, having to ask every little thing everyone.

I was carrying my school’s 6kg Malette of knifes with me. Immediately after changing and showing up in the kitchen, I got my first assignment. It was two boxes of apples, to peel, seed and cut to little squares for the apple chutney. I was stationed outside the kitchen, in the dining room with a bench of my own, by the time I reached the end of the second box I was doing a perfect one spiral peel out of the apple. I felt I was doing pretty well and fast but it took way too long apparently.

Then the herbs and leaves started coming. Since then they never stopped coming. Boxes and Boxes of herbs and leaves of all kinds: spinach (baby and large size), rocket, beet, chervil, mint, dill, parsley, tarragon, cilantro, mache, celery, swiss chard, sorrel… I don’t even know the names of some of it. Every leave with his own way of sorting, picking, washing and drying.

There supposed to be a break between 3:30 and 5:30 but I wasn’t fast enough to finish what I had on time so it took until 3:45 and when I changed and went to the metro station, just miss the train, it was already 4 o’clock. Decided to go back to the street and rest a bit in a coffee shop instead of just going back and forth to my studio. I sat on the top level of Macafe drinking tea still not realizing what’s going on, and what to expect from the second part of the day. Next thing I know, I already had to go back and change, there was a little more preps to be done and then a staff pasta meal and then service started. I was told to just watch and learn how everything’s working. At seven customers started to come and you could feel the tension building up in the kitchen.

I was watching how the team is synchronized, they’re working together without having to say anything. Orders came in, Chef declaring how many portions they are about to prepare from each course, then the plates are being heated, arranged, whipped off, platted, one last whip and sent to the pass. Between every course all the mise en place was changed to fit the new dish. I wasn’t doing anything that evening, just stood there, by the door, freezing every time the door was opened and closed. When the service ended we were cleaning which isn’t too bad in this tiny kitchen. Just before going home chef took a look at my malette, which is a very large suitcase (made everyone else tease me about it). “This is obviously a girl’s malette!” he said, took one extra knife out and said I can take all the rest back home, there’s no space for it here. So I went back home, it was already 12:30 and I was carrying the malette back, was a long and tiring first day.

Tuesday

Started with some more carrying when I had to take a huge box with a portable grill from my place to the restaurant (after taking it from school). It was not easy to carry around. When I got there we had a little morning meeting with a coffee and tasks assignments. We went shopping for some stuff, a task I’m about to do on my on starting next week. I came back to my usual tasks: herbs and leaves, a lot of sous-vide of every thing, bringing stuff from the kitchen to the basement and back… I also made the poached pears this day. It was nice to be given a real task of almost cooking, already in the second day. At the break I met with Shane who just had his first day and we sat and exchanged experiences for this short break. Then coming back, this service I was more active. I was given small things to do such as seasoning the scallops before plating, helping with plating the Foie gras dish. It was nice. But most of the time I was still standing there, this time with double socks. This week was so cold, the coldest I have known in Paris yet. This was no doubt a challenge of its own to be added to the first week. Coming back home I was really tired and wanted to take a shower. I was going to when I found out I have no water in my studio! At all! Maybe the pipes got frozen or something. I couldn’t call anyone at 1:30 at night so I just accepted the cruelty of the universe and went to bed all yukki… then at 2:30 I heard a sound from the pipes and the water came back again! horaay! So I took my shower pretty late but it was worth it.

Wednesday

I was so tired this morning. Waking up must be the hardest part of the day. Everything was pretty much the same that day. A lot of tasks. Every time I finished something another thing came along without time to ponder in between. I was surprised how fast a new place becomes familiar. I started to learn where things are and became more independent, knowing somewhat of what I’m expected to be doing. This day was mostly about herbs, I’ve been doing them most of my time. On the break I managed to get back home and spent a little more than an hour resting and calling home, I needed that encouragement. In service time I was feeling a lot better, started being more involved, the foie gras dish was almost my own, I plated most of them by myself, including the cannelle of apple chutney that I’ve made the fist day, and grating the black truffle on top. The only thing is that slicing the foie gras was done by Alexie. I also plated some of the cheese dish and helped with the other desserts.

I was afraid I’m gonna have difficulties with the language but now I feel I got the right amount of French to practice (from Alexie and Ina) and English (from all the rest of the team) and I can sort of understand most of what’s going on but still improve my French. This is awesome.

Thursday 

Was another very hard day. It started all wrong. I took the regular metro but there was a fault that made the train stop at one station for about twenty minutes. I came in late and it made the whole day a mess. I wasn’t focused, picking the herbs I felt pretty shitty and didn’t feel like it. I wanted another coffee but the water ran out in the machine and I was sleepy. It was cold, I was tired and I was thinking too much about what am I doing picking herbs. I was thinking that because I was told I have to do it faster so that I have time to do other stuff, but I didn’t feel I can ever do it faster. I felt I was stuck with the leaves for the next six months. This is not what I imagined. I was depressed. Nothing really worked that day. From about 1 pm time just didn’t move. I really needed a break but I finished to do all the things I needed just before 4. I met with Shane and we both were really bummed about this day. I spoiled myself with an almond chocolate croissant and when I went back it got better. But this moment of breaking when picking the chervil around 2 in the afternoon, having Harry telling me not to fall asleep over the chervil must have been the most mentally difficult moment in this week.

Friday

Came with new powers towards the end of the week. Friday was a very pleasant day. I had a “coin-dropping” moment with the chervil which was like a little victory but still I had to do a lot of herbs to pick that day and I finished in around two hours, which was a task to be doing in half an hour. Chef talked to me about being more energetic, moving fast. It was not easy to take but I did. I see what he is saying, though I’m not there yet. The first part of the day which is the harder for me went by pretty fast and I met with Shlomo and Didier for the lunch break, we went to eat a soup in the Happy Nouilles which made me warm inside and happy to come back to the service with motivation. The service was pretty good, I helped as much as I could, bringing stuff at the right time, plating these foie gras plates fast and nice enough for the chef to be pleased. I have mastered the Foie Gras dish, he said. Then I was helping out with cleaning the plates, seasoning the fish, putting some herbs in the siant jacques dish, sprinkle salt and pepper over the pork belly. Then dessert time is very nice because chef trust us to do our thing without him, and Harry teaching me about cannelling the ice-creams and platting the litchi dessert. It was cool, and fun to taste everything, the dishes are soooo good!

The very stupid thing I did that day is after cutting my finger while cleaning, going to get a bandage, I cut the bandage with scissors straight through my other finger. Now I had to cuts and another bandage to use, and a very stupid feeling.

Cleaning Friday was something else, intensive plus, having to clean everything before the weekend. It took a long time and I was rushed by Ina: “Aller vite Mashav, C’est vendredi!” (Go fast Mashav, it’s friday!).

Oh gosh I wrote so much. Good for you if you made it till here, you must be my dad. I can’t believe I will be able to take pictures in the near future. I don’t know what to do about it, it’s not that obvious. Tomorrow is a new week, hopefully will be good, hard but not too hard! I’m really trying to get the most of it but sometimes the tiredness gets the best of you. This is why I’m going to sleep now, without even proofing this article. Sorry for all the mistakes that I hadn’t noticed. And wish me luck, can’t believe I have six month minus 1 week to keep going!!! Will I make it?!