Confessions of a Stagiere -- Week Two

From April 10th 2009

After first day jitters, second days are always easier. I wasn't worried about explaining myself to anyone. I could focus on observing and learning and doing my tasks. After an unsure beginning, my mind was starting to pick up on things.

I noticed that I was starting to see things differently. My fingers for instance. During the week, my fingers are just appendages attached to my palms that are at the ends of my arms. I use them for typing. That's pretty much their main function.

In the kitchen, my fingers are the best tools I have. I use every one to manipulate, wipe, adjust, tear, pinch. Even the oft overlooked ring fingers have functions beyond the decorative. I've started to value them infinitely more. Suddenly they all matter because without them, I'm pretty useless.

The way I look at what I'm doing has changed too. I spent the better part of an hour peeling and dicing butternut squash for quiche that's part of the amuse bouche. After a while I started looking at the pieces in the bowl in front of me. Each piece started out a bright orange at the top and got progressively more yellow at the bottom. It was kind of like candy corn. They were just lovely, all piled up in a mound. It was delightful to look at.

I'm starting to see each different art form within the overall culinary picture. It has to be said that there are no unattractive or unappetizing looking dishes. But for some reason one particular dish took my breath away.

It was a beet salad. Doesn't sound like anything special when you put it that way.

Here's what it looks like though: dark purple, candy striped and yellow beets, quartered and artfully arranged on a long white plate that's been painted with concentrated beet juice, careful attention paid to the angles. Then quenelles of white horseradish cream placed on top with sprigs of microgreens. I couldn't stop staring at it. I remember not wanting to breath while I was watching this. This, I thought, really IS an art form.

My hands are starting to take on new characteristics. Cooks are known for their asbestos fingers. They can withstand temperatures most of us would cringe at. Scars and calluses illustrate a lifetime of labour. Mine are a blank slate in comparison. But they're starting to take a different shape. I can feel the tips of my fingers hardening from heat and more frequent use. I think I'm also on my way to developing a knife callus at the base of my index finger. However, calluses generally start as blisters and my soon-to-be callus is currently a painfully burst one. I discovered it in the middle of my butternut squash chopping. Luckily I wasn't asked to cut anything else for the rest of the day. I'm looking forward to when that part hardens up. I just hope it heals in a hurry because I have a feeling I'll need to use it come next Friday.

With any job comes getting to know your coworkers. I'm the new girl -- girl being the operative word -- and discovered that apparently everyone was under strict orders not to say anything remotely crude around me, possibly for fear I'd run off screaming or sue for harrassment. I learned of this the previous week when I was asked what I thought of the kitchen culture in respect to how, well, crude it can be. I said I hadn't noticed much of anything.

"Well, to be honest, it's really toned down."
"Is it because I'm here?"
"Yeah."

The funny thing is that anyone who knows me knows I'm usually the first one to say something profane or outrageous or generally something that has guaranteed me a spot in hell. They don't yet know this about me but they probably will soon. They seem to be getting over it. I won't reveal the general topics of conversation but if you imagine a room full of twenty-something men who are crammed in a small room for the better part of 16 hours a day, you can imagine what those would be.

Everyone has and continues to be very kind and helpful, remembering to call me over to show me things they're doing. The meat cook showed me how to make a hollandaise sauce. More or less it's like a cooked mayonnaise. It was a highlight of my day, because it was a valuable lesson and also because of another hollandaise story I remember.

Months ago I was talking to another chef about working with our head chef, Dale. They were coworkers years ago, before either of them had become the superstars they are now. He said that he had taught Dale how to make hollandaise all those years ago, but that he didn't remember this until Dale had reminded him of it.

Now it seems that I, too, will have a hollandaise memory of my own.

Bocuse D'or 2009

It's over for another two years. Bocuse D'or 2009 ended today. Well, this morning actually. At 1 am this morning (10 am local time in Lyon) Team Canada -- led by chef David Wong -- put years of anticipation into action.

The live feed from Lyon was working today, thank god. Otherwise I might've pulled out my hair. Despite the hellish chase day I had at work, I still managed to catch a glimpse of the Canadian team at work. It was so great watching David and his commis Grace Pineda finally live in action after watching two of their practice runs. Somehow everytime I had a chance to look up, there they were. I saw their fish and meat platter go out and I thought, "I actually know how much went into that!" The judges get but a glimpse of each platter. Frankly, with that much work it should've gone into a museum. But what do I know.

Despite my dislike for the two hackneyed MCs (could they have been any more obnoxious and self absorbed?) the English MC did manage to give a shoutout to the Canadian team by holding up the hockey jersey worn by the Canadian fans.

I managed to get some photos from the event, unfortunately none of Team Canada in action. Oh well. Above is a photo featuring honorary president Daniel Boulud and competition founder and food god Paul Bocuse. I got shivers remembering my own encounter with Boulud (there's a posting about this somewhere back in this blog).

Side note: What's with the music? Is this a euro thing? I'm pretty sure we could find some better music to go with the world class food. I wouldn't want to eat McDonald's with that shit blaring.

I love the fans though. They were all so damn happy to be there! And all of them screaming their heads off.

The fact the chefs were able to work with the Euro cheese music and the screaming fans is amazing. As you'll see in the following pics, there is no room for error. The judges literally have seconds to see your food on the platter and they're tasting twenty four dishes a DAY. And all these chefs are at the top of their game.





I wish I knew what country's food these were. There are no IDs from the Bocuse photo site. Boo. I know what you're thinking. You want to reach through your screen and eat this with your bare hands. It's ok. We're all thinking that.



Just to show the level of detail. Again, I have no idea what country this chef is from or what he's coating his dish with. But I'll bet anything it's absolutely mouth watering. You should probably go get something to eat if your keyboard is coated with drool at this point.

Another side note: as I'm writing this I'm eating frozen fries. They're not currently frozen, I baked them obviously. But still. Somehow it feels sacrilegious to write this while eating something so uncouth. Le sigh.



Norway's first place fish platter. I kinda think it's a cheat that one of the must use ingredients at this year's event was Norwegian cod...but it IS a gorgeous platter.




Norway's gold standard meat platter. Time to get a napkin.

How could I blog about this without mentioning the winners? Of course, Norway won gold...Sweden won silver...and France got the bronze. I know. I did it in the reverse order I'm supposed to do it in. Suck it. It's my blog.

And what you REALLY want to know is...how did Canada do? We placed ninth out of 24. The Americans placed 6th. South Korea placed 24th.

Let me just say...I'm so immensely proud of our team. Having seen them in action and tasted the food, they're incredible competitors. It was a thrill to see them. Extra congrats go to Grace Pineda for winning Best Commis as awarded by the Academy of Bocuse D'or winners. That's a testament to the level of their teamwork.

I do have to say, the Norwegian winner Geir Skeie was absolutely adorable in victory. He was so ecstatic you couldn't help but feel that enthusiasm. Then someone who I can only imagine was his wife stood with him and she looked like the happiest woman on the planet. It was the sweetest thing ever. They looked like overjoyed teenagers.

On the flipside, the French chef Phillipe Mille looked almost devastated to get third place. I guess if you bet your soul on winning gold I could see how you'd be disappointed. But it's not like they made rillettes out of your puppy so calm the fuck down.

I'm sure David and Grace and the rest of Team Canada are still celebrating and that they'll be celebrating late into the evening. They deserve it.

A gold medal for frustration

It's finally Bocuse D'or time. The competition is going on as I write this. Well, the first day is actually over because they're nine hours ahead of the West Coast in Lyon.

I've been following the story of the Canadian team (led by the fabulous David Wong) since last May. So I have a bit of a vested interested in what happens.

Like any half decent worldwide event, there's live streaming footage via the Bocuse D'or website (check it out at http://www.bocusedor.com/2009/en/index.php). I watched some of it before I left for work...at 5:30 am. I just managed to catch the Brazilian team putting up their meat dish for the judges. Gorgeous. But I have to say -- appearance wise it doesn't hold a candle to what David's team is producing. I know. I've seen it. And tasted it. The Canadian team is producing food that is everything you want it to be.

I digress. So I get to work and go back to the website, hoping to watch some other highlights of the day. And the live feed isn't working. I try another computer. Still not working.

Thinking it's just some stupid glitch with the CBC firewall, I contact the resident multimedia dude Charlie. We try different surfers. No luck. In his opinion it's something wrong with the Bocuse site.

Le frustration! What the hell? This is like hosting the Olympics and not letting anyone see it!

Even more surprising...with all the world media covering this event, there is surprisingly little coverage online. And I'm no Google neophyte. Most of the coverage is in Portuguese courtesy of the Brazilian press. Even the bloggers that are there aren't providing a ton of insight. If it were me, I'd be walking around with a laptop in a modified Baby Bjorn posting pics and text as fast as was humanly possible.

I can see why the Bocuse D'or hasn't really hit North America yet. Their overall campaign to get out to the public seems to have failed, whatever that campaign consisted of. I could see people posting comments on some of the blogs I'd read asking if one could watch it online. Perhaps they were too lazy to simply go to the Bocuse D'or website for themselves. Or perhaps they tried and were thwarted like I was. Either way, no one seems to be watching except for the people who are there.

For the love of god, webmaster, whoever, let me in!

For anyone reading this, David Wong and team Canada are competing tomorrow at 10 am (that's local time in Lyon, 1 am Pacific time) and they should be delivering their first platter to the judges five hours later. If the live feed is up and running I'm going to be watching. They'll be announcing the winners at 6 pm local time/9 am Pacific time. If I can actually get access, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Foodie dreams come true

I am not a trained chef. I don't even cook on a regular basis...not food I would serve anyone besides myself anyway. But I am a giant foodie nerd. Not just a regular foodie...an actual giant nerd.

So when I got the chance to pitch a radio documentary about Canada's Bocuse D'or team, I jumped at it. Like, 100 feet in the air.

Bocuse D'or, FYI, is the world's biggest, most important culinary competition. European teams spend millions of euros training their chefs. People paint their faces with their national colours and cheer just like it's a soccer game. You cook in the middle of it all. It's outdoors. It's crazy.

The American team consists of no less than all the big Food Network names. You know who they are: Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, etc. etc. Their budget is, at last count, just over a mil.

But let me tell you something about Canada's team. We're represented by the amazing David Wong. Never heard of him? He's based out of Vancouver. He used to be a social worker...turned chef. Trained by one of Canada's best: Robert Sulatycky (more on him later). Now teaches at a culinary school here. His chef commis is Grace Pineda, a very accomplished 22-year-old in her own right. Robert Sulatycky is their coach. Here's a little about Robert: former head of some of Canada's most luxurious hotels, current head of the kitchens at the Bel Air and Beverly Hills hotels. He competed at Bocuse in 1999 and has the distinction of being the highest ranked North American chef ever to compete there (he finished fourth).

Here's the rub: Canada's got a small team compared with everyone else. They've also got a MUCH smaller budget...nowhere near even half a mil.

I've been fascinated by the whole David and Goliath thing. Ha ha. Anyway, I finally got the chance to hang with the team while they did a practice run.

A practice run consists of five and half hours of grueling, non-stop attempts at making the best food you've ever made. That's the time they'll get when they go to the competition in Lyon, France.

I have personally crowned David the nicest chef ever. I've told him this. For example, first thing he does when I walk into the kitchen at 6:30 am on a Sunday is warmly greet me and offer me something to drink.

As a food nerd, being there and watching the pros do their thing was like going to some kind of fantasy camp. I've never been so happy watching people souvide, puree, saute...

I also got to meet the other main players in the team: Robert Sulatycky and team manager Vincent Parkinson. Robert's whole swagger and look reminded me of Anthony Bourdain...but without the arrogance. And Vincent was incredibly helpful in filling me in on the details. Like how their sterling silver platters can only be used ONE time because the oils of the food ruin the plates. So they've got their plates waiting in France for them, with aluminum ones for practice for now. The silver ones cost $22,000. For one shot. Do you get how much people put into this competition?

I kept my mike on and pointed at them the whole time. Never once did David lose his cool. Possibly the most memorable moment was when he tossed me a tasting spoon and gestured toward his pomme puree. "Go ahead", he tells me. I didn't need any encouragement. I dipped my spoon in and tasted something I will never forget. Creamy, almost cheesy, smooth, warm...the flavour spread in my mouth. It was one of the best things I'd ever tasted. I'll never forget that spoonful.

I also got to watch the critique afterwards. Now, some people find it brutal that you could go balls to the wall for over five hours and then be told what you did doesn't work. But frankly...I've been in meetings like that about stories =) When you're trying to make the best you've ever made, it does make a big difference that your parsley leaves be just small enough and facing the right way, consistently on everything. That's the kind of detail we're talking about.

Then afterwards, even after all the cooking and interviews (because I wasn't the only one trying to get his attention!) David was gracious enough to have a chat with me. I had been looking forward to it for months. I had previously booked David for the CBC Radio afternoon show in Vancouver and it was the day the heads of the American team were announced. I remember asking him if he knew who they were...he didn't. Lol. It was a funny moment.

Anyway, I finally got to ask him some of the questions I'd wanted to ask. Like, how do you go from social worker to chef? (A trip to Spain and an amazing paella apparently). How good does he think their chances are at taking home the ultimate prize...$20,000 euros and a gold statue of Paul Bocuse? (Fantastic...everything's been going their way so far, knock wood). I could've talked to him for hours. He's one of those guys who always gives you his full attention and as much time as you need.

I'm frankly terrified that my radio piece won't do him and his team justice. I can't wait to see how they do in Lyon. The competition is at the end of January FYI. It'll be streamed live on the internet if you're interested. I hope one day Canada takes this as seriously as the Europeans do...so chefs like David will be treated like the rock stars they are. I'm rooting for you!!!