Almost got to meet Willy Wonka... The French Version

The first tour we went on was a couple of weeks ago to a company call Sévaron. The company manufactures extract, essences of different products used in baking and pastry and could even (and probably is) in savory dishes as well. They explained in a brief cliff’s notes version of how a lot of the processes are done and how they begin the process of starting on a “flavor.” Really cool stuff to look in on.

Yesterday was a long day but very interesting. We went on two factory tours. It was a lot of walking but worth it. The first one was to a chocolate factory called Valrhona. I took one step off the bus and all I could smell was… chocolate. It was awesome. It was really cool seeing all the different workings in the factory and the history of the company. We got to test the chocolate in the different stages of the chocolate making process. What made the tour even better was that you were constantly engulfed in the wonderful smell of chocolate. They are a small company but you can tell in their product that it is quality.

The second factory we went to was called Capfruit (the French pronounce it kap-fruee). This factory/company is in the fruit puree business. *hints the name* Just like the first factory, it was interesting. This company is even smaller than the chocolate one. After the tour we were giving many different jars of different purees and puree blends. A flavor from the many was yuzu. It was bitter but also good.

It was a little long. We didn’t get back until probably around 7:30 or 8. But it all was a very insightful.

This up coming weekend I’ll be getting to head back to Paris. I’ll be heading up there on Sunday morning and come back on Tuesday. We have a four-day weekend b/c of November 1… Which is All Saints Day. SO the thing that the French do is that if there is a holiday that is connected to a day that falls after or before the weekend, they take the extra day. SO since All Saints Day is on Tuesday we have Monday off. It’s kind of cool that I’ll get to have Halloween off but I think it is weird that they do that whole extra day thing… But I am getting to take advantage of it since I’m getting to go back to Paris. I’ll get to see the Arch de Triumph, all the different museums that I missed the first time b/c of lack of time… I’ll have the time now! Now y’all have some more photos to gaze at… I’ll be posting soon about all the different food that I’ve eaten since I’ve been here… Should be a tasty spectacle!

Bonjour from afar

Sorry for my absence… I’ve been a little busy the past couple a weeks. My roommate and I had some of our friends’ come and visit and stat with us for the past two weeks. We were cramped in our small little apartment that is small for two people so you can only imagine how it could be with four in the space. We all gad a good time traveling and catching up. We all went to Paris and Versaille and then last weekend to Cassis and this past weekend I made it up to Lyon.

Last weekend in Cassis was much needed. Very relaxed small beach/port town. We were able to walk around go, grab quick easy meals and even walk to the pebble beach were yes… there were some half naked people and some naked kids running around. SOOOO I didn’t stay there too long. It was still a beautiful town… I was actually surprised (kind of) by how well dressed all the kids were. Children ranging in ages from infancy to teenagers were better dressed than all the co-eds in the Southern college I attended. Made me re-evaluate the wardrobe I have back home… Needs some updating yet again after seeing all these tween fashionistas.

Top: Men playing at the bocce ball court Bottom:Cassis water front

Nighttime at the harbor at Cassis 

Last Tuesday we, my roommate and I, had to say so long and safe travels to our visiting friends. It was bittersweet au revoir … but it was nice to have the place back to normal and more room to move around. This past Thursday I had my midterm practical… It wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be. We had to make a dessert call a St. Honoré, which is named after the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, and we also had to make chocolate bon bons… chocolate raspberry filled ones. I passed and I feel that I did very well with all that I did. So the weekend in Lyon was well deserved.

Top: St. Honore Bottom:Milk Chocolate Bon Bons with Chocolate Raspberry Filling

My roommate, another girl from our class and I went to Lyon to have a relaxed weekend. My roommate Emily had to leave us yesterday afternoon to go pick up her husband from the airport. Alice and I enjoyed a casual night and our first nice dinner since being here. It was amazing. Probably one of the best dinners I have ever had. But today I’m catching up on everything. Doing the homework/journals we have to. Looking at different recipes and wondering how I could incorporate them/make them my own. Also doing more Rosetta Stone to help me out in French class and around town. It has helped me our a lot while I’ve been here. Even though I have mild panics when talking to people. It has been fun and it is hard to believe that I’ll be back in MS in twenty some odd days. Going to enjoy the rest of the time here as much as I can… It will be harder since I have the AM labs now from 6-1.  Not too excited about that, but I’ll have the afternoon to do more.

I got back a little while ago from Lyon and I’ve been enjoying having some down time before my roommate gets back… But her and her husband are staying over in château while he is here for the week. So that means more time for me to have the place to myself. Which will be nice. Next weekend is our four-day weekend… We have Halloween off and November 1 off. We have that day off since it is All Saints Day. I’m not complaining… What they do here is that if a holiday is connected to a day after the weekend they will take the extra day… It is nice but also kind of silly to me. But for now I’m going to get my dinner of artichokes, bbq seasoning aioli dip, and pasta with veggies, butter and the same bbq seasoning… 

Ahhh Paris...

So this past weekend I got to visit Paris, France. It was awesome to finally get to see the different landmark sites that I’ve studied and read about over there years. The La Tour Eiffel was more impressive than I expected, and getting to see it at night when it lights up and begins to “twinkle” from the other lights going…. Beautiful.

It was fun walking around Paris and seeing the sites. Notre Dame was just as impressive, if not more. The sheer size of the chapel was impressive. But the first church we went to in town was The Sainte-Chapelle… The first room you walk in is impressive with some stained glass windows and the remarkable colors of the hand painted designs on the ceilings. You have to walk up a narrow spiral stoned staircase to reach the main chapel… When you reach the top and stop looking down at your feet to make sure you don’t stumble…. Your breath is taken away by not only the size but of the beauty of the 15 very high stained glass windows. Pictures in books and that you take cannot capture an inkling of the beauty. I could of easily spent an hour or more in there just looking up and trying to take it all in.
 

I even got over to Versailles. I did not realize how massive the grounds were. I’ve studied Versailles in school and did reports on it in high school but seeing it all in person… I finally can grasp why in the factious historical stories (like “The Other Boleyn Girl”) that they say… they went to the gardens. They say that b/c the gardens are so expansive that you could hide easily even in a huge noisy dress. I spent the day there walking around Marie Antoinette’s digs and the main château. The hall of mirrors in the main château also took my breath away. But during the whole time I was there I kept thinking about all of the history of the place over the centuries it has been around. The palace has seen many courts, balls, and riots, to even the signing of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I (or as it was known then as The Great War). It was amazing to me all the history that a single place has seen and been apart of.

Now the food in Paris… not bad at all. For lunch when I arrived, I ended up going to the café right outside my hotel. I ordered the beef Carpaccio… It was better than what I’ve had before. I tried to offer some to my travel buddies but they were a little squeamish. I guess is understandable but they were definitely missing out!  Grabbed dinner at this restaurant and had their duck confit with mashed potatoes… delicious. Then breakfast I grabbed and a pan aux chocolat a crème… Simply a puff pastry with chocolate and pastry cream, it was, of course, tasty. This up coming weekend the plans are to go to a port town called Cassis. It is a small town just outside Marseilles… Should be fun! 

Weekend Adventure

So we are moved into our bungalows that we were originally suppose to be in… It has been a little hectic for the past few days. The bungalows are big enough but it is still hard to have your own space and time to yourself. But it is much better than being on top of each other in the château. We have our own kitchen area, which is nice. But no internet in our bungalow; so roommate and I are going to pay the 20€ a month for two months to have it in our bungalow so we don’t have to use the common area for internet, which is rather hard to have any type of conversations with anybody on Skype.

The fist week of classes was great. We played with chocolate, baked different cakes, made different desserts and then had a buffet of all of our creations on Friday. So every Friday from here till the end we will have a buffet of all the products we produce. I’m happy about that b/c more than just our class will get to see it. It is encouraging to have the other pastry chefs from around France and Europe to see what we have done and get their feedback.

Yesterday, Saturday, I went to a small town called Le Puy-en-Velay with my roommate Emily, and two others from our ENSP group, Matt and Alice. We are some of the older people on this internship so we have naturally gravitated towards each other. Yesterday we did a lot of hiking around the town. Ate a whole roasted chicken and roasted potatoes for our lunch with some bread. It was amazing getting to eat all the food from the towns farmers market. It was amazing food. After our lunch we went and saw two historic churches and a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The first church was Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy, dating from around the first half of the 12th century. It was amazing. The four of us were walking kind of aimlessly trying to find it and we took a turn and look to our right and it was an amazing sight to see the church. You are looking up this road and it is towering at the top and the colors on the façade are stunning. The interior is all stone and I got a little tickled when I saw the Bose speakers that were custom made to bled in with the walls.

After the Cathédrale Notre-Dame we took the trek up to the bronze statue of Notre-Dame de France (The Virgin Mary). You were able to climb to the very top of the interior of the statue and look out. It was a tight climb but worth the view. I was shaking a little bit looking out just knowing how old the statue was… It was fun though. We then walked/hiked over to the other church; Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe Chapel. That was hike and was kind of scary at some parts. It was also well worth the hike.

All the hiking and walking around let me indulge later in a Nutella crepe. It was a fun day trip. Got to see a lot and really enjoy the day. There is so much to do in just our region of France. I know I’m not going to get to do all that I really want to do but that just means I have to come back. There will be more pictures to come soon.