Some of the stuff I wrote about while on exchange

So, I just got back from exchange about two weeks ago and I'm really happy to be back. Montreal just has such a different vibe than Paris.... personally I just dig Montreal a lot more. Although I miss all the good friends I made in Paris.

Nevertheless, back to business. I just wanted to post one of the articles I wrote in France because it might be somewhat entertaining for people. The place we went to visit with class was rather interesting.

Yours to enjoy.....

The way to get into a French kitchen

Sophia Conradie, 28, is the head of kitchen administration at the Ritz Carlton in Paris. The South African obtained a diploma in French cuisine from the internationally renowned cooking school the Cordon Bleu Paris in 2001. The school not only focuses on teaching French cuisine but also French techniques.

After finishing her degree as an interpreter Conradie decided to come to Paris to become a chef. “If you compare the Cordon Bleu to the hotel schools the French go to, in the Cordon Bleu, you cover all the basics which you would otherwise cover in three years,” Conradie said.

It takes nine months to obtain the school’s grand diploma which combines a cuisine and pastry program and costs 37,000 Euros all together.

“When I went there most students already had careers in other fields. Everybody is more serious and more motivated than someone who is fifteen and just starting out in a hotel school,” she said.

However certain barriers apply “When you come from the Cordon Bleu and you apply for a job, in the beginning people are always a little skeptical because if you didn’t go through the traditional ways, the French are often quite skeptical but then inevitably people prove that they are as good and as qualified as anyone else,” Conradie said.

Apart from Conradie, the Ritz Carlton employs two pastry chefs who attended the Cordon Bleu.

“The chefs at the Cordon Bleu, all worked in great restaurants in Paris and abroad and they all are very involved this sort of kitchen family. The restaurant culture is all a subculture in Paris and in France. Everyone knows each other. It is sort of a network and by going to the Cordon Bleu you get your foot into that, which is very good because as a foreigner it is very hard to do so, and most of the students are not from France,” she explained.

The Parisian school was founded by a French journalist in 1895. Today it accommodates students from over forty different countries and maintains outlets in thirteen different countries.

Sandra Messier, spokesperson for the Cordon Bleu said “We opened all the schools around the world which has helped us to brand the Cordon Bleu on an international level and students from the other countries also come to Paris. Sometimes students start their diploma in Canada (or other countries) and then they finish the program in Paris,” said Messier.

However, there are not a lot of French students attending the school “The educational system in France to become a chef is different. They have to choose this career at sixteen and they really have to focus into on it in order to become a chef at about 28, 30 or 35, “explained Messier.

In September of 2009 the school will be offering a new program about another essential aspect of French cuisine. “A new diploma is about wine, marketing wine and selling it. It is an 8 month program,” said Messier.

Messier also explained the school’s approach to cooking “We promote different foreign ingredients like kimchi from Korea, potatoes and quinoa from the Andes and prepare them with French techniques. It is one of our missions, to promote local products with French techniques.”

Comments

[sajjad]

hi
I'm living in Iran . i am college student.
i want to apply concordia .i want some info about that, if you can help .i will be glad .