TANTE MARIE : WEEK 1

Well what can I say , I'm extremely happy and fortunate to have come to Tante Marie, because it's lovely....
The teachers are fantastic , the teaching method is actually quiet simply put forward and I'm thinking that by the time I have finished with this course , I will have acquired a new skill for life...
Everyone keeps asking me what I'm gonna do with this, the answer, very plain and simply is ,"I really don't know"...
I just love cooking and feeding people ,and my family and friends love food and so , just feel blessed that I could come here for two and a half months...

Now let me tell you about my first day...
Well if you want to know how it felt...
Hmmmm ...well it felt like a first date with the guy you have had a crush on ,for the longest time...
You know that feeling in your stomach where you are excited and nervous all together...
And wondering what to wear, how to do your hair ....etc etc...

That's exactly how it was for me...
I woke up went for a run...and then..got ready and walked to Tante Marie,which is 10 minutes away from my home stay...
We were all given a basic introduction and were given our uniforms and knives, and a set of rules...and the day began...

Lunch on that day was made by the 1 years..
Well there are 64 students in all , and various batches...
Some doing the 4week essential, where you just enjoy cooking, you don't cover the entire recipe book, and you are not marked or graded , you just get certificate of attendance...

Then there is the Cordon Bleu Certificate course, which is what i'm doing , where you get the same book as the essential course but , learn all the recipes with the chefs from Tante Marie..and get a certificate after you pass the , budget meal, theory and the practical exam..

Then there is the 6month Cordon Bleu Diploma course , that ideally I would have wanted to do , but another life-time I guess..

And finally the one year, Intensive Cordon Bleu Diploma......wow

And so the first day, the 6 month class made lunch and we joined them to eat....
Awesome herbed stuffed chicken and roasted potatoes...
They were all so cool as they discussed what each one did and tasted each others food...
Gosh I was in Food Heaven ...

And from the next day we got into our kitchen
And made lunch and some other class who had theory , came and joined us...
It's just awesome meeting so many people in a room who all love "FOOD"....
And we all sit and eat together sometimes with lots of chatter and sometimes like today ,very quietly , because we were all so hungry ...
The 4 Week Essential class does not get to do this, feel bad for them.....

And after a big lunch, we normally start the next session at 2 , and invariably , If its a theory os a demonstration , I doze like crazy , because I'm full and want to actually lie in the lawn and snooze a bit...ha ha ha ...
Made my first friend, "Kejen", a lovely girl from South Africa...
And Maria..from ...I forgot where...

Well my colleagues are all very interesting ...
Still getting to know all of them , every week we get a new partner to cook with, this week I had Maja from Denmark, lovely , very pretty and very talented, we worked well together, without taking one another for granted and still having our own opinion...will miss cooking with her...
But it's nice that I will get a chance to work with all the 9 in class...
We all get a whole lot of chores...
I cut my little finger on the left hand twice....bloody hell....
But all in all a fantastic week...

Made a whole lot of French sounding food...
Which is yummy and very fatty...
Oh ..and I have to learn French vocabulary as part of my syllabus for my theory exams...only problem is I'm learning it with a Indian-Spanish accent ha ha ha ....
I really hope to get it right...
Because this time for me is never coming back ....

Miss my family at home too much ...miss my friends, my blanket , my toilet, my bathroom,
my car, my driver, my help at home, my pillow, my nariyal-walla, my dhobi, the screaming, the noise , the crowded roads , my plants, my pillow, my masseur,my beetle,all the daily banter with my girls on the phone,the radio, my mummy and daddy, paani-puri at appointment , coffee at Costa with Sandy, Sunday brunch with Mini and the kids, soul-chats with Jaya, Arshad coming in and out to pack for the next destination that he has to shoot in, my Zeke and Zene , all the tumbling, refusing to brush their teeth, bargaining for for tv time, cuddles before they sleep.....and even my 10 yr old puppy Taz ....
Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhh .....I miss home.....

But it's a good missing , I'm not pining for them just missing all the moments I'm used to....
So will continue learning and spending time with myself here in Tante Marie...
Oh and forgot to tell you, I have the sweetest land lady Eve, she is a doll and absolutely adorable...
She is one of the friendliest souls and feel at home at her home, she walks as fast as me and is just too sweet...
So you see, all is good...
There is a full moon tonight and in the quiet cold night , I'm sipping on a glass of merlot..and wishing on stars...

My first week here...AWESOME...

p.s. I'm writing from my iPad and have no clue how to load pictures ...