Wednesday started with another disappointing turn out to the 6:30am teacher-led-bootcamp (4 teachers, 0 pupils!) but a suspiciously prompt
arrival to the meet point for the cooking course...
Once we’d convinced ourselves this probably wasn’t personal, the
group split into two. One group strolled the streets of Paris between Notre
Dame and the “2nd best bakery in Paris”. The pupils learnt about and tasted
crisp baguettes, buttery croissants and fluffy macaroons, but it was clear they
were all preoccupied thinking “how do we become a judge in these
contests?!”.
The other group was led through a three course meal of cold
avocado and prawn lasagne, beef patty with potato gratin and tarte tatin. The
enthusiasm was significantly less variable than the pupils’ culinary ability,
nevertheless, the pupils had a great time, and unanimously agreed
(don’t believe them when they say this didn’t happen!) they couldn’t wait to
recreate the dishes for their loving families when they arrived home.
Nothing tops off a day of eating non-stop like some more eating,
so it was back to the centre for some dinner and then a crepe making contest.
We had everything from Jackson Pollock-esque dishes to decorated elephants
which - we were subsequently convinced by some very passionate Year 9 girls -
were an "artistic and culinary depiction of the struggles of the modern
elephant against extinction": messy and inedible!
