Saying Goodbye

Last days are always strange.
It seems no matter what disappointment sets in at some point after all the emotional build up because no one-shift or one day experience can sum up the time you've spent somewhere.

My last day was a busy one at the restaurant with a stressed Chef and frantic cooks. It doesn't matter though since when I look back at my experience at La Fontain Aux Perles I won't just remember my last day. Instead I'll remember everyday, all the shifts and metro rides, the jokes, the French chatter I couldn't understand, the knife cuts, the tremendous amounts of different seafood, the foraged mushrooms, Carol's cafe, and of course taking breaks from the kitchen washing trash cans.

I'll miss the restaurant a little but what I'll really miss are my co-workers. They were the ones who really made the tough days bearable. Even the hectic last day, as you can see from this picture. (and yes, I know this post is a little late ;-)

On my way out the door Baptiste (pictured below) said, "Vanessa, before you leave, say 'Oh La Vache' for us one last time." So I did, and since they think me saying the French phrase meaning "oh my gosh" is hilarious, they all laughed one last time at it.

Baptiste pretending to carry the little stereo like a jukebox

Stocking Stuffer

(Jeremy, pretending to peel my head. normal)

These multi-colored, very inexpensive, plastic peelers are the best stocking stuffers ever!

While I was home awhile back I bought a bundle to give to the staff at La Fontaine Aux Perles since they're obsessed with how amazing they are (from using ours). We gave them the gift recently as an early Christmas gift and they were thrilled with them, to say the least.

You can buy one for yourself here at their website...
or if you want to physically go buy one I know for sure Sur La Table sells them in their stores.

Speaking of stocking stuffers, no cook should be without a microplane...find one here and never be distressed about grating cheese or zest the rest of your life! Seriously, it's one of my favorite tools.

The Big Night

Gina and I had the pleasure of dining where we work last night in celebration of her mom coming to visit and to experience what it's like to enjoy what we prep/cook all day. It was fabulous and we got the "VIP" treatment from our Chef.
He actually insisted on driving us home after dinner in his new Jeep truck spatting French at us the entire way as we nodded, laughed and tried to catch phrases we could understand and respond to. He is quite the character!
We arrived to dine at 7:45 and ended up enjoying our meal until 11:30!
Check out all the food we ate....

Matt pouring us some Veuve Clicquot to begin the food marathon

Amuse Bouche
left to right: foie gras with red wine sauce, brandade (salted Haddock, potato, cream) with butter sauce, pumpkin soup with truffle, goat cheese mousse/avocado mousse/beet vinaigrette

Second favorite dish of the night: pan fried brie and truffle wrapped in something called a brick (kind of like phyllo dough but less annoying) with salad and, more truffle

St. Pierre flavored with saffron, mango slaw, veal jus, and pork foam...my favorite dish of the night!

Pigeon with foie gras, wild mushrooms, tourneed pears in white wine, maxim potato cake, chestnut puree (yum) and duck jus with vanilla bean (this was my least favorite)

Filet of beef with a crepe and "maxim" potato cake with mushrooms, bean sprouts and truffle, celery root puree and a mousse of some tuber I don't know the name of
(Gina and her mom ordered this)

In order of deliciousness:
1. top right- mixed berries with torched sabayon
2. center- chocolate ice cream (tasted like an In-n-Out milkshake)
3. Top left- chocolate lava cake
4. bottom left- vanilla bean creme brulee
5. bottom right- caramelized pineapple with caramel glaze

Mignardines with our cafe: baby madelines, hazelnut chocolates and riz au lait!

Hmm..."RG" again?
How would you feel about your initials being apart of almost every rooms decor in your restaurant?

La Fontaine aux Perles and Chef Gesbert

This place I work, La Fontaine aux Perles, is owned by a man named Rachel Gesbert. He not only is the Executive Chef but as I found out a few days ago he also lives on the site with his girlfriend Sophie. He's obsessed with his restaurant, has built it from the ground up and from what Gina and I heard through the grapevine, the only thing Chef Gesbert wouldn't trade for his restaurant is his mother. After pondering that statement we discovered he would trade his three children, his girlfriend of three years who runs the front of the house and an amazing staff. Our friend in the kitchen, Hugo, who speaks English, told us "Chef is a madman..."
I believe it 100%.

Each shift is the same. We all prep our butts off, eat family meal, begin service and then Chef Gesbert trots in. You can hear his piercing voice coming from the hall before he enters in his designer jeans, pointed brown leather shoes (with small heels), black chef coat and seriousness. He plays the role of expeditor and yells out orders walking up and down the kitchen waving his hands. Most often than not he becomes angry at something within a shift and the kitchen changes from a composed and confident atmosphere to a stressed one. Last night I thought his rage sounded like a 5 year old temper tantrum, in French of course. He flipped his lid at one of the cooks who accidentally put butter beans in with the steamed vegetables while plating. If I didn't know any better I would think someone just lost the Chef thousands and thousands of dollars and he was going to have to close his establishment and choose another career. The funny thing is that in the middle of his tantrum he came up to me and pointed to a saute pan with Sole and kindly said a quick sentence in French telling me what to do as though it were an ordinary hour and ordinary behavior. Maybe I need to be enlightened on what "normal" behavior is for French Chefs.

Check out the restaurant van below..."RS" stands for the one and only Rachel Gesbert. There are also plates within the restaurant that have these same symbol engraved in them.


I should point out that aside from his frequent rages during service he is a really nice man to Gina and I and has bent over backwards to get us in for externship. He also showed genuine concern about my Dad when I came back and wanted to know the status of everything which was very sweet.

I've just learned to completely stay out of his way during service and watch the commotion from a safe distance...you just never know what he'll be nit-picky about next!