After a frank and full exchange with the mmmmh Director, who kindly agreed to reimburse my fees, I now understand that the lunch-time courses are designed to present a simple dish which can be quickly reproduced at home, and also to provide a break in the working day.
We have agreed that I am not the target audience for this, and that I will take up some evening classes where more complex recipés are presented.
I think this is an important clarification which perhaps needs to be made more strongly in their marketing materials so that potential "pupils" can make a more informed choice of course...of course.
J
Monday, November 13, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Espace Hmmmmmmmmmm
Last Wednesday lunch time I went along to Mmmmh on Place Stéphanie for the course "Speedcooking Italiana". My daughter had greatly enjoyed an evening class there and had given me a series of courses as a birthday present.
I was surprised to find that there was one other "pupil", a male EC official .
The chef, or possibly assistant chef and her assistant guided me to a mountain of small potatoes which I was told to clean. When this was done I was given a slotted spoon and told to put the potatoes in a tall pan of boiling water. Continuing the steep learning curve I was guided back to the sink to wash the roquette. The highpoint of this phase of the project was a very cute salad drier. Dizzy with achievement I staggered to the chopping board to assist my fellow pupil in chopping the garlic. Having rapidly risen to this challenge I was moved to slicing meat.
Around about this time the Chef arrived. Apparently he is too celebrated to speak when spoken to.
Whilst he was readying himself to wok the fruits of our labours we managed to accomplish the final learning phase by spreading the roquette on the plate with a few cubes of tomato (the work of my accomplice). And we should not forget the fleurs du sel which we were also allowed to sprinkle.
During the wokking up of the meat by the Chef, two more chefs arrive for lunch, which the students carried to the table. These latest arrivals had also dispensed with social niceties , but after all they were chez eux?
You can do little wrong with beef and salad so indeed it did taste good, but I was too angry to appreciate it by this stage. In order not to disgrace myself, I decided to leave before coffee and was charged 3 euros for a half glass of white wine with which I had tried to soothe my temper.
To summarize: if you know (only) how to lay a baked bean on a piece of toast do not be tempted by this course. However, and to be scrupulously fair (why?) my fellow pupil seemed to find much of it very exciting..even eating the skins of the new potatoes apparently... and the evening classes do actually appear to provide both instruction and entertainment.
But for me the lunch-time course was more hmmmm? than mmmmh!
J
I was surprised to find that there was one other "pupil", a male EC official .
The chef, or possibly assistant chef and her assistant guided me to a mountain of small potatoes which I was told to clean. When this was done I was given a slotted spoon and told to put the potatoes in a tall pan of boiling water. Continuing the steep learning curve I was guided back to the sink to wash the roquette. The highpoint of this phase of the project was a very cute salad drier. Dizzy with achievement I staggered to the chopping board to assist my fellow pupil in chopping the garlic. Having rapidly risen to this challenge I was moved to slicing meat.
Around about this time the Chef arrived. Apparently he is too celebrated to speak when spoken to.
Whilst he was readying himself to wok the fruits of our labours we managed to accomplish the final learning phase by spreading the roquette on the plate with a few cubes of tomato (the work of my accomplice). And we should not forget the fleurs du sel which we were also allowed to sprinkle.
During the wokking up of the meat by the Chef, two more chefs arrive for lunch, which the students carried to the table. These latest arrivals had also dispensed with social niceties , but after all they were chez eux?
You can do little wrong with beef and salad so indeed it did taste good, but I was too angry to appreciate it by this stage. In order not to disgrace myself, I decided to leave before coffee and was charged 3 euros for a half glass of white wine with which I had tried to soothe my temper.
To summarize: if you know (only) how to lay a baked bean on a piece of toast do not be tempted by this course. However, and to be scrupulously fair (why?) my fellow pupil seemed to find much of it very exciting..even eating the skins of the new potatoes apparently... and the evening classes do actually appear to provide both instruction and entertainment.
But for me the lunch-time course was more hmmmm? than mmmmh!
J
Friday, November 10, 2006
Nous Commençons
Well, I have first post anxiety here.. I live in Brussels with my partner. He works and I do the trailing significant other thing. Since moving here I have been quite resourceful in looking for ways to meet new people. One of the nice things about meeting new people is that you can share suggestions on restaurants, a place to get your shoes fixed (any woman living here must know how important this is...),where to get good wine. You know, all of the important things. Another thing that I notice is that sometimes we as expats aren't treated very good by the lovely service community of Belgium. Maybe they don't even treat their fellow Belgians well, but I'm not so convinced.
I have always wanted to start a blog to share these stories, and I wasn't sure where to begin. Last week I went out with my wonderful British friend for coffee at the Pain Quotidien on Louis LePoutre. I love to go there for a late afternoon coffee. It's cozy, and there's no smoking. I can't say much for the service, but the coffee is always yummy and there just might be a blog in the works about their quiches! Anyway, she went on to tell me this hilarious story about an experience that she had, and it was so funny that I then decided that it was time to start the blog. Instead of me being the sole writer, I want to have my friends write little pieces. So it should be fun, and a great collaboration between a diverse group of people.
I have always wanted to start a blog to share these stories, and I wasn't sure where to begin. Last week I went out with my wonderful British friend for coffee at the Pain Quotidien on Louis LePoutre. I love to go there for a late afternoon coffee. It's cozy, and there's no smoking. I can't say much for the service, but the coffee is always yummy and there just might be a blog in the works about their quiches! Anyway, she went on to tell me this hilarious story about an experience that she had, and it was so funny that I then decided that it was time to start the blog. Instead of me being the sole writer, I want to have my friends write little pieces. So it should be fun, and a great collaboration between a diverse group of people.
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