Day 31 of 60 | Bonjour, Paris! 🇫🇷✨
Week four at École Ducasse has officially begun, and I’m having one of those “pinch me” moments. It’s wild to think how far my classmates and I have come in just a month. Most of us arrived as enthusiastic amateurs with only two of us capable of confidently pronouncing “gastrique” without sweating, yet here we are, navigating the art of French gourmet cuisine.
The chaos is real, but so is the progress. Every day something new clicks. I’m finally at the point where I’m not wasting half my mental energy hunting for a rogue ladle or the one pan everyone seems to need at the exact same time. Knowing the lab and the equipment means I can actually focus on the ingredients, the technique, and, ya know… the cooking part.
Today’s lessons: Risotto and Paella from scratch. Translation: stir… stir… stir some more. With all the simmering and slow-cooking, it was a gentler day. No finger cuts, no oil burns, no mysterious stains on my chef’s jacket. Neither of my dishes turned out great (pictured below), but I must say, they tasted pretty good. A triumph!
I even got home early enough to hit the gym. After taking Sunday off to recover from my big night out, I’m going full “Beast Mode” tonight. And in exciting fitness news: I hit a personal best this morning—25 consecutive push-ups upon rising at 5:45 am. My goal is 30 by Thanksgiving. Not bad for someone who, back in June, couldn’t manage a single one without sounding like I was calling for help.
Here is to small but important wins! 💪🇫🇷✨
