Smelling the new life of the first time

How did I end up in Paris?

As a nineteen year old girl keen to explore the world and studying culinary arts in Malta I thought: Why not starting my life as a chef in the country with the longest culinary tradition? 

And Paris? Well, who does not want to live in Paris? 

The smell of freshly baked pastries and rustic baguette at every second corner, 

beautiful „fromageries" and a vibrating culture of going out and enjoying the afternoon by having a „coupe de champagne“ in one of the many brasseries. 

That’s how the sweet life in Paris began. 

For me living in Paris meant not only enjoying „la joie de vivre“ but also a lot of work.   

Monday, 3rd July: My 1st day as a „stagière“ in a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris

For the first time I enter the restaurant where I am going to work at for the next 6 months. After saying bonjour to two chefs who are already getting out their knives and chopping boards I climb down the stairs. Then I am standing in the middle of a changing room packed with half naked girls and boys in their twenties all changing into their kitchen uniform. 

There are around 11 chefs/ interns working in the restaurant. It is buzzing with people running from the preparation kitchen up to the service kitchen. All staff is young, friendly and most of all very, very dedicated to their profession. Tahiti, Panama, South Korea, Argentina - there are plenty of nationalities. However, speaking French is crucial. We are three new interns. All equally clueless about what we are going to be doing in the next hours and days. 

The working day starts early. The arrivals of fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables have to be stored neatly and accurately and labelled with name and date. In the beginning of the day a lot of preparation for service has to be done. All waiters greet you with a kiss on one and on the other cheek. Never forget that greeting in France! It is a must for hellos and goodbyes even if the aftershave of the person in front of you already knocks you out from a 2 m distance. 

After a few days I was allowed to go up to the open kitchen and help during service. I could even try some of the dishes. The vibe of actually utilising the prepared herbs, condiments and other products and plating them the fastest and first and foremost the most beautiful way possible makes me feel happy every time. Of course, apart from learning about the beautiful and artistic parts of the chef' profession, I was also familiarized with less fun but crucial aspects of the job. Cleaning tiny chanterelle mushrooms that are swallowed by the guest in less than a second. „Praying“ under the shelves and cleaning all the debris. Listening to wise suggestions and criticism by basically all the kitchen staff except for the dishwasher, which were appropriate but still tiring to listen to constantly.

Apart from learning how to neatly fold a paper napkin for cleaning and neatly arranging the boxes and containers in the cold room I heard hundreds of new French words that no one would ever teach you at school. In addition to that, I got to taste and work with Asian herbs and rare fruit and vegetables that I have never heard of before. It was a great first week.

My most important kitchen vocabulary during week 1: 

La boîte/ Le bac / Le gilac = Box/ container

La marise = Spatula

Pain glace = Ice packs

l’Economa = Dry storage room 

Coq = Abbreviation for clams (never forget to label a box)

Je réclame = When the chef calls out an order to be prepared instantly

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