Today was my orientation day and the first day at Cordon Bleu. Yes, we had our first class as well after the orientation. It is not the same for regular diploma. They will have only orientation on first day and the first class after a day of the orientation.
It's mandatory to attend the orientation, without attending it one will not be allowed to start the course. So I was very anxious last night and checked thrice if I have set the right alarm on my phone.
I prepare my own food, breakfast lunch and dinner. So I had to manage it all and set the alarm accordingly. I am planning to carry a lunch box daily to the school.
Timing for today was 10:30am to 6pm. We were supposed to carry the Letter of Enrolment, passport, a pen and a notepad along with us.
I reached there at 10:15. Lady at the reception asked me to wait in the lounge where other students were sitting. There were people of different age groups approximately from 20s-50s and almost from all parts of the world. I met German, Italian, US-Australian, Irish, Brit-Shrilankan, Singaporean, Indonesian, HongKongers, Chinese, and we Indians (There are 5 Indian girls including me).... a very diverse set of nationalities. All were getting to know each other and asking about each other's work experiences in baking/cooking. All were excited and anxious at the same time, as me :)
Then we gathered in a big room on 4th floor where they handed over 2 heavy bags, one with some documents like Student Manual etc and one with uniforms. Bags were labelled with each of our names!
Orientation started with the welcome speech from the Principal, Rosemary Hume.
After the speech, schedules were distributed. It looked like a puzzle to me initially, but once they explained how to read it, it was not bad.
Another admin lady explained us about the pilot project of e-Learning started by the school with our batch and how to use it for our benefits.
All together, there are more than 30 people of Patisserie and Cuisine Intensive. We are divided into groups of 12. Henceforth, we will be working in this group for Basic and Intermediate level. We will be divided and mixed with other groups for Superior level.
A patisserie chef, Chef Olivier then took us for the school tour. While touring he explained us about the kitchen rules, equipments usage, washing areas, etc. We also did a mock fire drill along with the Chef.
We did fingerprint registration at the reception for security. Lockers were allocated and lock settings were explained.
Then we had been asked to do uniform trials. If they are not fitting or if any difference of size, we can get it exchanged immediately from the staff and fill in the necessary forms.
We received Wusthof Knife Set each. It is quite heavy and loaded with dangerously sharp blade knives. Chefs suggested us not to open it for now for the safety reasons and keep it in the locker.
All this went on till 2-2:15pm. Next session or the first technical lecture was at 3pm. We got some time to eat something and get ready in uniforms for the lecture. By now, we all were half-drained by running here and there all over the campus. I grabbed an Italian sandwich and orange juice from the in-house Cafe Le Cordon Bleu. It's open for public as well as for students. All students get 15% discount on all items.
Lecture was started on time, conducted by the popular chef Loïc. He explained us the e-learning system in detail. We recieved our folders and two reference recipe books.
The folder or the course manual is quite heavy. It has Self Evaluation Journals in it for all recipes. Chef explained its importance and how to fill it properly; rules of examination and marks etc. Another chef explained the use and importance of different parts of the uniform and how to wear them correctly. He demonstrated how to tie the handkerchief around the neck. Then there was a demonstration of electrical equipments in the kitchen like KitchenAid, blender, blow torch etc.
There was a piece of word of caution on knives handling and using them correctly.
Lecture was over around 6pm. Hushh! What a day!! Overall it was an exciting but exhausting long day for us.
Tomorrow we have a Food Safety Level 2 certificate course lecture at 8am, followed by an exam! :O
It's mandatory to attend the orientation, without attending it one will not be allowed to start the course. So I was very anxious last night and checked thrice if I have set the right alarm on my phone.
I prepare my own food, breakfast lunch and dinner. So I had to manage it all and set the alarm accordingly. I am planning to carry a lunch box daily to the school.
Timing for today was 10:30am to 6pm. We were supposed to carry the Letter of Enrolment, passport, a pen and a notepad along with us.
I reached there at 10:15. Lady at the reception asked me to wait in the lounge where other students were sitting. There were people of different age groups approximately from 20s-50s and almost from all parts of the world. I met German, Italian, US-Australian, Irish, Brit-Shrilankan, Singaporean, Indonesian, HongKongers, Chinese, and we Indians (There are 5 Indian girls including me).... a very diverse set of nationalities. All were getting to know each other and asking about each other's work experiences in baking/cooking. All were excited and anxious at the same time, as me :)
Then we gathered in a big room on 4th floor where they handed over 2 heavy bags, one with some documents like Student Manual etc and one with uniforms. Bags were labelled with each of our names!
Orientation started with the welcome speech from the Principal, Rosemary Hume.
After the speech, schedules were distributed. It looked like a puzzle to me initially, but once they explained how to read it, it was not bad.
 |
| Monthly Schedule-scary, isn't it? |
All together, there are more than 30 people of Patisserie and Cuisine Intensive. We are divided into groups of 12. Henceforth, we will be working in this group for Basic and Intermediate level. We will be divided and mixed with other groups for Superior level.
A patisserie chef, Chef Olivier then took us for the school tour. While touring he explained us about the kitchen rules, equipments usage, washing areas, etc. We also did a mock fire drill along with the Chef.
We did fingerprint registration at the reception for security. Lockers were allocated and lock settings were explained.
Then we had been asked to do uniform trials. If they are not fitting or if any difference of size, we can get it exchanged immediately from the staff and fill in the necessary forms.
 |
| Uniform |
 |
| Uniform Trial |
 |
| Wusthof Knife Set |
Lecture was started on time, conducted by the popular chef Loïc. He explained us the e-learning system in detail. We recieved our folders and two reference recipe books.
 |
| The Folder |
 |
| Reference Books |
The folder or the course manual is quite heavy. It has Self Evaluation Journals in it for all recipes. Chef explained its importance and how to fill it properly; rules of examination and marks etc. Another chef explained the use and importance of different parts of the uniform and how to wear them correctly. He demonstrated how to tie the handkerchief around the neck. Then there was a demonstration of electrical equipments in the kitchen like KitchenAid, blender, blow torch etc.
There was a piece of word of caution on knives handling and using them correctly.
Lecture was over around 6pm. Hushh! What a day!! Overall it was an exciting but exhausting long day for us.
Tomorrow we have a Food Safety Level 2 certificate course lecture at 8am, followed by an exam! :O
Amazing Meenakshi! It is great to get to life this life through your words!
ReplyDeleteThank you dear Shruti! :)
DeleteGreat. Congrats Meenakshi. Just came across this. So glad for you. All the best and keep writing and sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shilpa!
Delete