Cucina Testa Rossa

You say tomahto, I say tomayto, roasted heirloom tomato soup that is!

You say tomahto, I say tomayto, roasted heirloom tomato soup that is! Yes, more tomato stories! Sorry, please indulge me here... I am going heirloom tomato crazy these days. The tomatoes are so gorgeous right now, I can't pass a tomato without wanting to squeeze it. They are my siren calling from the depths of the ocean, taunting me to make with them everything imaginable from savory to sweet and back again. The past few weeks I've been living on one of the many tomato tart attempts in my fridge from my last culinary adventure and last night I just had to make that soup again. If nothing else then to see those gorgeous colors and color combinations and designs only found from the tap of Mother Nature's wand.

A friend from the hi-tech trenches who I hadn't seen in years came over for dinner so out came the tomatoes. I went with three tried and true recipes and two new ones from a fellow cook on the Cannes Film Festival trip a few years back. Brian is the cutest guy on the planet, not to mention a total rock star chef, and a week or so ago he sent me a salmon recipe that looked so good, I had to make it as soon as possible. So with Connee coming over, I knew she’d be game to be my culinary guinea pig for a night. We hadn't seen each other in six years and a lot of life had happened in those six years so a time to celebrate the fact that we keep on keepin' on in spite of life's speed bumps (that more often feel like 2x4s) and rekindling a friendship after many years. Starting with bubbles was a given. Cheers!

Domaine Carneros by Taittinger 2005 Brut Sparkling Wine

Spanish Marcona Almonds
Torta de Aceite Olive Oil Crisp Bread, sugared with almonds

Domaine Charles Audoin 2008 Marsannay Rosé

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup

Apricot Chili Smoked Salmon
Herbed Quinoa

Brie Stuffed with Dried Cherries, Blueberries, Apricots
Mixed Greens with Lemon-Orange Vinaigrette

Vanilla-Banana Grand Marnier Flambée

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Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup
For 8 people (this gives 2 large ladles per person)

5 pounds heirloom tomatoes, all different colors
20 sprigs thyme, leave removed, stems discarded
1 handful basil leaves
1/2 head garlic, individual cloves, peeled
1/4 cup *good* olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper

1. Cut the heirlooms into wedges, put into a roasting pan with high sides. Tomatoes shouldn't come up higher than 2/3 up the side of the pan because lots of juice will come out and you don't want all that goodness spilling over the sides.

2. Add thyme leaves, basil, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Roast in 400F oven for 60 minutes
4. Blend with an immersion blender, or ladle in batches into a blender.
5. Taste for seasoning. Add salt & pepper if needed.
6. Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil, thyme sprig

Note: Other garnishes: rustic croutons, dried tomato slice...
Basil is optional. The first time I made it, I didn't use basil and it was delicious.
This can be made ahead and reheated gently to serve.

Brian's Apricot Chili Smoked Salmon & Herbed Quinoa
Serves 4

1 cedar plank
1-1/2 to 2 lb filet salmon (get a piece from the thick side)
2-3 tbsp apricot preserves (I use Bonne Maman)
1/2-1" fresh ginger root, grated (use an amount that fits your taste. fresh ginger is very strong.)
a few shakes of red chili flakes
... and because I can’t leave a good thing well enough alone ...
1 tiny pinch of cayenne (this made it a bit too strong for me but if you like hot, go for it)

Now this recipe is meant for a grill but not having one, I thought "if you can cook it on a grill, you should be able to cook it in an oven" so away I blindly went…

1. Soak cedar plank for at least an hour submerged in water
2. Preheat oven to 350F
3. Mix apricot preserves, ginger, chili flakes
4. Place cedar plank in oven for 3 minutes
5. Take out the plank, place salmon on plank and slather with apricot mix
6. Cook for 15 minutes
7. Place plank on a serving platter and serve.

Note: the apricot mixture can be made ahead and chilled until ready to use.

Quinoa is another one I've never made, had it numerous times in restaurants but never made it. But I have on occasion been able to follow directions so off I went sending prayers to the quinoa gods that it didn't turn into a pile of glue.

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed twice
1 tbsp butter
1 can vegetable broth
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
10 sprigs of thyme leaves
1 small handful of parley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced

1. toast quinoa in butter
2. add vegetable broth and bring to a boil
3. lower to a simmer and cook until done
4. stir in shallot, garlic, and herbs
5. add lemon juice
6. add salt & pepper to taste

Plate a large serving spoon of quinoa on a plate, then top with a piece of the salmon and serve. Bon appetit!

Note: The quinoa can be made ahead but wait until you serve it to add the herbs as they should be fresh and just chopped to maximize freshness and look. Also the garlic gets much stronger the next day and can take over the dish.

Stuffed Brie with Mixed Greens
Serves 4

I first saw this dish at a small local bistro in Paris, La Beurre Noisette. There were no tourists, only local Parisians and the stray American expat (moi). The wedge of brie was so beautiful and it was plated with a small mixed green salad. Five years later, I can still picture it and remember how beautiful I thought I was.

1 small 8 oz wheel of brie (this is much easier to do with a round of brie as opposed to a wedge).
1/2 cup dried fruits (cherries, cranberries, blueberries, apricots. If using apricots, cut in half or quarters depending on size)
hot water and a little wine or liquour

Note: try to keep the container in tact that the brie came in. often they come in a thin wooden packaging. Keep this as it makes it much easier to work with.

1. place brie in freezer just until firm, about 15 minutes
2. placed dried fruits in a bowl and fill to just cover fruit with 1/2 hot water and 1/2 wine (or rum or other liquour), let soak for 15 minutes
3. take brie out of freezer, unwrap, keep container and cut brie in half across the equator
4. place the bottom half back in the container
5. drain the fruit, squeezing out excess water and spread across the brie to cover completely
6. plate top half of brie back over the fruit and press down gently
7. place in fridge to firm.

To serve:
When you serve the first coarse, take the brie out of the fridge and set aside, letting it come to room temp.
When you clear the dinner plates, place the brie (in the container, on an oven proof plate) in a very low oven, 150F, for 5 minutes to make it a bit oozy.
Cut into 4 wedges and serve with a small mixed green salad tossed in a light vinaigrette

Lemon-Orange Vinaigrette

1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 orange
pinch of sea salt
generous pinch fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

1. in a deep bowl, place all ingredients, except olive oil, and combine with a whish
2. slowly whisk in olive oil
3. place a tablespoon of dressing in the bottom of a clean bowl and add greens.
4. toss to coat adding dressing a little at a time until it's dressed to your liking but keep it light so you can enjoy the cheese, not overpower it.

Vanilla-Banana Grand Marnier Flambée
Serves 4

1 pint haagen dazs vanilla frozen yogurt
2 bananas, cut into 1/4" slices
1-2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
splash Grand Marnier
Optional: raspberries, chocolate shavings

1. melt butter in deep pan with sloped edges on medium high heat
2. add bananas and toss immediately
3. add brown sugar and toss immediately
4. let it begin to caramelize, 2-3 minutes
5. add splash of Grand Marnier and flambée. Flambéing is optional of course, if you aren't comfortable with flames shooting from your pan :) You can opt for the less flammable approach and let the alcohol cook off swirling the pan until it does.
6. Optional: when done caramelizing the bananas, take off the heat and stir in some raspberries and chocolate. It will melt right away so have the fro-yo already in the glass ready to go and serve immediately.
7. Scoop 2 small or one large scoop of fro-yo into a martini glass (or other dish) and spoon the bananas flambée over the top.

And there you have it! :) A delicious meal, easy to prepare, much that can be done ahead of time so you can spend time relaxing with your guests and not stressed out in the kitchen.

The musical notes of two of my favorite bands swirled around us all evening: PawnShop kings & Rocco DeLuca & the Burden. Both a combination of "stomping rock, swampy blues" and angelic gospel with vocals, music and lyrics that grab you by the lapels and reach down to the depths of your soul. From the PawnShop kings' loves songs inspired by their wives to Rocco's sliding Dobro guitar riffs, every song, every riff, leaves me in awe.

So gather your friends, share your life, your stories (cuz everyone has one!), your selves with those around you allowing good food and wine to draw you around a table and celebrate, if nothing else, that we all just keep on keepin' on.

Cheers and a resounding Julia Child rendition of Bon Appetit!

Moulin de Mougins

the amuse-bouche de jour at Moulin de Mougins near Cannes

I first washed up on the shores of France almost two and a half years ago to cook at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the start of a six month tour cooking my way around the country. Six months turning into eight which turned into a year which has miraculously morphed into two and a half. Don't ask me how... The moral of this story - careful what you wish for! It might actually come true. Anyways, before we fired up our panini machines and hot plates (more on that another time), all the cooks in the group - about 24 of us - were treated to a whirlwind of excursions around Cannes and Nice. Our second day in Cannes began with a visit to Moulin de Mougins, a restaurant renowned throughout the continent. It was run for decades by the legendary chef Roger Vergé who maintained his 3-Michelin star rating the entire time. I believe he still owns it but has turned over his whisks to a French-trained and muy caliente Spaniard, Alain Llorca. Click here to feel the heat.

Chateau Cooking, DaVinci Style

Place de la Concorde metro stop DaVinci Code-d out

For those of you who have spent the past three years living with an indigenous tribe in sub-Saharan Africa, you might not have heard of The DaVinci Code. For the other four billion plus of us, we have been inundated with Code media the likes of which have no doubt already seared their iconic status in future business school marketing classes. The French who loathe anything splashy or frivolous (or garrulously American) actually redesigned the Concorde metro station a la DaVinci Code going so far as to repaint, yes repaint!, the station red! Considering they wouldn't so much as clean the metro stations when the Olympic bid committee came to town, this is quite a statement. So what does the DaVinci Code have to do with cooking, you ask? More than you might think, at least for this little cook. Click here to decode this mystery....

Monsieur Poulet

Farmers Market, Nice, Cote d'Azur ~ May 2004

I came to France last May to cook at the Cannes Film Festival with a group of 25 other chefs from around the US. One of our field trips was to the Nice Farmers Market where we were treated to a feast for the eyes, stomach and soul.

I tend not to attribute the word 'beautiful' with 'chicken' but these chickens were indeed beautiful. Feathers of vibrant red, orange, rust, maroon and every color in between, shades of Tuscany, jumped out of the cage and grabbed your attention, willing or not.  I wanted to reach in and caress their beguiling feathers though sharp beaks and glaring owner thwarted any such nonsense.

Spring has arrived! Well at least in San Francisco it has...

Not since I washed upon these sandy shores of the French Riviera a few months short of a year ago have I felt such a longing to be back in my beloved City by the Bay.  Perhaps it was two friends here in Paris who just moved back to San Francisco and should be settling into their apartment in Noe Valley as we speak (so to speak, uhhhh, type, uh, never mind)?

Or maybe it was the inordinate number of people who, this past Friday at rush hour, took it upon themselves (without so much as consulting their fellow travelers) to pursue the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of human beings and various furry beasts that can be compacted into a subway car and not be permanently maimed or disfigured…or groped as the case may be? 

Could it be the fact that the thermometer on our kitchen window ledge hasn’t crept above 12ºC (a balmy 50ºF) in longer than I can remember causing our electric/gas bill this month to come in at a whopping 375 EUROS!!!!!? 

Or maybe it was reading Culinary Muse's delightful reminder that “Spring has (indeed) arrived in San Francisco!”?  Her enchanting prose and brilliant photography instantly transported me back revealing that as magnificent as Paris is, there really is no place like home...when home is glorious San Francisco.  Thank you for reminding me!  Now maybe if I click my heels 3 times…..

*disclaimer on the photo - i didn't take it. duh!  i am "borrowing" it from somewhere in cyberspace. i can't remember where otherwise i'd give the photographer credit. if you are the photographer please don't sue me. i'm just a poor broke cook, and not a very good one, trying to make it in France.

Cannes Magnifique: Moulin de Mougins

Today's excursion was to Moulin de Mougins (which means Windmill of Mougins, Mougins being the name of the town), one of the most highly acclaimed restaurants in France. At its helm for decades was the legendary chef, Roger Vergé, who maintained his 3-Michelin star rating the entire time. I believe he still owns it but has turned over his whisk to a French-trained Spaniard, Alain Llorca, who is muy caliente y muy guapo! :-) He is on the right in the picture below. The restaurant lost a star but Chef Alain said they are working on getting the 3rd one back. The restaurant, and the entire property for that matter, is beautiful…old stone buildings centuries old with an antique stone olive press in the entrance.



One of the dining rooms is in the garden with glass walls. They have celebrities sign the window in pen then etch their autographs into the glass. It looks very cool. The only name I recognized was Elizabeth Taylor. Legend has it that the great French artist and a good friend of Roger Vergé, César (like Cher, only one name), after repeated requests, finally signed his name on a panel under the condition that no one else was allowed to sign on his glass panel. Well along came Elizabeth Taylor and she signed on his panel and the nest time César came to the restaurant he had a fit! Chef Vergé simply shrugged and said "It was Elizabeth Taylor…what was I to do?"  Her signature is at the bottom arrow.



There is a charming hotel with 10 rooms and a separate building for the bakery and the office. This is the location for the yearly fundraiser for amfAR (american foundation for Aids Research) that draws the like of Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Liza Minelli, Sharon Stone, Natalie Cole, et al… 500 stars and a separate tent for the 275 drivers and security people! 6 people from our group were picked randomly to help work in the kitchen for this event...I wasn't picked and I was sooooooooooo very disappointed. We didn't get to eat there but here is a glimpse of their amuse bouche for the lunch service that day. My apologies as I can't find where I wrote down just exactly what this is... All the pictures from this delicious visit are here.

We then headed up the road to Le Clos St. Basile. This has become an annual stop on the Cannes cooks trip and Chef Claude and Madame Annie treated us to a spectacular lunch. (351, avenue St Basile, 06250 Mougins, France, +33 04 92 92 93 03 ph, [email protected]) A former participant on the Cannes cooks trip, a chef named Trevor, joined us there for lunch. He ended up staying in France after his trip to Cannes. Hmmmmm…not a bad idea! ;-) He worked at both Le Clos St. Basile and Moulin de Mougins and coincidentally studied at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

Lunch Menu:
Cocktail Champagne Maison & Feuilletés Salés
- Champagne Cocktail & Savory Puff Pastry Twists
Mise en Bouche Rafraîchie à la Gelée de Crustacés
- Amuse Bouche: Cold Shellfish Soup
Saumon Mariné aux Herbes et Sel Marin
- Salmon marinated in Herbs and Sea Salt

       

Aiguillettes de Canard, Sauce Miroir au Vin de Bandol
- Duck Breast with a Bandol Wine sauce
Macaronade de Fruits Rouges Glacé à la Vanille
- Macaroon with Red Fruits and Vanilla Ice Cream

       

Café et Mignardises
- Coffee and Dessert Bites
Vins: Côtes de Provence
- Wine: from the Coast of Provence

After lunch we returned to the beautiful gardens for coffee and mignardises (assorted small bite size desserts), usually served after the main dessert. Can never get tired of desserts in France! We were all ready for a nap but alas no… By the time we returned to Cannes, after once again going the wrong way a few time, we headed straight to the American Pavilion to unpack and set up both the Pavilion and the student union.

Oh my goodness, it was spectacular! The view that is. The set up was a nightmare. As I mentioned earlier, the tent is situated right on the beach! If you stand on the deck and look out at the Mediterranean, there is a stage being built on the water for the De-Lovely (Kevin Klein, Ashley Judd movie about Cole Parter's life) closing night party, a myriad of yachts arriving for the festivities and the glorious French Riviera, the Côte d'Azur that is truly azure.

We unpacked the Pavilion, and then walked up to the student union, where I will be working with Elizabeth the first 5 days. It was very fun to set up and work together as a group. Most of the cooks went to dinner at Marine Café with the lovely Olivier, all in all about 20 of us. Armand, one of the managers with our group, swears Nicole Kidman was sitting at a table in the far corner. No one else thought it was her but I did look like her! I'll just believe it was her.  Back to my hotel room with piggie roommates. Piggies, piggies, piggies! Humble pie! HUGE slice! Hate that!

Cannes Uncorked: Château de Bellet

After this gastronomic delight, our next stop was to Bellet Vineyards, Château de Bellet, which has been in the Bellet family for generations. The tour guide, Clementine, is the great-great-great- (can’t remember how many “great”s) grand daughter of the founder. It is her parents that currently live here. A charming story of the trompe de l'oeil on house….a few centuries ago, the people were taxed based on number of windows in their home and her great-great-...grandmother loved to look of windows on the outside so the 3rd column of windows (the column to the right of the tree) on the house is fake! It looks grand but if you open the shutters, there is just a wall. That's one way to avoid the taxman!

The soil or terroir is composed of sand and rocks called pudding. The rocks are polished from being under water thousands of years ago which also enables the rocks to retain heat. This area is blessed with 300 days of sunshine a year and a steady climate. The grapes have to work hard on the vines and in the "pudding" soil so they have a deep rich flavor, and one that reflects the terroir.

The white wine is aged in oak barrels, the rosé in tanks, and the red wine in tanks as well. The white is lovely, not sweet, not to tannin, surprising for me as I don't usually like white wine. The rosé is sweet, too sweet for me though. The red is nice. I got an aroma of sneakers (no one else got that), musty, and deep red fruits.

The vineyards lie about an equal distance between the ocean and the Alps both of which you can see in the distance, and a lovely breeze continually blows.

Hernan, one of the cooks on the trip, is from Argentina. He lives in Scottsdale but drives like he is still in Argentina flying around the curvy roads. We of course got lost and Armand (from Canada, lives in Newport RI, one of the managers who's been on this trip 4 times!) was wigging out because he couldn't read the map. As it turns out he had it upside down, and we kept finding ourselves back in the same place. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or if we were really innocent victims in a new reality show. We found the A4 eventually after backtracking a few times and arrived just in time for dinner. This was supposed to be our early day. Oh well… as all the managers say, "C'est la vie, c'est la France." Translation: That's life. That's France. Three little words that can completely excuse someone's utter incompetence… I'll have to remember that! ;-) It's that corporate-ness in me again! I really must let go of that if I am going to survive in this country or this industry for that matter... All the pictures from this visit are located here.

I went to dinner with 2 other cooks to the restaurant on the road that runs along the beach. Marine Café, owned by a tall, charming, handsome, blond hair, blue-eyed Frenchman Olivier, is a wonderful local restaurant with good local food. He was so excited to tell us about his trip to the US and especially California. I had my favorite, moules and frites (mussels in white wine garlic both). Life is good :-)

The Côte d'Azur is Really Azur!

There are about 20 cooks and 5 managers in our group from all over the US and one from Argentina. We arrived a few days before the festival began and were treated to 3 days of whirlwind trips through the south of France. Yesterday, our first offsite, if you will, was to Nice on the Côte d'Azur and their local farmers market. It was spectacular!

These are my favorite pictures…Just looking at these strawberries makes my mouth water. They were like nothing I'd ever tasted!  Sweet and earthy and tangy and bursting with juice! We are so used to those dreadful tasteless dry supermarket berries that one bite of this brings tears to your eyes when you realize what you've been missing.

After meandering past all the wonderful stands, we circled back and bought some delicious olives, still-warm baguettes, an assortment of fromages, and a bottle of wine and walked across the street to the beach. We sat on the promenade looking out at the Cote d'Azur, which was truly azure as you can see in the picture above, and feasted on our purchases. La bonne vie! Click here to see the photo album.

Of course I’ll work for free!

 

Of course I’ll work for free! I'll even pay you! This is the culinary industry after all…

A quick explanation about how and with whom I initially came to France. Last June [2003], an FCI alum who had just returned from Cannes stopped by cooking school to report back to the chefs. Chef Pascal, knowing I wanted to go to France, introduced me to him. I tucked this in the back of my mind and when it appeared on the job posting web site this past February [2004], I immediately applied. The program in which I participated is sponsored by Kodak Film and a separate company called the American Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The "American Pavilion" is the largest tent at the Cannes Film Festival and the closest one to the red carpet. It is the first in a row of tents sponsored by many different countries. The American Pavilion tent has a kitchen, a dining area, a deck on the beach, an internet cafe, a business office, and separate press room where many of the producers and stars of the American films being shown would meet with the press. We were treated to the likes of Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick, Benjamin Bratt, Kevin Klein, Jim Cavazeil (The Passion), Billy Bob Thornton, and Roger Ebert who did many of his interviews there. The above photo is of Jim Cavaziel opening the American Pavilion.

Kodak brings about 160 film students (who pay $2,000 each to be there!) from across the U.S. to work at various locations throughout the festival. Some worked as waiters at the Pavilion; some worked the market, La Marché, where film makers and producers were trying to sell to film distributors, which was what Michael Moore was trying to do with Fahrenheit 9/11. Some of the students have films that are being screened here but most are just trying to network and market the heck out of themselves. The AmPav started bringing in cooks about 8 years ago so that they could sell food in the tent.

There is also a "student union" of sorts—a flat they rented a few blocks away—used as a central gathering place for everyone with the Kodak program. It was there that we cooked lunch for everyone, every day. We also provided breakfast every morning at the hotel. Luckily I never got breakfast duty as that meant showing up at 5:00am! Many of you asked how much I was paid to do this. Pardon me while I pick myself off the floor and stop laughing. Not only did we not get paid, the cooks actually had to pay $800 for the privilege of working there, another amazing aspect of this industry. What’s more amazing is I bought into it hook, line, and sinker. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Would I do it again? I’ve learned to never say never…but I would have to find a different hotel...at least one with a jacuzzi slide that didn't run into the wall ;-)

"Bonjour, Cannes!"

Woke much too early but had to get to Gare de Lyon train station in Paris for the TGV (France's express train) to Cannes. It was raining and luckily we left early as the police were about to close the Champs Elysées for the French Armistice Parade (end of the war). I am now heading backwards to Cannes! A lovely train ride down, about 5½ hours, and we (me and the train) made our way south, cutting through the country side passing farm after farm after farm, whizzing by quaint little villages delivering their morning wake up call. I can't tell what they are growing and I don't know how to ask that in French but there are acres and acres of vibrant green occasionally offset by a patch or strip of vibrant yellow. Mustard perhaps as it reminds me of the Napa Valley. Maybe we are near Dijon? It is a rainy, gloomy, gray day but the prospect of sun in the south of France keeps my spirits high. The conductor came by collecting tickets and he smelled to high heaven. Between that and riding backwards, I am getting a bit nauseous...

I arrived in Cannes with breakfast intact and checked in to our hotel, the Pierre et Vacances, in Cannes La Bocca (3 miles down the beach from Cannes proper). The only good thing about it is the view of the Mediterranean. This view (picture above) kept me sane. If you look very closely at the picture you will see a blue pool slide on the bottom right that runs directly into...the wall of the Jacuzzi! Many times we saw hotel maintenance standing over it looking very confused. This is a frequent occurance in France. C'est la vie...

The hotel is cold, damp, musty, and cramped! We have an apartment set up that sleeps 5 people with 1 bathroom. Let me rephrase that... 5 women, 1 bathroom! 4 young film students still in college and me. I am officially in hell. I have my own room, thank goodness, but it too is cold and damp and musty and so small that I had to put my suitcase on my bed as there was no room on the floor! Another student from my cooking school is also on the trip and we walked 3 miles up the beach to Cannes. We ate lunch at a restaurant right on the beach, Riviera Beach Restaurant (Blvd du Midi, Cannes). The beach was covered with swarms of topless Magdas (Cameron Diaz's neighbor that smoked and tanned in the movie "Something About Mary")! We just cracked up. The waiter was a bronzed, toned French man wearing shorts, a tank top and sporting a pony tail and who was just digging life. We then walked to the Palais de Congress about a half mile up the road just past the old port starting to fill up with yachts of all shapes and sizes. Well the size range was actually from large to larger. The Palais de Congress is the main building or convention center where the Red Carpet is and where the premiere screenings are held. It is conveniently next to our tent, the American Pavilion as it is called. This picture is last year's [2003] opening night premiere. Photo by Larry Laszlo/CoMedia. The red arrow points to our tent. Pas mal ;-)



We walked back to the hotel for our meeting with the culinary team of about 20 cooks consisting of lots of young people in their early to mid 20s, and about 6 or 7 from the same cooking school in Arizona, the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. Once again I feel like the oldest, like I don't fit in at all… We had our meeting and I must admit, I was scared to death. Those doubts of "What was I thinking?!" and "What if I can't do this??" were swirling around in my head (completely unfounded as I soon discovered!). After the meeting, I went in search of an internet café. I stopped at one restaurant/cafe and of course there was no internet connection that night for some reason that they were unable or unwilling to explain to me. I saw a large table of cooks from my group there having dinner. I walked by the table to say hi and not one person asked me to join them. I felt awful, left out, high school all over again :-( I guess I could have asked if I could join them but at that point I just wasn't up for it.

The weather is freezing! It is overcast and cold and windy and I have no warm clothes! All the clothes that I pulled out of my suitcase at the very last minute to make the airline weight limit are exactly what I need right now. There is a woman from San Francisco State, Yael (pronounced ya-el) Braha, on the Kodak film student program as well (more on that later) with a movie here who I would like to meet. There was a snipet on her on NPR before I left. I am also anxious to see Michael Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, which Disney won't distribute. It must be a doosie! The next 3 days we, the culinary team, are visiting local wineries and markets and restaurants and then it's work! Tomorrow is a visit to the open air farmers market in Nice! Ooh la la!