All posts filed under: Europe

Yam’tcha Lunch

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Have you ever watched Chef’s Table or the more recent Chef’s Table France on Netflix? Well, then you may very well recognize the chef to the right of this photo: That’s right, while on an epic pastry tour in Paris, Babette and I were more than fortunate enough to get a reservation one day during lunch hours at Yam’tcha, Adeline Grattard’s Michelin starred restaurant. And from start to finish, it was one of the most beautiful lunch experiences of my life. If you read my last michelin restaurant related post, I have some criteria that I will tell you about before getting into all the pictures and specifics of what we ate–so feel free to keep scrolling til you get to that, or keep reading as you like. Ambiance: 4.5/5 It was a lovely and comfortable space, with beautiful walls, decorations and seating. However it was still within the bounds of an ‘expected’ level of comfort for me, which is why I didn’t give it the full marks. Taste: 5/5 Constantly amazed and unexpectedly the …

La Bottega del Buon Caffe

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What better way to explore the world and expand your horizons than through food? After some intensive research and frantic emails and phone calls exchanged in order to try to get a table for one at some of the most exciting looking locations, I ended up going to four different Michelin starred restaurants in four different cities within 10 days. I know–what more could a person ask for in life? La Bottega del Buon Caffe came up again and again as I researched things to do in Florence, Italy, and they were able to squeeze me in one of the nights I was in the area. I was already excited based on what I saw on the website before going, but oh my lord was it ever worth it. When I go to a restaurant (particularly a nicer restaurant) there are a handful of things I am looking for in order to determine whether it is a good destination or not. I’m going to give you a little overall review, but feel free to keep …

Chaos and Strength: Week 15 in the Kitchen

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I don’t know if someone wrote ‘lets all make fun of Maddie this week’ on my forehead while I wasn’t paying attention, or if we all just snapped a little at being overwhelmed by the new schedule and the lack of our chef in the kitchen…but lets just say that it is a good thing that I am relatively speaking an easy going and patient person. My American accent, my many lists, my desire to do everything and control everything possible, my lack of ability to correctly conjugate verbs in French, my laugh, my knowledge of French music…I basically couldn’t do or say anything without it coming back to me as the butt of a joke–in the friendliest way, of course. “How are you Maddie?” Stan asks me in English. “I’m fine and you?” I respond, speaking English as well. “WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SPEAKING ENGLISH HERE? YOU ARE IN FRANCE!” T_T There is just no winning. Another winner of a conversation was when my coworkers said after one of the many times …

Writing in Chocolate, Midnight Adventures and French Skills: Week 11 in the Kitchen

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“So…You do the opaline and the mignardise and everything else…And I’ll just be over here. Okay?” Sunday, I once again needlessly showed up 45 minutes in advance of my shift starting, and Stan and I had so little to do that he literally made the largest tiramisu I have ever seen while I slowly and calmly finished everything for the evening and then started on tasks for the next day. It was a win-win-win situation, as it allowed us to pass a calm day, me to learn more and become more independent in the kitchen, and everyone who works at Belles Rives to have an incredibly enjoyable staff meal that evening. So. The apprentice is scared of bananas. Like, not only does she not like eating them, but she doesn’t like touching them or looking at them. So naturally when Stan found out, he promptly left pastry and went and grabbed a banana from the cold storage room to put on the counter beside her. As the night went on, the banana remained in the kitchen—and …

Trials, Jokes and Translations: Week 10 in the Kitchen

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I think my team has finally figured out how weird I am. I’m finally comfortable enough to be myself. It has not been easy to find my personality while speaking French and while simultaneously beginning a new job and career in the kitchen. It has been hard to balance being myself with being a student and a worker and a foreigner and a new language. But I think the two/two-and-a-half month point has marked the change in me going from that-timid-American-girl-who-for-some-reason-smiles-a-lot to being simply Maddie. Just Maddie. And I like it. Sure, I’m a weird person—I make random noises and sometimes talk to myself in languages that the people around me don’t understand. I’m sarcastic and I roll my eyes and sometimes I swear a lot. I sing Korean ballads and English show tunes to myself while I work. But in the end, that is me and I am happy that even if my coworkers find me strange and unique, it is my actual self that they are getting to know and not the facade …

Family in France: A Weekend with My Brother

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I attempted to set an alarm to drag myself out of bed and be productive Saturday morning, but in the end I woke up early enough only to eat lunch and work on an email in French before jetting off to the train station to head over to Nice. I made it to Nice and soon after found the airbnb where my brother was staying. Of course, being the only one of us with a working phone, I sat on the curb for about 15 minutes before he got my message and came and found me. And as he walked down the sidewalk it was as if nothing had changed—that it hadn’t been 9 months since we had last seen each other, that we were’t meeting in France instead of the US, that our lives hadn’t been completely turned upside down since we had last met. After briefly gathering our thoughts in the apartment that smelled like five grandmas took up residence there, I brought them along the beach towards old town, where we caught …