The 10 of us gather outside the petite salon on the 1st floor awaiting the chef for our exam. Some of us have chosen to wear our Sunday best – brand new uniforms that are glaringly white. We’re relieved to learn that Chef Strill is overseeing out class today. He’s our favorite chef, and we all perform very well when he’s around.

We draw chips from a dish – blue is for blanquette de veau, yellow for filets des durade. Thank goodness I got the veal. Out of all the recipes, this is the one I feel the most comfortable with preparing. We file into the classroom and begin.

To start, we must complete the technical portion of the test – filleting a white fish. I pull mine out of the refrigerator. The fish are nice and large with firm white flesh. I begin by cutting off the fins, scraping off the scales and popping out the eyes with my vegetable peeler. After removing the gills, it’s time to filet. I carefully make all the right incisions and manage to delicately separate the flesh from the bones without leaving too much behind. Then using a gentle sawing motion, I take the skin from the flesh. Both filets are presented along with the bones on a white plate.

Preparations for the veal stew are fairly minimal, but it’s important to get it started since cooking time is an hour. Cut the veal into cubes, removing any excess fat. There will be some tough pieces of sinew and cartilage, but leave those in. Once the veal is cooked, it’s easier to remove. Place the cubes in cold water to disgorge any blood or impurities. This will produce a whiter sauce. Peel an onion and a carrot. Wash a stem of celery and leek. Stud the onion with cloves. By keeping the vegetables whole, they won’t color the sauce as much at the end.

Rise the veal and place it in a stockpot with more cold water. Bring to a boil to blanch. This removes additional impurities that leads to, you guessed it, a whiter sauce. Discard the water, drain the veal, add the vegetables and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Don’t forget to skim impurities as they come to the surface.

While the veal cooks, wash and trim the mushrooms and peel the pearl onions. Cook both until glazed but not brown in water, butter and salt. Prepare the rice pilaf using cooking liquid from the veal – a hint the chef gave us during class.

At this point, I actually have some down time while my veal finishes cooking. I can take a few deep breaths and relax. Much less stress than the pastry final I think. A few of us even start singing together until the chef reminds us that we’re in an exam.

When the veal is done, remove the meat from the cooking liquid and keep warm. Measure out a half liter of liquid and strain over a cold blond roux. Thicken over heat and then add cream. Remove the extra fat and tough parts from the resting veal cubes. Taste the sauce for seasoning and strain over the veal, onions, and mushrooms. Remove from the heat and add the final thickening agent – egg yolks and cream. Let stand for a few minutes and plate with the rice.

I’m one of the first to finish, so I call the chef over. He puts my number on the plate and covers it with foil. The filets and the veal will be presented to a panel of three chefs with only a number, not a name. I’m number eight today. I did have a few dark specks in my sauce and my rice was a little al dente. But everything tasted as it should, so I’m happy with the results. I wash my knives and put everything away.

There’s still an air of tension in the classroom as everyone rushes to plate his or her dish in the last 15 minutes. Those who had the fish look the most tense, and I can tell it hasn’t been an easy two and a half hours.

Once we’re all changed into our street clothes, we gather in the winter garden to talk about the test. We can hardly believe we’re finished with Basic. And now we have two weeks of blissful vacation.

At the corner café, I buy a bottle of champagne so we can toast to our success. It’s been an amazing adventure and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Intermediate.

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