Anyone Can Cook, 9/1/09, Period 4
"Bonjour, class," Colette said, once it seemed like everyone who was coming was in the Home Ec classroom with a syllabus and set of rules before them. She was dressed in her chef whites, and the classroom was kitted out like a well-equipped restaurant kitchen.
"Welcome to Anyone Can Cook. I am your instructor, Colette Tatou. You may call me Chef Colette, Chef Tatou, or Mademoiselle Tatou." It wasn't that she didn't know the English honorifics; it was that Ms. sounded like buzzing to her and she certainly wasn't a professor. "I hope you will enjoy our time together."
"In this class, I will instruct you all in basic and advanced cookery, using Auguste Gusteau's classic cookbook, Anyone Can Cook. If you tell me that is not true and you simply cannot cook, I will laugh and tell you the best chef I have ever known -- after Monsieur Gusteau -- is a rat. You all seem to be human shaped, so the advantage is yours, is it not?" Her raised eyebrow was very elegant.
"Today, we will start with an assignment I saw on a television program. I would like each of you to make what you would call a signature dish, then present and explain it to the class. Do not be ashamed if it is basic; if you can only make toast, make the best toast you can make. You have 40 minutes to cook, and then we'll spend 20 minutes on introductions. I am here if you have questions or you may refer to the cookbooks on this shelf for ideas. Begin."
There, she finally smiled. "I also need two assistants. It would be very nice if they already knew how to cook. If anyone is interested, talk to me after class, s'il vous plait."
"Welcome to Anyone Can Cook. I am your instructor, Colette Tatou. You may call me Chef Colette, Chef Tatou, or Mademoiselle Tatou." It wasn't that she didn't know the English honorifics; it was that Ms. sounded like buzzing to her and she certainly wasn't a professor. "I hope you will enjoy our time together."
"In this class, I will instruct you all in basic and advanced cookery, using Auguste Gusteau's classic cookbook, Anyone Can Cook. If you tell me that is not true and you simply cannot cook, I will laugh and tell you the best chef I have ever known -- after Monsieur Gusteau -- is a rat. You all seem to be human shaped, so the advantage is yours, is it not?" Her raised eyebrow was very elegant.
"Today, we will start with an assignment I saw on a television program. I would like each of you to make what you would call a signature dish, then present and explain it to the class. Do not be ashamed if it is basic; if you can only make toast, make the best toast you can make. You have 40 minutes to cook, and then we'll spend 20 minutes on introductions. I am here if you have questions or you may refer to the cookbooks on this shelf for ideas. Begin."
There, she finally smiled. "I also need two assistants. It would be very nice if they already knew how to cook. If anyone is interested, talk to me after class, s'il vous plait."