Five or six boys ranging in age from thirteen to sixteen would be a handful to cope with in most households. Almost like five or six bulls, instead of one, in the proverbial china shop. But not so in the establishment of Monsieur Calondre where I served my apprenticeship. His apprentis were selected with too much care, and since every second boy in France seemed to want to become a chef in those days before the turn of the century, there were plenty to pick and choose from. We had to come from good homes—no gamins for Monsieur Calondre. And from homes, too, where the daily food had been well sauced. He also had to be assured that we were diligent and could assume responsibility. Above all, we had to be hardworking. There would be no time for such nonsense as disciplining the unruly or even being bothered with the over-mischievous. Our parents paid a fee that covered a two year period of apprenticeship, and only when a boy's two years were up was there a place for a new boy.
The prospect of going away from home, of living in a big city (and Moulins with its 25,000 inhabitants seemed very big to my country eyes), the importance of starting my apprenticeship had all been very exciting. The reality was far from exciting. Over and over again I sliced and diced and cut vegetables into balls for garnishes, made the roux and stirred the sauces as they reduced, swung the heavy pestle that hung from the ceiling into the huge mortar to mash almonds to a paste or grind rice with shellfish for the bisques. Day after day I did all the jobs that the other apprentis had graduated from, until gradually the muscles in my arms strengthened and little by little a deft flexibility replaced the awkward tenseness in my fingers. All the time I was unconsciously acquiring a professional knowledge of food in various stages of preparation. At last, grace à Dieu, a new apprenti appeared to take over these tasks. Life became not necessarily easier, but certainly much more interesting.
Our way of living and working was an exacting one and physically tiring, but not unpleasant. We started work at six each morning except, of course, on feast days like Christmas and Easter, which required an earlier start, say five o'clock. We finished between six or seven, except on those same busy days when we worked until eight or nine, and then were finished only if the laboratoire—as the part of the establishment was called where we apprentis worked—had been cleaned to a hospital-like spotlessness. Monsieur l'Orsa, the manager, inspected everything—and almost with white gloves—holding the oldest apprenti responsible for the room's condition at the end of each day. We had no choice but to clean all over again whatever did not meet with his approval. He was strict, but we knew he was fair. And I must admit that learning while young to work neatly has made it easy for me to work that way ever since. We were well fed and well cared for, which was not the case in all establishments where boys were trained to be chefs. But Monsieur Calondre was very proud of his reputation on this score.
His apprentis ate at the table with his own family, where the best of food was served, and this included more than generous portions of meat, which was expensive, and a daily glass of vin du pays, which in that area was good, well-aged Burgundy, not just a vin ordinaire.
The cuisine we were taught was like the good Burgundian wine of the region, rich and flavorful. In the soup category, the thick and hearty ones—cream soups and bisques—as well as the rich flavorful consommés with their garnitures were favorites. Last month you learned to make the clear, strong consommés. Now, before going on to cream soups, I want to give you the traditional classic garnitures, or garnishings, for the consommés, Vegetables and cereals, like rice and barley, any of the pastas, and such specialties as tiny profiteroles and crepes, arc popular garnitures, and the consommé acquires its name from the garniture served in it. The garniture, however, is not cooked in the consommé; that would make the consommé cloudy. The ingredients are cooked separately and added at serving time. Many combinations arc possible and new combinations are always being put together to create a new soup.
Garniture Julienne
Cut vegetables into fine strips. For each cup vegetables melt about I tablespoon butter in a saucepan. Add the vegetables and 2 or 3 tablespoons consommé. Place a round piece of buttered or wax paper with a tiny hole in the center on the vegetables, cover the pan, and braise slowly until the vegetables are tender.
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