A SWISS CHEF'S CAREER: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE YUMMY (2)

CHAPTER 2

  

With the help of my parents and my boss Herman Himmel, we assured a continuation of my goal to become a chef. We found a first class boutique hotel in the French part of Switzerland to complete my apprenticeship as a cook. That was my chance to learn French beside cooking. Living there and going to school there I had no choice but to speak and write French. I'd say 85% of the population in that part of Switzerland could not speak Swiss-German!

Hotel Restaurant "Les Deux Sapins"

 This is a picture of the original building when I arrived

in 1962

After celebrating my certification for 1 week, my mother and father drove me on May 1, 1962 to Montricher and dropped me of at the Restaurant Les Deux Sapins.

Le Patron (Owner, Chef) was very nice and spoke some broken German and I new that will help me. At that point I was very nervous and insecure of myself. Only 19 and for the first time at least a year away from home! I remember getting a room assigned, getting changed in my uniform and start working the same day!

Believe me, the beginning was tough! Especially not  being very good in school at the French language and then not using it for 3 years, I was totally lost!

But this lasted not very long. I met this awesome person who started his apprenticeship a year earlier. His name was Heinz, he was born and raised in Bern, he was here for the same reason as me , to become a chef.

We where room mates and became best friends. Being here a year he spoke French perfectly and also could show me the ropes of this new territory I found myself in. 

The hotel got renovated in 2002 and even changed the name to

"Auberge Au 2 Sapins"

 The window with the open green shutters was my room for nearly two years. Of course I had to share again with my “Oberstift” Heinz.

The working schedule is totally different in a restaurant than I was used to. We had to work from 9am to 2pm, rest for 3 hours and work from 5pm to 9 pm. Usual I was off on Monday, and also every Wednesday we had to take the train all the way to Lausanne studying at the Ecole Culinaire. Of course, it is without saying, on Friday, Saturday and Sundays you can't count with your 3 hour rest in the afternoon, There was always to much prep to do. Also I can’t think of one day on these weekends we finished at 9pm. I know this sounds kind of tiring and harsh but believe me nobody ever complained or was even tired. We had on awesome team and for some reason we were always happy and the adrenalin kicked in when you see all this happy guest leaving and getting lots of compliments. This satisfaction will be a part of your salary all your life.

Heinz and I had to take this train to Lausanne and back every Wednesday

for one and a half years starting April 1962

Going to school on Wednesday was like a day off to to us, the two hour trip to Lausanne was, rain or sunshine, always very pleasant with beautiful scenery. We had to change trains in the city of Morges on the lake of Geneva. Of course we took advantage of that and always grabbed some fresh coffee and croissants from a famous bakery across the street from the train station. Unforgettable memories!

My buddy Heinz

All trade apprenticeships last 3 years in Switzerland, but since I was on my second I got 1.5 year credit and believe me this one and a half years flew by! Unfortunately, something happened!

Part of the apprenticeship is keeping a controlled recipe book, menu writing, purchasing log, and food cost control. I had no problem with the menu writing because it was fairly simple.  Purchasing and food cost are mostly numbers and I had no problem with that.  Different was all the recipes. I have to admit, my recipe book, written in French, was a total disaster. It was full of wrong words and mistakes. At that time in Switzerland the culinary teaching was based around Auguste Escoffier’s “La repertoire de la cuisine”.  This books we have to present on our final exam and are one quarter of our final grade.

To make the story short, I met a girl and she offer to rewrite my entire recipe book and I accepted it gladly! On September 18^th we had the theoretic exam and turned in our books .

On September 25, 1963 I had my final exams in the culinary school in Lausanne. There where 6 of use and at 7am we each had to pick a different 4 course menu out of a basket, write a order list, go get all the ingredients from the storeroom and start cooking. They left us by ourselves, only occasionally checking if we needed something. We where permitted to help each other and I remember clearly making all 6 dessert. At 2pm to 3pm we each had to present our dishes to 7 judges sitting in a big empty room like kings! Very intimidating.

So far so good, I came out on top and was praised by all 7 judges. After we could take a break to 5pm and were asked to be back for our grade!!

Finally we were all sitting there anticipating receiving our cook diploma and to get ready to go party. Everybody got called up to get their diploma and left the room. Everybody was gone but me, I knew something was wrong and I was very nervous. I was called and informed and interrogated at the same time about my recipe book. They assumed it belong to somebody else. Believe me, I had the most attractive recipe book of all the apprentices and that was the problem, I think, that's why they compared it with my other paper work.

I was exactly 20 years old and demoralized at that moment. My explanation was not accepted and the book has to be written in my own hand writing.  (What a joke, in today's age, with all the computers, some kids don't even know how to hand write anymore, ha)

Anyway, I had to extend my apprenticeship another 6 months!! and rewrite the book.

My boss and owner working in the rotisserie at the hotel 

seating capacity was only 18 people, very exclusive and reservation only.

The main restaurant had 60 seats and we had a

banquet facility for up to 150 people 

I finished the last 6 month in the Buffet de la Gare in Lausanne. I started November 5th and finished April 15 1964.  There is nothing worth mentioning about this short time of my career, but there was one very sad event I will never forget! Only in my second week there I walked home and there where vendors in the street selling news papers . (They never sell news paper on the street before or after this time in Switzerland) At that time the whole World got informed about John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s assassination! Everybody, not just America , loved him!

I finely received the diploma without anymore exams or tests,

I only had to present that faithful, idiotic recipe book!

 And I worked 6 months without getting payed.

          It's time again for the recipe:

It would definitely be the montricher dressing but that recipe is already in this blog.  Montricher Dressing was loved by the people then and it seems to me they still love it now. I remember from my time there of a big successful dish was the Croute aux champignon. We used Champignon, chanterelles, morels, boletus or any other available mushroom according to the season or personal preference.

   Fry the french bread slices in butter until golden brown.  Quickly saute some mushrooms and a little chopped shallot seasoned with parsley and thyme.

   Deglaze the pan with a little dry white wine and reduce slightly. Add heavy cream and reduce until sauce is getting thick. Finish with a pinch of curry powder and some Cognac.  Pour over the fried bread.

         

Always delicious!