"AND YOU CALL YOURSELVES CULINARY STUDENTS?"

Well, we apparently don't have sufficient intellectual curiosity: no one could identify the origin of the sea eels which are caught by the Portuguese (they swim over from the Sargasso Sea), and none of us could tell Chef that solamine is the poisonous chemical in the green part of the potato. Furthermore, we couldn't relate the historical significance of Edward III, vis-a-vis Port wine production in Portugal.

Also, Chef Alain himself was a major influence behind the introduction of chèvre in California. And Alice Waters ate at his organic restaurant before she opened her own.

And, "French history is the most interesting history you will ever read."

We only had eight students in class today, and by the time we reached the first break at 8:30, we were all wishing that we'd played hookey, too. But we got underway with cooking, only to be visited by both of the school's executive chefs and a guest chef who may have been from Le Cordon Bleu Corporate. He was important enough to warrant a reconnaissance visit by the Dean before the entourage entered our classroom. Travis and Alex were instructed to put on hairnets (in addition to their commis caps). Travis went to the men's room, tucked his curls into his hat and returned to class; Alex went home.

While Chef Alain and the guest carried on an animated conversation in French, the remainder of the entourage watched us work. Andrea was closest and got the brunt of their attention. Chef Weller couldn't help but advise her that her pan-frying technique was wrong: she'd floured all the fish fillets in advance, and was cooking several at a time in hot oil. "The ones you cook last will have a gluey icky coating," Chef advised. "Of course, try it yourself, and tell me that I'm wrong." A different approach than "You must be an eed-jit."

But still, the food was wonderful. Today: "stone" soup, with puréed black beans; crab cakes, white beans with linguica, steamed clams with sausage and ham, pan-fried cod, and crème brulée. But seriously, the long weekend couldn't have come at a better time.