We all woke up bright an
early for our first Cluny breakfast! Baguettes, butter, and strawberry jam!
Considering that I’m not a big breakfast person, I was already very happy with
the simplicity yet quality of the entire meal! We started class at 9:00 AM and
learned about “The Holy Trinity” composed of bread, cheese, and wine—all
dependent on the work of microbes and staple foods of France. From there, we
were given a crash course on Hooke, van Leeuwenhoek, and Pasteur and moved onto
studying the pathways of fermentation and respiration. It was really helpful to
see how the pathways I had simply memorized to get by biochemistry exams had
quickly come to life and food. Class quickly transitioned into lunchtime.
Dr. Haggblom ordered red and
white wines for our table to share. Cheers to our first wine! I braved my way
into ordering Tartare de Beouf, or rather “beef tartar” for our first meal out
in Cluny! I can’t take all the credit, considering I sampled raw beef, a Korean
delicacy consisting of minced meat topped with a raw egg…mmm I can taste the E. coli! But in all honesty, if you have
raw beef properly prepared, such as in Cluny where the meat is incredibly fresh
due to the abundance of cows, eat your red comfortably! As for taste, I didn’t
mind the texture of the raw meat though it was a bit sinewy, but I was not a
fan of the seasoning. It was slightly acidic because of the vinegar and had a
pickled taste due to the capers. Since each restaurant prepares it differently, I will be willing to try it again. One of the best things about France? Pistachio everywhere! I had un glacee de pistache! So tasty.
After lunch, we met Dr.
Reinert and Dr. Healey and learned more about the history of Cluny. We were introduced to the
idea of active archaeology within Cluny homes as well as the challenge of
restoration versus reconstruction. Another interesting concept that tied into
this was patrimony or heritage in both architecture and food. People felt they
had a responsibility to their culinary heritage and must preserve cheeses from
dying out.
After our brief history and
culture lesson, we headed to Alice and Sonia’s wine shop for our first wine
tasting! What is so unique about this wine shop is that it is an
American-French partnership. We tasted two white and two red wines. The goat
cheeses were unbelievable. Paired with wine, the flavors of the cheeses were
even further brought out. I had a hard time deciding whether the fresh day made
cheese or oldest goat cheese was my favorite. It was incredible how aging could
transform a fresh cheese into something so different in flavor. I also learned
that wines and cheeses from the same regions are normally paired together. The
four
grape varieties in Burgundy are Gamay, Pinot Noir, Aligote, and
Chardonnay. Sonia taught us how to look at the color of the wine, smell it,
incorporate air by swirling or swishing in the mouth, and spit it! The most
interesting part of the wine tasting was the cheese pairing and also learning
to enjoy the smell of wine and seeking floral, fruity, and spice notes. After
enjoying our first wine lesson, we headed to dinner. Dr. Healey told us how all
the shops in Cluny had to receive permission to paint their shops bright and
pastel colors! It’s honestly such a beautiful street to walk down.
For dinner, I had Beouf Bourguignon
and Escargot! Tackled three French specialties in one day. I am very happy with
my progress and also how delicious everything is! For dessert I had, drum roll
please, Crème Brûlée! My favorite part about this sweet treat is the
sound when your spoon cracks the top of the caramelized sugar--gastronomic
music.
Tip of the Day: The fixed
meals are really great! You get to try a bit of everything. If you’re not sure
what to order though, you can never go wrong with the Plat du Jour!
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