2009 Thierry Marx Award

Matthew Carnell Boning Pigeon

2009-08-25T00:58:00.001+10:00

Matthew Carnell

2009-08-25T00:36:00.002+10:00

My last full week at Cordeillan-Bages was great with every day in the kitchen i am finding it easier to find my way

round and get more jobs done... The biggest highlight was my parents visiting me it was really good

to see someone familiar. Tim and I got the opportunity to sit down and eat dinner with my parents,

which was great that the chef would let us do that.

We had full 14 course degustation which was completely mind blowing. Some of the memorable

courses were, The Iceberg Tomato. A beautiful light clear tomato soup with a tomato and inside a

tomato sorbet in the middle with a basil and mint leaf.

For Fish course i had Lobster with aromatics the lobster came to the table blown up inside a cling

wrap balloon served with citrus confit veg and a nice white bean puree.

Meat Course i had pigeon with a really intense red pepper puree a celeriac cylinder and a confit

slice of beetroot.

Dessert i had the famous Deconstructed lemon tart it was beautiful Looked nothing like a lemon

tart but every element was there in different forms.

This is my last weekend off in france and have decided to travel 3 hours down to San Sebastian on

the coast of spain cannot wait for tonight going for a Tapas Crawl cannot wait to try spanish cuisine

I do not want to leave France and hope this will be the last time i am visiting this lovely country to work

and learn more about the country.................

2009-08-17T22:02:00.002+10:00

Half way through

2009-08-17T21:49:00.002+10:00

This second week has been just as good as the last week.

I finally got to do a service on the meat station this week with the Chef de parti Manu and the Sous Chef Younis it was the biggest rush and the heat from the induction tops was ridiculous. I got through the service all in one peice apart from a few small burns.

Some Other highlights of this week I brought my favorite spread Vegemite to work for everyone to try saying that everyone in Australia eats this every day they could not believe it they all hated it not one of the 15 chefs liked it it was a great laugh.

Last week i went to the beach for dinner and went to a french bar with 3 chefs and 4 waitresses it was good to get out and have a laugh and get to know every one out side of work..

The only downside was yesterday on a bike ride down to the shops i poped my tired and it was hot, and had to walk home..

The weather here has been great last week was in the high 30's all week.

2009-08-12T03:35:00.004+10:00

My First Week

2009-08-12T02:50:00.003+10:00

Bonjour,

The plane flight was a long and frustrating flight. I was so nervous of the month ahead and what could happen that the flight felt like 40 hours instead of 20. We arrived at that airport where we had a lot of fun trying to find our connecting train which was in a different terminal. Once we found it we had a 4 hour train ride which was quite enjoyable. We arrived at Bordeaux train station where we waited and waited for our driver who ended up not showing so we caught a taxi to the Cordeillan-bages. We pulled into this lovely well manicured 18th century chateau on a lovely day one we arrived we where taken into the dining room where we were treated to a lovely lunch put on by Thierry and his brigade of chefs. Once we had lunch we meet thierry and were shown through the kitchen were we would be working for the next month

At 6.30 that night we got to have staff dinner with the brigade of chef which was one of my favorite memories so far it was a great experence eating with the chefs and just listening to what they had to say and how good there english was!!!! (makes me feel bad about how bad my french is.) We then had the next 2 days of to get settled in before starting our first week.

The Wensday morning was very nerve racking we started work at 8 in the morning where our first job was putting away all the produce that had come in everything was so neatly packed and nothing squashing anything and very well organized. After that my next job was making and passing 3 kg of chicken mousse. by the time that was finished we stopped to have an early lunch before there lunch service...

The Lunch service was a massive eye opener as i watched everything has its right place all the chefs were quite and could only hear the voice of the head chef Jean-Luc calling orders and requesting food from different sections. Of course i was thrown strait into it i was on a escargot Amuse-bouche and running plates and bowls to the chefs... Once service was finished it was clean down time.. There clean down is ridiculous it was like a water park everything is cleaned and i mean everything. after an hour and a half we got to go home for a break from 3.30 till 5.30. Once we got back we did an hour and a half of prepping for dinner then it was time for staff dinner. When i got back i had to smash quail breasts for his conical( i think thats how you spell it) of quail and roll it around in a cone shape over a middle eastern spiced farce. Once dinner service was over it was then time for another big clean down. By the time that was done it was 12 and i was ready for bed.

Some other hi-lights was on friday myself and tim were very lucky to go to thierry marx's laboratory which was ridiculous they had a full photography set up for his new book and a chemist working for him full time experimenting with new flavors and techniques. For an example they took a strawberry and extracted the essence of of it and it formed a clear liquid that tasted like strawberries. Or they had created a sponge like mousse in a ball shape that was only made of liquid no egg whites no cream nothing and you were able to pick it up roll it and when you broke it open it would ooze out a sauce.

Yesterday we got to go to the beach with a few of the guys it was great time we got to get to know them and enjoy some time off

I start work tomorrow for my second week and i cannot wait.......

Winners Announced for the 2009 Thierry Marx Award

2009-05-04T10:04:00.009+10:00

Two young Victorian apprentice chefs; Matthew Carnell – Mercers Restaurant (Eltham) and Tim Squires – Gingerboy (Melbourne) have been announced as the winners of the highly sought after 2009 Thierry Marx Career Development Award at a luncheon at Nobu at Crown Melbourne on April 30th 2009. Matthew and Tim will be sharing the experience with Natalie Watkins of Waddingtons at Kergunyah who was one of the 2008 winners but unable to take the trip to France last year due to personal circumstances.

Natalie, Matthew and Tim have all worked hard throughout the competition to realize their dream of winning a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to France in early August for a months work experience at Thierry Marx’s 18th Century Chateau Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux.

Apprentices were required to complete their entry form along with a submission of two original recipes which they were required to cook for tasting and assessment during a workplace visit by the judges.

The competition, now in its third year, was heavily supported with entrants from a number of venues throughout regional Victoria and Melbourne. Six finalists were chosen - two from regional Victoria and four from Melbourne - with judges visiting all venues to assess the candidates on not only their technical culinary skills, but their interpersonal skills including attitude, passion, goals and aspirations.

“Once again Restaurant & Catering Victoria is very pleased to be presenting this award in conjunction with our major sponsors to two very inspiring young chefs. They were not only chosen for their cooking abilities but their passion and dedication to their craft and their industry. We believe that they will in future become champions of their trade as they both see the hospitality industry as a career not just a job – this is what the award is designed to encapsulate and we believe Matthew, Tim and Natalie are worthy winners” according to Todd Blake, CEO Restaurant & Catering Victoria.

Matthew Carnell (aged 19) from Mercers studied cooking at Eltham College in years 9 – 12 (2004 – 7) and this experience ignited his passion for cooking. Upon completing school Matthew chose the hospitality industry as his career and commenced work at Mercer’s Restaurant in Eltham in 2004 as an apprentice chef. Since that time, his passion has continued and he is currently completing his final year at The Sofitel Academy. In February 2008, Matthew enrolled in French language lessons hoping to realize his dream of one day working in France. According to Matthew, “This award will provide me with a unique cultural experience and a great privilege to work in a 18th century Chateau in France and a great opportunity to further develop my career”.

Tim Squires (aged 25) is a second year apprentice working at Melbourne’s highly awarded Gingerboy. He displays a natural flair with the wok and has demonstrated an understanding of the sweet, sour, salty and hot seasonings that define Gingerboys culinary style. According to Tim “I love cooking and the buzz of the kitchen. Sometimes the hours hurt and the fryer burns, but I love the challenge of representing Gingerboy, day in, day out”.

Natalie Watkins (aged 22) from Waddingtons at Kergunyah in Northern Victoria is a third year
apprentice. According to Natalie “Working in regional Victoria is fantastic as I have opportunity to work directly with the freshest ingredients - we try and grow as much of our own produce or buy from trusted local suppliers. Cooking is my passion - the more knowledge I gain, the more humble I feel as one understands how immense the world of cookery is“.

The Thierry Marx Career Development Award partners include: Meat & Livestock Australia, Restaurant & Catering Victoria, Crown Melbourne and William Angliss Institute. Apprentices will receive airfares, accommodation and assistance with incidental expenses while their employers will receive an allowance to offset additional staffing costs while the apprentices are in
France.

2009 Award Finalists Announced

2009-03-27T10:47:00.003+11:00

Six talented young Victorian cookery apprentices have been named the 2009 finalists in the sought-after Thierry Marx Career Development Award, with the eventual winners to spend a month in France working with Thierry Marx.

Entries were received from all parts of Victoria, as well as Melbourne. The competition, now in its third year, gives the two winning apprentices a dream experience of a month’s work with the 2006 Relais Gourmands French Chef of the Year.

2009 Thierry Marx Career Development Award finalists are:

Matthew Carnell – Mercers Restaurant (Eltham)
George Bloomfield – Gingerboy (Melbourne)
Robert Tucker – Emeu Inn Restaurant (Heathcote)
Tim Squires – Gingerboy (Melbourne)
Nick Blundell – Wild Oak Restaurant (Olinda)
Timothy Witherow – The Butter Factory (Myrtleford)

As part of the judging process, finalists will receive a workplace visit from the judging panel - who will interview them, and observe their performance under normal working conditions. Finalists will be assessed and scored on areas including motivation, attitude, presentation and teamwork, along with their culinary skills.

The judging panel will be made up of sponsors’ representatives. The sponsors for the 2009 award are; Meat & Livestock Australia, Restaurant & Catering Victoria, Crown Melbourne and William Angliss Institute.

Todd Blake, CEO Restaurant & Catering Victoria says “This year’s Award has attracted nominations from across Victoria, including regional locations such as Myrtleford and Heathcote. The nominations were of a high calibre which made the judging process very difficult. Each of the finalists is a very worthy recipient and determining just one winner will be a very difficult task”.
A cocktail function to the Announce the finalist’s for the 2009 Thierry Marx Award will take place during the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival on Thursday 19th of March.

The two winners will be named in the last week of April at a luncheon at the Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel at Crown Melbourne. The winner’s will travel to France for the month of August to work at Thierry Marx’s Chateau Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux.

Apprentices will receive airfares, accommodation and assistance with incidental expenses while their employers will receive an allowance to offset additional staffing costs while the apprentices are in France.

The six finalists will also be given the opportunity to work with Thierry Marx during his visit to Melbourne as part of the 2009 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Each finalist will spend a half day working with the renowned chef at Crown Melbourne on Saturday 21st of March.

what it was...

2008-09-02T15:50:00.003+10:00

One of the reason's why i compete in competitions and awards such as this is to expand my network of chefs and build relationships with people in our preofession all over the world... this experience helped me do that.

This experience opened my eyes to what it was really like to be a chef in Europe. That working hard is an international language, and that their is more to creating a dish than just taste and appearance.

Thierry Marx is an amazing man, according to the locals he is heading towards Paul Bocuse status in french cuisine. He acknowledges everyone and respects everyone in his kitchen as he well knows that they are all their to work for him. He demands perfection, but you will never hear him raise his voice to achieve it.

The food coming out of this kitchen is mind blowing. Such subtle flavours are conceived with the utmost respect for the ingredient. From the way it is shaped to the concepts of reacting a diner's censors to deliver an experience they will remember forever.

As much as I did love working at the Chateau their are parts of this experience that I didnt like such as living in a country town as i am a self confessed city boy, not really being use to such a repetitive menu that isnt changed for a year, however I understand why it doesnt change. and their isnt any spontaniuity with dishes and ideas in the kitchen, but again i understand why that doesnt happen.

As a part of this award I am really looking forward in working with Scott Pickett and his brigade at the Point for the shared tables luncheon. Understanding the tradition and history of this event gives me a great honour in being associated with. The menu is to be derived from our learning and inspirations of our time at Chateau Cordeillan Bages.

Finally I would like to take the time to thank all involved to make this life changing experience possible, from sponsors, to personel doing the run around and of course not forgetting to thank the Press Club for allowing me to take up such a fantastic initiative. I urge all junior chefs in Victoria to take the time to compete for this award as it is one that I will never forget...

Petros Dellidis

its almost over...

2008-08-27T08:37:00.002+10:00

The last 2 weeks in the Cordeillan Bages kitchen have been fantastic! Ive changed posts and im now in the patisserie which for me is a different experience for me as i have only spent a few months in pastry at press club, and is something i definently doing some more work in a pastry kitchen in the not too distant future.

This pastry section is made up of 4 chefs, Jerome, Aurelien and Pierre are all of equal rank, and all are very skilled and unique in their own way. Aurelien makes beautiful macaroons, Pierre is a champion at hand made chocolate which I put togethor the chocolate trolley before every service, Jerome is so skilled that he makes some very intricate tuiles look like he can do them in his sleep. The 4th member is an apprentice named Clement, here like other apprentices on a stahje that will conclude in the next week where he will head back to his hometown near Paris.

I have been working on pre desserts with Clement recently and I have learnt quite a bit both about techniques and styles, but also my own tolerance for some things that i find are very intricate. Watching the works of Ian and Darren, the pattisiere's at Press Club I always knew that Pastry requires more than just cooking and understanding temperatures and conditions of the effect of a product (ex reactions of sugar, trying to temper chocolate in a hot kitchen), as Ive seen it takes a lot of skill, being articulate and of course, attention to detail.

Im changing post again and I look forward to my last week doing entrees and completing this experience with even more knowledge than i did when i arrived in this country. Im not looking forward to leaving France, but then again I am really looking forward to coming home so I can share my experience.

Ive just realised, that this experience is not about how many recipes we can get, budgeting a aussie dollar to a Euro, nor is it how many things we can learn practically from completing mise en place, its about understanding surroundings, environment, cultures, and the sacrifice to achieving a dream...

getting started...

2008-08-13T04:57:00.002+10:00

I knew I had to make a good first impression, so saying hello... sorry bonjour to everyone was essential to show the kitchen that us australians are very hospitable people. This is protocal amongst all chefs in this kitchen, as Jean-Luc the head chef setting the example. Once i met everyone i made acquaintance with the apprentices...

1st job, putting away deliveries - as the restaurant is closed monday and tuesday, wednesday is a big delivery day, I noticed that all the apprentices were taking the ingredients that werent that large, so I looked for the 2 biggest things I could see... 20 litre drums of oil, one in each hand and I was off to the dry store. It was good fun barging through doors and showing the french that we have what it takes to survive in this kitchen. The fruit and vegetable delivery blew me away... I have never seen produce be packed so perfectly before! There was only 1 type of ingredient in each box, nothing was squashed or cramped or even touching each other.

The kitchen setup is unlike any kitchen that I have seen or worked in. The cold entrees section is far away from a stove so temperature will not effect the product. Viande(meat section) and Poisson(fish section) are on opposite sides of the kitchen seperated by the flat top stoves. The pastry is secluded into its own room. There is a Mise en Place coolroom complete with benches, cryovac machine, thermomix's, robo coupes, juicers etc. Poisson has its own bench and sink also. This coolroom is where most mise en place is done and allows staff to do preparation during service as the kitchen this time of year is quite overstaffed.

Most chefs in this kitchen are here like us, doing work experience. EVERY chef in this kitchen is here for the honor of working for Thierry Marx. Some have waited up to 2 years to be able to enter the kitchen, some have come as far as Asia and most are paying Chateau Cordeillan Bages to work here. This is the norm across Europe. All chefs are provided with accomodation, and staff meal is served everyday at 1130 and 1830. I admire the apprentices the most, none of these 3 boys are older than 17, they are living away from home(usually bankrolled by their parents), working extremely hard as they are doing every job that all the more experienced chefs dont want to do, for example passing farces and purees, cleaning, and not being even near a stove or oven. However, they are living their dream and realise that their stay at the Chateau is life changing and wouldnt give back their sacrifice for anything. This is their mindset that is taught to these apprentices so early in their careers. Everyone in this kitchen is very passionate and committed towards the cause of working for Marx in his 2 michelin starred restaurant. I have seen this at Press Club but not to this degree.

The language barrier this week has been a challenge, ive had to call upon my training over the course of my apprenticeship in acknowledging french terms, the french language classes i participated in were handy before coming to europe, but mostly Brian the American commis chef who is fluent in french has been a massive help to me. Im not sure which is harder, trying to understand a frenchman who can hardly speak english attempt to speak it, or me, an australian trying to speak french with my aussie accent. The inevitable is I have to watch very closely when mise en place is being demonstrated to me, and try to pick out words that i know when the french are speaking.

The typical meet and greet, Q&A has been going on all week. I have told the french that kangaroos live in our backyards, and that koala's are drug addicts addicted to gum leaves. Something really interesting ive noticed is that i have never realised how international music is, the french hear english speaking music alot, so they memorise it... but dont understand what they are singing. Brian assures me that I shouldnt be alarmed when the kitchen breaks out into a rendition of ' i believe i can fly' by R Kelly. Apparently that song was a big hit over here...

My time this week has been eye opening towards the rest of our stay as well as the rest of my career. I have acknowledged and understood the emphasis on perfection in this kitchen but it is a long road to produce that level consistantly. But im not scared of that challenge i welcome it...

TOUCHDOWN PLANET MARX

2008-08-04T23:32:00.003+10:00

We have arrived in Pauillac, Bordeaux safe and sound.

We are staying at Hotel de Paris which is 1km from Chateau Coredillan Bages.

Its a 15minute walk to the chateau and all you can see is vineyards on the side of the road. Pauillac is a beautiful little town, locals are really friendly and helpful but we do need to get used to business hours over here, except for cafe's/restaurants everything is closed between 12 and 2pm, but everything is open until 7:30pm.

We arrived at the chateau on sunday and met Jean Luc Rocha - head chef and the rest of the brigade. The brigade cooked dinner for Kate and I - a 14 course degustation in which we were quite full by the end of it...

I cant rememba every single course so il talk about the ones that im still salivating ova...

Our first rendezvous with foie gras - a combination with passionfruit and chocolate -this is my favourite dish and was absolutely amazing! the garnish was a passionfruit crisp with cocoa nibs on it, it was like eating passionfruit wizz fizz!!!
green apple and smoked herring - green apple sphere with smoked herring suspended in it was a fantastic cleanser - fresh, acidic, smokey...
pidgeon,rocket,fennel ravioli - beautifully cooked pidgeon sous vide, rocket puree made in the thermomix, it is so smooth that it was painted onto the plate, beautiful dish that married all the flavours well.
truffle,soya risotto - one of marx' signature dishes, chopped bean shoots in the bottom of a bowl, poached oyster, a slice of black truffle, and truffle air all ova the bowl. the spoon had been dipped in white truffle oil also. this one was one of theose dishes that you didnt want to end, and i usually dont eat oysters. Jean luc called it 'italy meets asia'
eggplant, star anise, basil - this dessert course was absolutely fantastic! Eggplant crisps, quenelles of star anise cream,and a lovely basil sorbet. Balsamic reduction on the plate just brought everything togethor.

The most sensational bread is made in this pastry section, we tried a sundried tomato facaccia, sourdough, and olive and oregano bread that almost felt like brioche(really buttery). The pastry also loves using liquid nitrogen!!! Something i will look into - all the glassware and cutlery were all incredibly light, crockery was heavy, and their were fantastic uses of little jars, glass bowls etc which all had a purpose and brought something different to each dish.

We where then in the kitchen watching the remainder of service... The dining room holds 25 people and it was booked out for the night. Watching the kitchen was a really good experience of what we where to expect in the weeks to come. All that was heard was the bamix(handblender), opening/closing of oven doors, Jean Luc calling orders and Mikhale the soux chef who was plating up. There was no dragging of the feet by anyone, the control and discipline of everyone was unprecedented to what i have seen before. There where no raising of voices, no bullockings, no smart ass comments, no one having a laugh or taking the mickey out of somebody else... it was strictly business. Mikhail was amazing to watch plate up, no hesitations, if he didnt like something he just re plated it. You could recognise very easily the emphasis on prefection and teamwork. If something was dropped the chef behind them would pick it up, no hassles, no questions asked, no scoffs or remarks either. Everyone was moving but service ran smoothly.

At this stage we havnt asked any questions, just watched and took photos werever we could get a good shot.

I promise i will find out what a GASTROVAC is used for in the kitchen... its this statinless steel pot with handles and a lid with a hose attachment attached to rest of the apparatus... i figure it either sucks or blows... il keep u posted

Looking forward to meet Thierry, we start in the kitchen on wednesday... im starting on the meat section and il be revising my french until then.

A Bien tot!