Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Oh, the possibilities

When we first arrived in Yssingeaux, we were taken by our new town's beauty. Josh liked it so much, in fact, that he hoped to complete his two-month internship here after school. We still really like it here--the people are friendly, it's easy to get around and the medieval architecture and lush volcanic landscape make for a beautiful day every day. As time goes on, however, we're quickly realizing that after five months we will probably have run through the list of things to do here a few times over. So, we set our sights on the nearby town of Le Puy en Velay (which I wrote about previously), because it's bigger but not too big. But still, that wouldn't offer much variation in our French experience.

On Monday Josh brought home a list of chefs recommended by the school as good places for internships--they're chefs who have a relationship with the school in some way--and while there is one located in Yssingeaux, none are in Le Puy. So we started Googling and discovered practically endless opportunities that fit Josh's criteria: 1) not in a big city like Paris or Lyon, 2) not in a hotel or restaurant, but rather a standalone pastry shop, and 3) offer an opportunity to work under a MOF. He and his classmates were tasked with researching the list and coming back with two top choices, at which time their chef--whom they simply call "Chef"--will sit down with them and discuss which might be the best fit. After all that, the school will help them set up interviews with the chefs, who might choose to hire or not.

I don't want to jinx anything by writing about Josh's top choices just yet, so for now you'll have to imagine the possibilities: the Mediterranean coast, the French Alps, Basque country ...

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