Last Thursday marked the final class of Le Cordon Bleu, which was also known as my final exam in pulled sugar. I must not have been fully awake as I made a few clumsy mistakes which resulted in a blister that remains inflamed 3 days later. It's about the size of Jekyll's tumor that was on his face. It's hurting me so much that I can't imagine how much pain my baby hamster was in. Then again, blisters are nothing compared to tumors... Anyhow, I digress again.
Here's some photos that summarizes the classes focusing on tempering chocolate and working with sugar. These two areas of study took up the latter half of superior pastry.
If you were to ask me what I enjoyed most out of this experience in culinary school, I'd have to say pulled sugar was my favorite. Needless to say, working with 165°C (329°F) sugar was no easy feat at the beginning but as time went along, my hands began to grow accustomed to the constant heat. One of our chefs work with sugar bare handed. It was a jaw dropping moment when we first watched him do it but one can understand why he has what he calls "gants au naturelles" (natural gloves). He's been working with sugar for so long that his skin must have grown thicker. My hands have turned quite ugly after these lessons but it was well worth it. It's a pity that the 5 hours put into these pieces of display only gets thrown into the trash bin after being graded. I cringe at the sound of pieces shattering.
Graduation is happening later this week on June 3. My long time friend from Canada will be arriving to Paris in 2 days just in time to attend the ceremony. We'll take a side trip to Switzerland for a bit. Lausanne and Geneve: here we come! I'm still not giving Greece up. Occasionally I check on the flight fares but it's so ridiculously expensive! On another thought, it's even more expensive to fly from NY. Why can't money grow on trees? There's so many in the courtyard outside this building harboring so many insects instead! (One of which just flew across between me and the screen)
Unfortunately, I have withdrawn from the externship opportunity due to several reasons. I am extremely excited about sleeping in my own bed in Brooklyn again though. I miss everyone so much and look forward to meeting up with them to reconnect. Hopefully it won't take too long before I can get my hands on some flour and butter again in a professional kitchen.
Paris, it's been fun. Time surely does fly by.
