la fin: supérieur pâtisserie!

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Unfortunately, I have withdrawn from the externship opportunity due to several reasons.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.

Halfway Towards the End

Superior begun near end of March and we are already halfway complete with the course. Graduation is coming up next month! But let's not get ahead of ourselves since we haven't taken a single exam yet.

To summarize thus far, I find that there has been more flexibility with creative flair per individual instead of trying to recreate identical desserts as the chef's. The first few lessons continued with some more modern cakes but very fruity as usual. If not fruity, then chocolate-y and nutty. Then the following lessons focused on hot and cold restaurant desserts: from miniature desserts to plated desserts. I still have much to improve on in that area. I typically end up with so much awkward white space on the plate. Pictures below for visual explanation.

From hereon, the area of concentration shifts to everyone's favorite (or at least nearly everyone): chocolate! As I've complained numerous times previously when working with chocolate, I always get my uniform so dirtied no matter how careful I am. The plastic apron doesn't help defend me either. Meh.

So today was our first time tempering again since Intermediate. We made a hollow dark chocolate box with a picture frame and its holder. I had so much trouble finding the plastic film coating on that Leonardo bunny cartoon picture to rip off. I almost served my customers plastic because I was about to give up! With that aside, I really enjoy the process of tempering more than the assembly of chocolate pieces, especially in this heat! It's so fragile and everything is prone to melting. Hopefully, I'll have more confidence come exam time in May.

With that, I end my entry tonight with a picture of me being a glutton in the kitchen. Can't throw out good food, right?

Results of a Broken Laptop

So what happens when your primary source that connects you to the rest of the world breaks down? Answer: A prolonged break from updating your blog (even after you've fixed it and bought a new source). Because it's late now seeing as it's 5AM, I'll just recap the past 2 months with pictures and some minor wording while trying to keep it chronologically correct.

I took a side trip to Milano with two friends during our week long break from class. Coincidentally, fashion week had just begun there. The streets were more crowded and more was happening. The area where our hotel was situated on the other hand didn't seem most inviting but we made it through fine. I stepped foot into Switzerland for a few hours during this trip because we went to an outlet. I can still say that I've been to Switzerland now, right?

As for classes itself, I have completed Intermediate Pastry last month finishing off by making the Plaisir during the final exam. I had unknowingly spent too much time trying to practice piping the word "Opera" out with chocolate that I lost track of time. In the end, I had failed to remove the mold from the cake so I am positive that had crippled my final score. I'll know better to keep an eye on the clock for future practice.

March was a pretty busy month as my best buddy from college and my brother came to visit me. They made life in Paris that much better. With them, I was able to go on more side trips (can never get enough of them!). I went to Lille, France with Sally and hit up a few places in Italy with Andy. I think I remember the food more than anything else from those towns. Anyhow, pictures will tell the story better than my half-asleep state can right now.

I guess the photos are a bit jumbled as well but you get the idea. That brings us to today, where I am living by myself again and in Superior Pastry! Next destination: Mont Saint-Michel! I haven't bought tickets yet but I hope they aren't excruciatingly expensive.

I love weekends.

Fickle Weather and Trip Planning

It's been a little more chilly these days around again while the previous week I had to open the windows because it had felt so warm. It's like a tug of war between winter and spring! Or something of the likes.

Anyhow, we had our Lessons 05 and 06 this week thus far. (Lesson 07 tomorrow but I'll post that next week). We learned to recreate typical restaurant dishes such as the Crème brûlée au caramel and layered cakes with buttercream and ganache. Oh yeah, we also learned ice cream for the first time. I totally missed where they took the bowl of freshly made (not frozen yet) ice cream but it went out the room and was brought back in later when it was needed. There is a freezer in the classroom... I don't know. Anyway, pictures below!

Why yes, we made a fancier style of macaron known as Macaron Anis-Framboise (which is a raspberry filled macaroon with anise flavored pastry cream) and my favorite cake, Opéra. I forgot which way the accent mark for the "e" went so I didn't pipe it on. Unfortunately, Chef caught it and commented about my lack of an accent proceeding to draw into my glaze with his palm pilot stylus. Hence, that mark you see there is obviously not piped on. Don't ask what that horrible design on the corner is. He was stopping everyone from continuing on so I randomly rushed to just fill up some surface area.. Meh.

Onto other things outside of school, I had my first fondue here in Paris with some classmates. We ordered two different pots of cheeses. It was so tasty dipping bread and potatoes into them! Extremely tummy satisfying but a few hours later, I was hungry again. hehe. One meal a day does that to you.

And now with regards to the trip planning, there's quite a bit going on! This weekend will be a mini trip to Lyon by train. There will be an exhibition focusing on trends in the food and catering industry. There are a few schoolmates who are also attending. (It is an event that our school is promoting and participating in.) While we are there, might as well check the city out, right? The month after, two friends and I will be flying down to Milano for a bit during our break between classes. Hope the weather will be good.

The Friday on the week that we return to Paris, Sally will be visiting! I'm pretty psyched about that! Shortly after, my brother will fly in and we'll be heading down to where else but Italy again. Florence and Venice are on the itinerary. I would have preferred Athens but I guess that will have to wait. The calendar is quickly getting filled up with events! On the other hand, my wallet is quickly emptying out. Traveling is a bad addiction.

Anyway, until next time!

More Cakes With Fruits

This week focused on using fruits as the main ingredient. Both cakes were assembled with two thin cake discs entrapping a mousse or cream filling with fruit pieces in the center. As it usually is with mousses and creams, there was a lot of whisking.

Lesson 03: Jamaïque (Jamaica). Where this name originated, I'm not so sure. I can, however, tell you that it is made with a chocolate joconde biscuit that is decorated with grated coconut, sliced almonds, and coarse pistachio. In between is a coconut mousse with poached pineapples. On top is a thin layer of mango-passion fruit mousse (Mine was too thin because my strip of joconde was cut out too high)

After class, we took a field trip to Angelina, a well known restaurant on Rue de Rivoli. They're famously known for their incredulously rich hot chocolate and Mont Blanc (not the pen, but the chestnut/Chantilly cream dessert). Anyhow, we were able to take a quick tour of their kitchen through the guidance of the sous chef. We were shown the various machinery utilized to make production more quick and efficient. Sure beats whisking and piping everything by hand! By the end of the tour, they shared some deletable sweets with us.

Lesson 04: Fraisier. Many of you are probably familiar with this one. It's a genoise cake with mousseline cream lined with strawberries. My mom and I actually made this cake together in Hong Kong at those one-day culinary courses some while back. Of course ingredients and procedures were somewhat different. It had red beans in the mousseline cream and it used whipped (Chantilly) cream instead of Italian meringue, etc.

A weekend off! I will be seeing some school friends tomorrow night for a housewarming party so that will be fun. Before that, I hope I'd have the chance to buy some dried anchovies to make my soondooboo soup sometime this week. Attempt #2!

I'm also currently in the process of figuring out which destination should be next on my 4-5 day breaks in the coming months. Athens is quite tempting as the airfare is around $200 roundtrip. There is also the option of Italy (Florence + Venice or Rome + Venice). Any picks or suggestions?

A Love for Fruits

Our second lesson involved making tarts with the fruity fillings of raspberry, passion fruit, and lemon. It was a somewhat light and refreshing taste to the palette. Low in carbohydrates and butter. Yum.

The one with the white cream piped on top is the Tarte Légère au Citron (Lemon Tart). It has an almond cream spread at the bottom of the tart and lemon cream piped over it. The other one is the Tarte Passion-Framboise (Passion Fruit and Raspberry Tart), which is also the one we made in our practical. It consists of 2 layers: raspberry jelly and passion fruit cream.

I obviously need to work on my decorating skills but I guess it could pass as a simple design. They brought out strawberries at the end when I was done shaping my "S". Alas, I didn't want to bother with trying to somehow fit it into this design without it looking so apparent that it was a last minute addition. I'm sure there'll be some of you who are glad I didn't get my hands on the strawberries hehe.

Another afternoon class today. It appears my schedule this time is more broken up than previous. Many of the demonstrations and practicals for the same lessons are held on separate days. I suppose that will make these months go by quicker since there will be more or less something to do nearly every day.

Wow, we're already almost halfway into January. Chinese New Year is coming up soon. Of all days, that is the day that we will have both demonstration and practical from 12h30 on. I was all excited and looking forward to attend the parade in Chinatown just to see how is it conducted here. I guess that won't be happening after all! Boo. Enjoy it for me, guys.

Patisserie de Base: C'est Fini!

Wow, we're done for the year! Our group had our exam at 8h30 with Chef C. He was just screaming at us for the first half of the time. "Depechez vous!" "Dans le four!" "Maintenant!" - "Hurry up!" "In the oven!" "Now!". Yeah it was full of pressure but in the latter half, he calmed down. So onto the exam itself, I picked out the green chip which denotes Saint-Honoré. Obviously, we only find out what each color had meant after we were holding it in our hand. The other two were: yellow for pithivier and sacristains and red for dacquoise. In addition to making the Saint-Honoré, we also had to recreate the pâte brisée sucré, the tart shell. No baking was involved with that one though.

I am just glad we finished. Now, onto an entire 1.5 month vacation! I'll be going to Venice, Italy for the first time next week for 3 days. After that, I am home bound for New York! Of course I could have just stayed in Europe and traveled around but I promised my boyfriend that I'd resist the temptation and travel with him afterwards instead. Yes, travel is my love but boyfriend gets prioritized this time. .

So onto the photos!

The first photo presents the demonstration by Chef Tranchant and Chef Cotte individually. The second photo are my messy products haha. L to R: Sacristains, Mogador, Chocolate Pistachio Log, Pithivier, Alhambra, and Pear Charlotte. A lot of chocolate near the end getting my uniform all dirtied! Unfortunately, I failed to bring my camera with me during the exam so I was unable to snap a memory of my final presentation. I believe I have marginally improved on piping. Eh, maybe just in my perspective. hah Chef Cotte gave me a high-five when he finished commenting on my burnt sugar for my Saint-Honoré. Way to go!

In celebration on completing our Basic Patissiere course, later on that night, my classmates and I went out for a dinner at Cafe Constant in the 7th Arrondisement. Good times :)

Oh before I forget, here's a nice photo of us in our uniform during our last demonstration with Chef T sitting among the students. He's such a joker sometimes. Can you find him?

Today also marks the last day of our French course with Hélène, which also marks my last day of being called Evelyn, my French alter ego. To clarify, throughout the entire course, we were stripped of our names and went by a "French name" just to spice the lessons up. The past 3 Saturdays, our lesson became more like a tour of Paris. There were worksheets with questions in French to encourage us to practice reading and speaking. It's been fun. Was it worth the 625€? That, I am not so sure about. haha.

Autumn has fallen upon us! The leaves are changing colors; the shades of yellows and reds. It's so beautiful especially when you're walking along the Seine River. Anyhow back on track, so we had done both sightseeing and bakery/cafe/supermarket visits. Everything looked so tasty that we occasionally stopped to make some purchases. A pain au chocolat along the way or a cup of moka au café! A yummy and educational tour. Can't get any better than that!

Too bad the weather was not cooperating today but I think the umbrellas sort of gives it some flavor and color? haha.

I think I have written enough for tonight. I've been having this massive headache that won't go away despite sleeping for a few hours. Maybe I should cook some dinner now. My tummy is calling out to me since all I really had today was this horrible onion soup that was doused with half a bottle of wine. Oh and some crackers afterwards. Graduation next Wednesday! :)

2 Weeks Remaining

So I had actually delayed publishing this post by a week. Two weeks remaining is currently one week, however, I am too lazy to retype the post below so you're stuck back in time. Or rather I am. Um, okay... carry on.

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Wow, two weeks passed by just like that and now we are left with two weeks remaining to complete the Basic Patisserie course. The earlier half seemed to be more relaxed and this second half seems to be more intense. Ironically, I feel that I am gradually picking up pace and speed only during this more challenging stage whereas I was fumbling around often during the earlier weeks. Regardless the reason, I am feeling more motivated. Our first and only written exam will be next week. The week after that is our final exam. We will receive a list of 10 recipes to focus on studying. It will be exciting but I am sure as hell that I will be extremely nervous.

I'll just cover what we had learned thus far within these two weeks of no updates with photos of pastries our chefs made and the ones I made during practicals. To sum up, we learned tartlets, Moka Genoise, croissants & pain au chocolat, and brioches & pain aux raisins.

I also had my one-on-one Chef Meeting with Chef MOF (of all chefs!) this past week. It was weird because I have only had him once for practical. I wasn't sure whether the chefs discuss among themselves about our performance in class. In the end, he was the one who provided me with the most encouraging words. I think my intimidation has lessened and I am growing more fond of him now.

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Back to the present: I took my written exam today. It was more complicated than what we were told. Sneaky translators trying to throw our expectations off! Never listening to the gossip from school faculty anymore!

Since we finished early, I decided to stroll around in search for a coiffeur. How are you supposed to distinguish the trendy ones from the mediocre ones? I went for the one that had fancy bordered mirrors. Alas, it had cost me more than what I would have liked to have paid. Let's just say in New York, I could've dyed my hair in addition to the haircut for the same price. Heck, in Chinatown, they might even be able to fit in a one-time bonus hair treatment! It was for the experience I guess...

I made french toast with the brioche that I had left. Then realized that I didn't have syrup! So with whatever ingredients that I had on hand, I made a mush of banana purée with some milk and sugar. Don't ask.

Anyway, it's been colder lately yet I still wore a dress out today. I felt a little pretty in this foreign Parisian land. Until next time!

Happy October and Rainy Days

October marks the beginning of a rainy season! It's not just about Autumn and its changing leaves. I have only seen sunlight for a brief moment in the morning a few days ago... then unfortunately I fell back asleep. When I woke up, it was gray and cloudy (as it has been lately). I have also turned on the heat two times so far because my blanket just isn't warm enough. Sooner or later, I am going to have to dish out 250€ to buy another. Can I hold up for one more month until I go back to NY? The cool weather has come too early compared to NY's seasonal transitions.

Anyhow, let's move onto Lesson 09: Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Pastry Dough) and Lesson 10: Petit-Four Secs (Petit-Fours Biscuits) and Petit-Four Moelleux (Meringues Petit-Fours). Photos below!

Creepy but my favorite Chef C is seen here smiling directly at my camera as I was photographing him making the Tarte Meringuée aux Poires Caramelisées (Caramelized Pear and Crisp Almond Crust Tart) filling.

I wish we had made the Barquettes au Miel (Honey Filled Barquettes) during the demonstration instead but I guess that would have been too simple of a task. As shown in the photos are the: Bâtons de Maréchaux (Marshal's Batons), Cigarettes, Macarons (Macaroons), and Palets aux Raisins (Raisin Biscuits). It's weird. I thought "raisins" was French for "grapes" but here it's translated as "raisins". "Raisin sec" should be "raisins". Am I confusing anyone here? haha Anyway, je ne sais pas!

Here's a photo of my finished products. Apparently, my midterm grade was not very satisfactory (at least according to me). I need to try harder! Chefs telling me "Bon travaille!" were just lying to me! Meh. We have this thing called "Meeting the Chef" going on in two weeks from now. I'm assuming it's a one-on-one evaluation on our performance. Double meh!

So the following will just be more photos of what else but food! I mean that's all Paris really is about, right? hah Kidding. That's just what I'm all about.

This is just some more examples of home cooked meals. Primarily Asian food, I know. My mom recently just told me to stop eating so much Asian food and start developing a palette for French cuisine. I can't help it sometimes!

There's quite a few desserts here but not all were mine! Only the bottom left one was. So as I had mentioned before, less Asian food, which means no sashimi for me. Instead, I went for a Salmon Tartare. I have my ways about it!

It appears that I've had salmon quite a few times when I've went out with my classmates. It's pretty common and tasty here at restaurants.

The smoked salmon in this photo belonged to my friend.

We also had a go at KFC. It tasted like any other KFC you would find in New York. Nothing different.

Last but not least, the macarons! I don't know why the right one came out looking brown but it was supposed to be a dark yellow. These were bought from Sadaharu Aoki. The flavor on the left is Hojicha and on the right is Yuzu. I really found the Hojicha aromatic and flavorful just like the soft serve back at Mitsuwa. Oh how I miss thee.

I like Aoki so much that it gets its own photo collage as shown here.

They had so many variations of desserts that I wanted to take a bite out of each item! Its interior is so pristine and simple. The walls are all white, chairs are white, tables are glass, and a black tiled floor. They even have macarons lined up in their glass case display on the wall behind the counter! Whether they're real or not, I'm not sure.

I could sit in there all day tapping on my netbook (if I had one) with a cup of café au lait and a Matcha croissant (I'm making this up because I saw croissants that had some vibrant green coloring in it).

I would definitely go back again to try all those flavors! Visitors, I'll take you there if you want to try as well. It gives me a perfect excuse to experiment their other menu items.

I think this is long enough of a post. Tomorrow night is the Nuit Blanche, also known as Sleepless Night. It'd be interesting to check out but my train is not running during those hours so perhaps not. New York is having it too on the same day. Maybe you guys can check it out since MTA is 24/7!

Well, until next time! I have only one day of classes next week (not including French class of course)!

Class Photos and Dark Cherries

Lesson 08: Gâteau Basque (Butter cake with Pastry Cream) and Crème Diplomate (Diplomat Cream). We made the Gâteau Basque during practical (thank goodness!). It's so nummy with the dark red cherries! No, I was not allergic to them if that causes any alarm among those who know of my food allergies. I didn't particularly like the taste of the Crème Diplomate. It had those candied fruits in it again. It also had golden raisins, which is somewhat acceptable but yeah I don't like chewy items in soft mushy food. Okay, I just don't like the taste of candied fruits in general.

Look, we learned a bit of plating with Raspberry and Apricot Coulis along with pistachios and fruit pieces for the Crème Diplomate. It was also drizzled with some Crème Anglaise (English Cream). The decoration sauce was tasty.

I ate more than half of my Gâteau Basque already now. Yes I am a fatty indeed! I always remind myself to bring my cakes downstairs to give it to the sushi people but I get lazy. It's odd how I don't mind running down to throw out the trash and come back up but I mind carrying a cake down. Maybe because I'd have to use people skills to socialize using my amateur French. "Bonjour. Je suis une étudiante chez Le Cordon Bleu. Souhaitez-vous quelque gâteau? J'ai trop beaucoup." And it'll end there as they stare at me like I'm a madwoman. Actually, perhaps I should start off asking if they speak Chinese.

Anyway, we also took class photos for the Basic Patisserie groups. Here shows Groups D, E, and F. I am in Group D. I look like a boy, I know. It's that darn hairnet and hat. I found that no one wore their hairnet for the photo. I have sacrificed my femininity for the sake of not having to put the hairnet on later for the demonstration class that was coming up.

I haven't done much walking around taking photos lately. Instead, I've been clothes shopping! I couldn't help myself. I had brought such casual clothes with me that I had forgotten that I'd be socializing here. I think it would be a little silly to be wearing jeans and a tee to the school dinner next week. Well, maybe some dude might but it looked like a nice restaurant so the least I can do is try to dress up a bit.

Anyhow, that's all for today. Another 8:30AM class tomorrow. I think I am getting adjusted to that now. If it was for work, probably not. haha. I will post up food photos in my next blog. Too lazy to grab them off the camera tonight. It's also very cold here but I am too cheap to turn on the heater. Meh!

Carbs Galore Among Other Edibles

I find myself eating my pastries for lunch now. Partly because I am cheap and do not want to spend additional money on food and partially because I feel like it's a waste of tuition if I just throw it out. And so as a result, I sacrifice my figure (Not that I have a notable one to begin with). Ah, the tragedy of a poor culinary student living in a foreign country where its currency is against her advantage.

Anyways, onto Lesson 06: Pâte à choux and Lesson 07: Meringue. See below!

Left to right, top to bottom: Éclairs with Crème Chantilly, Chef C piping the Choux Chantilly (Chantilly cream filled puffs), Éclairs with coffee and chocolate fondant and pastry cream filling, Choux Chantilly, Glands (Acorns), Chouquettes (Choux Pastries in front) and Salambos (behind).

Left to right, top to bottom: Dacquoise with Praline Buttercream decoration #1, Dacquoise with Praline Buttercream decoration #2, Dacquoise with Praline Buttercream decoration #3, Meringue Française (French Meringue), Chef DW demonstrating how to make the marzipan flower, and Meringue Suisse (Swiss Meringue).

Here is a photo of my finished products! Wow, I have never exercised my arm so much before in mixing and whisking. I will never take my KitchenAid for granted ever again.

And just for kicks, here's some photos of the food that I've been cooking at home. I rarely cook at home in New York so I can't help but record what I've been making these days. They're very amateur as I don't know any recipes and whatnot. They were edible though! *Pat on the back. :)

Left to right, top to bottom: Sautéed onions and mushrooms with chopped tomatoes alongside spaghetti topped with homemade alfredo sauce (yes, I used the wrong cheese and I didn't have milk), spaghetti with steamed vegetables, meatballs and cherry tomatoes, red onion soup with beef cubes and rice topped with cheese, and beef with red onions mixed with chili paste over rice.

Did I successfully make anyone drool? haha Anyway, two days off! W00ts! Then another 8:30AM - 9:00PM schedule on Thursday. I shiver at that thought. Hopefully it'll be sunny these two days so I can stroll the Parisian neighborhoods again.

Today Marks My Official Residency

Today was my appointment at l'OFII to get my medical examination and resident permit approved. Paid my 55€ in taxes first. Afterwards, I hopped from room to room to get eyesight (near and far) checked, weight and height checked, lungs x-rayed (first experience ever and I even get to keep the copy), and finally a face to face discussion about my health in general. Overall, I passed! They stamped and signed my medical certificate and stuck the resident permit into my passport. "C'est fini!" is what they said to me after all that was done and over with. Finally! All legal documentation done.

With that completed, I took my stroll through Paris once again but this time from the 11ème to 4ème to 1er. I just basically went from East to West but this time on Rue de Rivoli. Here are some pictures!

There's: Hôtel de Ville on top left (going clockwise), a neighborhood filled with streets like these near Forum des Halles (a mall), Tour Saint-Jacques (Saint-Jacques Tower), L’église Saint-Eustache (a church in Les Halles), and Colonne de Juillet (July Column) with L'Opéra Bastille in Bastille. This is not the order of where I walked. It's just for the sake of fitting the photos in proportionately. Lots of cultural buildings and monuments that I passed by. So breathtaking!

Since I was in the area, I decided to check out Bubble-T. As seen in the photo, the letter "T" seems to be missing. hah.

I ordered a Green Bubble Chai. It was okay... I should've went for Matcha au Lait or something. Yes, it came with the tapioca that I never really liked. BUT the nifty thing worth mentioning was that the lid had my astrological sign!

On a side note, I really liked the portraits hung on the wall. Very artistic. It seems like with my logo there, it's as though I'm claiming credit for those pieces of art. I'm just claiming credit for photographing them!

So here are also some nummies I have came across today shown below. Times like these, I really do wish I had the polarizer lens filter. Horrible window reflections of light and sometimes of me holding the camera...

Well, actually, the bottom left photo is savory. There's cheese and meat in them. Anyhow... since we're on the topic of food, here's a recap of Lesson 05 at le Cordon Bleu: Feuilletage (Puff Pastry)

During demonstration, we learned how to make Chaussons aux Pommes (Apple Turnovers), Palmiers (Palms), and Pailles aux Framboises (Raspberry Strawmats). Layers and layers of butter. Yum. In demonstration, we only made the Chaussons and the Palmiers. See below!

I'll need practice with this puff pastry. My layers weren't exactly puff enough. Boo. Oh and we ended up having Chef C as our practical chef. I was happy. Anyway, that's all for tonight. Tomorrow will be back to pâte à choux with both demonstration and practical in one day. Oh and it will be the start of my French language classes! Huzzah.