(started this post but fell a sleep halfway, so it was backdated to 11 Sep 2008)
Tonight I should definitely sleep better. The exam was supposed to finish tomorrow but school will be closed due to approaching Hurricane Ike. So this morning, we were told by Chef Sebastien we would complete Level 1 Final today in 2 days instead of 3 that was originally scheduled. It also meant that today was the last day we were in Chef Sebastien’s class. I reminded Chef today will be his last day with us, and he said “Oh, I will miss the class huh!“ Wow for once – Chef Sebastien had been counting down from Day 9, and he always put it such that he can finally rid us from his class.
When I stepped out of the class this afternoon, it sure felt weird. Earlier in the afternoon, we completed the recipes given, and our plating in a hurry, got all the leftover mess from creaming, piping, boiling, caramelizing, whisking etc (whatever you name we had that!) out of the way before Chef Sebastien and Chef Rudolf graded us – Thought Chef Philippe was also one of the Chefs grading us, but he did not come over to our class to view our Final, his Level 3 was presenting their Baking & Pastry Arts graduation Finals too. After the Chefs graded us, a PA announcement called for all Chef Instructors to see Mr LeNotre. We did not touch our plates and just waited … no sign of Chefs … and still we waited. Then some staff members came in to ask if they can have our Final goodies, sure, … then Nutti needed to clear the plates for wash, then our stuff which we were not bringing back was consolidated into one. Still no sign of Chefs. We decided to leave … didn’t have a chance to thank Chef Rudolf who helped us during the final – He was very encouraging. Chef Rudolf is the new Pastry Chef-instructor who just arrived into Houston from France on Monday night and was in our class for the first time during our Final. More importantly, we didn’t have a chance to thank Chef Sebastien for his patient guidance as our Chef-instructor for last 10 weeks … it really feels weird to just end a level like that – something is amiss, there is no closure.
For the last 2 nights before each final, I had very disturbed sleep. I may have run through the stuff mentally too close to sleeping time, and my mind must have been actively processing some info and interfered with my sleep.
Today started well. I shaped the tart dough, something which I liked since the first time we did on Day 2 of level 1 class. Then the brioche – that was when Chef Sebastien told us we would be completing our Final the very day instead of the next. I thought through my mini long loaf the night behind, and I confirmed how it was made from the LeNotre’s Desserts and Pastries – roll it slightly to oval - and I was happy with how it turned out after proofing and baking. But my Naterre brioche – oops … I forgot the pearl sugar before it went to oven. When I took out of the oven, I was still not happy with my cuts – they remained too small to reveal the golden yellow within. Something looked different, and a long time later, then I realised it was missing the pearl sugar. Gosh! How do I get the pearl sugar on for plating without them dropping? Just before I plated, I remembered my syrup I made a day earlier, I glazed a thin layer on top and sprinkle the sugar and lightly pat it down. It worked.
Then I did the lemon cream. I was already 3 recipes ahead of Jennifer – she redid her chocolate tempering the first thing in the morning. I decided to prep 2 portions of lemon cream recipes and arrange in order so she can catch up. The cream came up the way it is. I brought my own handheld blender, so everything was as I practised in my apartment. I should have prepared the juice the day earlier on Day 1, coz it took a lot of time squeezing 10 lemons for 200g of juice. I told Jennifer I wouldn’t be prepping the rest of the ingredients for other recipes for her, but I would help her when I got my recipes back on track. When I started prepping the next, Jennifer turned to me and said “In case I don’t get the chance later, you have been a good partner”. My reaction was a little anti-climax at first, I thought she was asking me something about the recipes … how sweet! I gave her a slight squeeze on her shoulder and continued with our prep. She has been a wonderful person to work with of my last 3 weeks in level 1. She will be going for academic lessons come Monday for the next 10 weeks while we move on to Chef Philippe’s class.
The Moka Cake - I was happy with how the final version compared with my practice version. Less the moka chocolate beans that I had bought online but did not bring to class because plating was only to be completed on Friday. Nevermind. How much does it matter really?
The worst I thought I did? Ha - Cookies – which was supposed to be the easiest recipe. They came out Texan size. Oops! The pieces in the centre centre came close together after baking, so I had 6 cookies by the side which were big and round, and the centre pieces were oblong? For plating, I just had to be resourceful, oblong pieces as base and big round pieces on top. They were yummy and chewy though.
4 minutes left, Chef Sebastien said. It was already 1.30pm, and I was still not done with my caramel icing. Just short of that… but we started plating. Then I believed the Chefs helped us silently by leaving for a quick lunch at … Merci Beaucoup. I called out to Robert, that I would do one batch of caramel icing for a few of us and I just needed his extra hand to get me the ingredients to speed up the process. I didn’t even measure, just estimated the amount … and great, the caramel turned out a nice golden brown. Robert was funny, I asked for a water bath to stop the cooking, and he got a the biggest bowl of water for the smallest pot we were using. Jennifer said she hadn’t got her choux piped yet and may give hers a miss, I told her to just quickly pipe something and we shall all complete the recipes given. Got the silpat, and we all started dipping … it was fun despite the time stress. Some caramel dripped onto my finger … ”oh sxxx!” Robert reminded me I just sweared under my breath. Ha I did a couple of times during the time countdown. But nothing else matters then other than to complete our recipes and plating. I was glad Quin, Robert, Jennifer and I managed to have caramelized choux for plating from our teamwork. Chefs got back just about then.
Cleaning up – again teamwork, I scraped all the useful stuff into containers, and Jennifer brought everything else for wash to the basin. Got the side table cleaned and at least we got the place in order before Chef Sebastien and Chef Rudolf came. Oh my! It certainly looked like a war zone for the last 30 minutes before we cleaned up.
At the end of the day in Pastry Lab, my mini brioche loaf went to Jean-Luc and Elyse, half my cookies went to Ben, my moka cake went to Elheme, my lemon tart went to somebody … my chocolate “heart” went back to chocolate tray… my brioche nanterre and half the other cookies came home with me … and my mice bread decor too! In the evening, I found Brad to give him the cookies and the lemon tart I did for my practice (I am not sure if he is lucky or unfortunate to be my neighbour… hee). I kept the brioche nanterre for myself coz I think they are tasty for a staple and those cuts I made during the finals were not up to standard to give away.
So level 1 ended like that due to Hurricane Ike? As some of us were chatting, we are looking forward to level 2 in Chef Philippe’s class next Monday, but ending level 1 liked that sort of felt weird … I wrote Chef Sebastien an email at night to thank him, and to do so in person next week … many things done in out of sort ways all due to approaching Hurricane Ike.
