Growing Up?

     I guess I'm now an unemployed, inexperienced pastry cook.  Monday I'm going to start calling places to set up stages.  I want to fill up my calender as much as possible.  It would be nice if I could set up an internship somewhere, or at least do multiple stages to build my confidence.  I'm looking at a lot of websites and such.  I am excited but oh boy, I'm nervous.
     I want to stage at hotels a bit, I imagined that was a major possibility before I even started school.  I think it'll be fun to stage at a cake shop too.  I mean why not try a little bit of everything.

Graduation

     I graduated on Saturday.  What's next?  I do not know.  Now comes the fun part, finding the place that I want to be.  It might be a hotel, restaurant, pastry shop or I don't know what.  I'm curious to find out where I will end up. 

Pictures from the buffet after the ceremony:

Bread Crocodile 

Eiffel Tower made of flour and water by Chef Pierre

There was A LOT of food.

Sugar Showpiece made by some of my peers.

Rachie, Brett and I in one of the three 

kitchens I've spent the last 24 weeks in.

Me and Mom =)

There are mirrors above the Chef's table so the whole class can see what they're doing.  We are standing under one of these mirrors in this picture.  It was Rachael's idea but she was a little embarrassed by us actually doing it.

I love Chef Pierre!  He'll be talking to one person telling a 

story or explaining something and slowly a crowd 

will gather... everybody loves him.

Chef Scott, who taught us about chocolate and sugar showpieces, 

with Angela and I.  Angela was the very first intern for my class.  

Breads class wouldn't have been the same without her.

Julia and Alejandra, both staying in the city, thank goodness.  

We had many fun lunches together and lots of laughs. 

These two are a good example of how everyone in 

this business is a little weird.

  
     A bread showpiece!  It's amazing what can be done with just flour and water.  This an awesome example of the masters we get to work with.  Have you ever seen bread like this?  Eiffel Towers, crocodiles and a little baker man, it's freaking fantastic!

People in my class made this chocolate showpiece.  

Yes, even the copper pot is chocolate.

     Mom and Dad on the L.  On the way there they had to stand the whole twenty minutes it takes to get downtown.  Welcome to city life!
     It was a great day, the speeches at the ceremony were funny and heartwarming, the food was delectable and the people are outstanding.
    I never thought when I googled "baking school" that this was where I would end up.  I'm so glad I took a long thoughtful shower that day.  I'm super thankful for the immediate support I had from the boyfriend.  Jen and Rae both offered to let me live with them with out even batting an eye.  Mom, you have been a pillar of support in everything I've ever done or even thought out loud about.  And Dad's just happy I'm finally doing something.  Tony and Mai, I hope you move back to the states some day.  I'd love to work in the kitchen with you, Mai.  Hugs all around!

And thanks for the mixer!!!

Report Card

My final grade for the entire class is an 88%.  

I know that nobody in the "real world" is going to care 

about my grade but I still feel pretty good.  

 Bretty etched a mug for me!

My favorite animal :)

Last Exam

     Welp, I guess this is it.  We had our last exams this week and we graduate next Saturday.  This week we are working on our graduation buffet and cleaning.  It really did go by as fast as they said it would.  I'm really sad it's over, I never thought I would make so many friends and have so much fun.  I really enjoyed every minute of it.
     For the exam we made a chocolate showpiece, sugar showpiece, molded chocolate candy and hand dipped ganache.  Maybe everything didn't go perfectly and maybe some things didn't look awesome but I loved this exam.  It just felt like I was playing.
     I never had a chance in class to try pulling a sugar ribbon so when I heard it would be extra credit on the exam I knew I had to try.  I ended up with a little extra time the last day and I managed to put some on my piece.  I was super pumped.
     I also "accidently" knocked Chad's tray of chocolates off of the speed rack.  Oopsie

The sister hired me to make some 

petite fours for a baby shower.

Raspberry and Blueberry Tartlets

The berries are so glossy because I tossed them in 

apricot jam.  Just warm it up to thin it out a bit and 

BAM! you have yourself some shiny berries.

These little lemon tarts (half of them covered in ganache) 

may look a little rough but they are super tasty. 

And tiny, which equals adorable.

It was a tea party.

Sugar Showpiece

     This is the showpiece we made in class.  It's kind of a hodgepodge of different techniques.  The two round disks on the base are poured sugar.  The white dome is pressed sugar and the rocks and white swirls (or as some of my classmates and I like to call them, the tusks) are made of pastillage.  The roses are pulled sugar and the bird is blown sugar.

Close up of a rose. This one made it all the way home 

with me and is now melting on the kitchen counter.

     I was going to try and get the showpiece home but it just wasn't in the cards for me.  I broke it before I was even out of the school.  Probably for the best, one of my classmates made it to the L.  When I heard the crash of pastillage and saw the sad little shards on the floor, the surrounding peoples reaction was pretty comical.

     Fruit was a prerequisite for making a bird.  First you had to make an apple and then a pear.  Blown sugar definitely isn't easy but when I was first trying to  make that pear I thought a bird would be near impossible.  So I guess in just a few short days I made some progress.

     I really liked working with sugar.  It was not easy and it wasn't always fun, a bit frustrating.  Yet at the end of the week I want more.  The challenge is what makes it so enticing.