December 3, 2012 Monday
Open Lab: I paid $15 to student service last week, to book my spot for using the kitchen. I was going to make pâte à choux for Éclairs, and Religieuses. Cynthia was also there to practice. It felt like having the final practical exam there. Everyone was so busy and fast paced. But thank God it wasn't my actual exam, 'cos my first pâte à choux didn't turn out. They deflated...... just like in my practical class. Since it was a small quantity, Chef Eric Jaouan told me to scale the recipe again, and let him know after I had everything ready. Then he came over and showed me how to cook the milk and combined the flour, then cooked the dough for a few minutes. Then the most important part was adding the right amount of eggs into the dough, he was funny enough to say it was invented by Italian to have the dough cooked once on pot then baked again in oven, NOT the French invention. LOL When it came to the right consistence, he let me pipe the dough on tray. Guess what? It puffed up in the oven like it supposed to be! I only had enough time to bake them. So I packed everything, then headed to the bus stop. Derek came to visit her sister's family and me from Toronto.
I took bus #16 to Stephanie and Sean's house, I finally saw Liam and Leighton! Last time I saw Liam, he was a baby. I don't think I have even met Leighton. I asked Derek how the TTC was, as I former streetcar operator, I wanted to hear all the gossips! I miss driving the streetcar and I miss all my former colleagues, but never the customer service part of the job. We had a great dinner, thanks Stephanie for the meal! Oh, I brought the puff pastries and the pastry cream I made in class. Basically I just filled the pastry cream inside the puff pastries, then put them in the fridge to cool. Thanks Derek for helping, even though he didn't know much what to do. :-) They all enjoyed it after dinner. And I think they did save 2 tiny little ones for the kids. It was always great to see them. And we forgot to take pictures :-(
December 4, 2012 Tuesday
Tonight, Tanvi, Cindy, Jason, Geordan and I went to see Life of Pi 3D. http://www.lifeofpimovie.com It's always fun to watch 3D movie. I didn't read the novel, but I was told it was a great book. I liked the movie, a bit surprised to know the ending. Yes, I would recommend it. I am very excited about Les Misérable movie out on Christmas Day!! I can't wait to see it!! http://www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/splashpage/
December 5, 2012 Wednesday
Demo Class#17: Chef Jocelyn made Pavé du Roy, Entremets Casino today, and finished the Soufflé glacé Montmorency from last week.
After class, to reward myself for passing the written exam, I got a Bear Chef.
December 6, 2012 Thursday
Practical Class#17: We made Pavé du Roy in practical class. Mine was okay, but working with chocolate wasn't easy. I got my apron and uniform dirty. Chef Jocelyn suggested me to work "for away" from the table, and chocolate in the middle of the table. Also, by the time I finished the second layer of the cake, my ganache had set so much already, that I had problem with the top of the cake. So I needed to work even faster. But overall, he said the biscuit was soft and good taste of chocolate. Oh, he wanted more syrup in the cake, even though I put all the syrup in.
In the end of the class, Cindy, who stood next to me, cut her finger. Actually she cut one of her fingers in the morning at home, and had a little cut during the class, then this final major cut that it didn't stop bleeding. Did she swear or panic? As usual, she was calm like nothing really happened. Chef suggested her to get it stitched in the hospital, so the stuff from Student Service came and brought her to the hospital. We just helped her clean up her station, and pack all her stuff and cake down to the my locker (since I have 2 :-) She eventually came back for the second half of the demo class later.
Demo Class#18: Chef Jocelyn made Charlotte aux poires, coulis de framboises in demo class. It wasn't a good day for Chef Jocelyn. There were not enough tools for his demo, and there was so much to do. We ended up leaving the class at least 30 mins late.
Cindy, Jason, Tanvi and I went to have Korean dinner after class, here are the pictures of her cut fingers!
December 7, 2012 Friday
December 8, 2012 Saturday
It's been a long week, and stressed out about the exam, just I slept until the afternoon. Some of us decided to practice pâte à choux, Tanvi, Cindy and I met at the Korean restaurant near our house for dinner (Leena also joined us for dinner) , then headed to my place. Jason came after having dinner at his place. As we discussed, we should have cooked the dough longer on the pot before incorporating the eggs. And it turned out pretty puffed up after baked.
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