Graduation

Ah Graduation, it came so quickly.  We showed up to school for the last time in our chef whites.  We were given ENSP chef hats and prepared for the layout of the ceremony.  We were all so excited.  The ceremony lasted almost two hours, as we weren't the only class graduating.  We had a few class speakers, reliving the events that occurred throughout our time in France.  Each of us was called up to the stage, shaking the hands of our teachers, and taking a professional photo with our diploma.  After the ceremony it was time to eat.  Eat all of our hard work and dedication.  It was worth all the hard work to get where i was that day.  

After graduation, it was time to pack up all my belongings and prepare for the flight back home.  I had an absolute blast in France, traveling to so many places in such a short time frame.  I truly saw the world.  Can't wait for the next adventure!

Last week of labs...Savory!

This week we had savory.  The only savory baking class we've had at ENSP or at Johnson & Wales.  We created things like pate a choux puffs filled with salmon mousse, tea sandwiches, macarons, spanakopita, piggies in a blanket, mini quiche, and many more.  All the food we prepared was used for our graduation from the school on Friday.

Our last weekend...Nice

So, I’m about to embark on a new European Adventure, time to finish the first journey.

Friday, February 28:

            We (Mallory, Kristina, Kiele and myself) left Yssingeaux and with three hours of travel we headed to Lyon to fly to Nice.  One-hour flight later, we made it (Mallory met a friend of hers at the airport); stepping out of the airport, immediately see palm trees, “warmth of 50 degrees F”, beautiful blue water at our finger tips with rocky grainy sand getting washed ashore.  Just beautiful!  We grabbed a bus heading into the city center and our hostel.  Got off the bus, and walked down the long main street to our hostel.  The street was where Carnevale takes place. The streets lit up with gorgeous lights, streamers, a stage with giant statues and the parade float.  What a site to see. 

            Finally made it to our hostel.  Checked in. Dropped off our bags, and got refreshed.  We were starved and all needed food.  Mallory and her friend went one way, and the three of us went the opposite way.  It was almost 10:30pm, and Friday night is considered a weekday in France, so most of the restaurants were already closed, but we found a diner down the street.  We were seated if we only ordered burgers (good thing we all wanted a burger).  YUM!  Afterward, we walked back to the hostel, stopped on the way at a quick mart and grabbed a drink and sweets.  Made it back to the hostel, rested and got ready for sleep.  Tomorrow we explore!

Saturday, March 1:

            This morning we woke up early to catch the train to Monaco, Monte Carlo.  Monaco is known for racing, however many beautiful beaches can be found here.  We arrived an hour later, and were welcomed by palm trees, clear crisp blue water and gorgeous views. 

            We left the station, and just started walking.  Looking out to the sea, boats docked, fancy and expensive cars driving down the street.  We came across a casino, with the filthy rich cars parked outside, and a few cafes next door.  Mallory wanted a poker chip for her dad, but the casino wasn’t opened to the public until 2pm, so we had to come back.

            Breakfast time.  We stopped at one of the café’s, and I got a 4-euro croissant.  We all ordered something small to tide us over until lunch.  After breakfast, we wandered around some more, back into the city, down some stairs to saw the beach, and everyone wanted to go in.  So what do we do (except me), we take off our socks and shoes, and walk along the beach.  It was too chilly for me to take off mine.  But the site was absolutely breathtaking; having the ability to see into the water, the sky reflecting off the sea, and the palm trees in the background made for some amazing pictures. 

            After the beach, we dried off, and continued the stroll.  We managed to find some restaurants on the beach, but first it was dessert time, and what do I want…Gelato.  We happened upon a gelato shop off the beach, and we all got some, coffee and mint for me.  Delicious.  Next it was time for lunch.  We found a place down the street from the gelato shop, the restaurant had just opened as it was 11:30am, and we chose a table under a tent literally looking onto the beach.  Breathtaking!  Lunch was delicious, even more so with the view! 

Following lunch, we wandered around some more, before it was time to head back to the casino for the poker chip.  While Mallory was obtaining her chip, Kristina and I decided to gamble a bit.  We each played a different machine, I chose on poker, and played 5-euros, only to win 1-euro.  First time gambling, and it was in Monaco, pretty cool!  The casino was unbelievable, but unfortunately we were forbidden to take pictures or video inside.  After the casino, we went to the gift shop and of course had to buy some souvenirs. 

Next, Kristina wanted to see Monaco Palace.  There was a bus that would take us up the hill and stairs, but what’s fun about sightseeing by bus.  So we started our trek up the hill, then up the stairs to the Palace.  Once we reached the top, we saw guards standing outside the palace, and of course many gift shops.  In the shop we all found masks to wear for Carnevale tonight.  The site from the top was really pretty, but the palace wasn’t anything special. 

On our way down from the palace, we went a different way, and ended up walking through the gorgeous garden down along a path that ended into a cathedral, which Kristina loved and went inside.  The rest of us stayed outside; I myself have seen enough cathedrals and churches during my trip to Europe. After the cathedral, we continued down the path, ended up finding a cool statue to take photos under, and then back down to the “downtown” Monaco we went.  At the bottom of the hill, we found a steel car, which we again took pictures in, and found a car show that I would have loved to attend.  We found an outdoor ice-skating rink, which is a weird concept considering it overlooks the water, and its 60 degrees outside.  Mallory and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to skate in the warmth.  We paid, got fitted into our skates, and away we went.  I am not made for skating, I always feel like I should fall over on the very slippery ice.  We lasted less than 10 minutes, and back we went to replace our skates for shoes and back on dry land.  We noticed our favorite sushi spot directly behind us, Planet Sushi.  Unfortunately, they didn’t open for another hour, so instead we decided to head back to Nice, and coincidentally found a Planet Sushi there too. 

Once back in Nice, we went to our hostel, relaxed for a bit and freshened up, plus Kiele decided she wanted to get drunk tonight, so on our way to Planet Sushi, we stopped at a convenience store similar to CVS or Walgreens, and picked up some vodka and juice for mixer.  The three of them started drinking as we walked to the restaurant.  Along the way, I really had to pee, so I stayed pretty far ahead to get there quickly.  I got to the restaurant, used the restroom and waited for a good ten minutes before the three “drunkies” showed up.  We decided to sit outside which ended up be the best idea.  As soon as we sat down it started to pour down rain.  We all ordered our food, and first came the appetizers, which included miso soup and edamame.  Then our food came out, and I scarfed it down, which in turn was good thing, cuz kiele then got sick from the alcohol, causing us to be the center of attention and then being extremely frustrated and embarrassed.  Thank god we were outside.  Mallory took Kiele to the bathroom and Kristina took over as a mom, cleaned up everything. The girls came back, table was clean, and we quickly got the check, paid, and tried to get out as fast as possible.  I was especially embarrassed and pissed off that the drinking got so out of hand and resulted in Kiele getting sick and making a mess of a restaurant.  Also, due to the terrible weather, Carnevale was cancelled.  We walked through the “scene” of Carnevale streamers, silly string and confetti line the streets.  We were determined to make it to Carnevale while in Nice.

We made it back to the hostel, threw Kiele into the shower, all of us changed and relaxed to get ready for bed.  A long day of travel and unexpected twists; plus tomorrow we travel again!

Sunday, March 2:

            Today we started the day by checking out of our hostel, but leaving our bags in a locked room so we didn’t have to lug them around all day.  We walked into town, stumbling across a Sunday flea market.  This is where the locals set up all sorts of trinkets, jewelry, art, and other stuff in rows along the streets.  I found some interesting tables to check out, however I didn’t purchase any souvenirs. 

            Next wandered into town, and along a path that led us to the beach.  Ah the beach.  It was just so beautiful.  White sand leading up to pebbles that invited you into the bluest of blue waters.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Taking off our shoes, sand between the toes in March is a feeling to savor. 

            After the beach, we were hungry, and ventured to the heart of the city where we found a multitude of restaurants.  The restaurant we were interested in had a long wait, but down the road we found another one that opened at noon, we put our name on the reservation list for a table.  While we waited, what better to do then eat gelato? Right next door was a gelato shop, and of course we had to get some.  Delicious.  Noon came up quickly and our reservation was ready.  Pasta coming out of our ears and I ordered gnocchi, Delish!

            After lunch we slowly ventured into the town as we were stuffed from the meal.  We approached another beach and of course had take pictres plus get our feet in the water.  After the beach, we went back to our hotel to pick up our luggage.  On the way to the hotel it started to rain.  We next went to check out a few gift shops.  Mallory purchased a little tennis dress.  Then it was onto the bus to take us to the airport. 

            Back to Yssingeaux we go.

Week 7 - Plated Desserts

I know I am so far overdue to finish the blog; I was so busy and sick during the last two weeks in France to the time since I’ve been back.  No excuses!  As my grandmother (Mama) told me “you can’t be back, you haven’t finished your blog…”

Well here it is:

February 25-28

This week we had plated desserts, taught by the same chef we had for Petit

Fours & Revisited Classics.  Again his excuse for us is he’s a new chef and doesn’t know the curriculum or program layout, and how the product should turn out.  I was the same excuse every class; it’s our first time taking the class. 

So we went through the week prepping all the different components, finishing the day’s production list extremely quickly, and then twiddling our thumbs during the rest of the time in class.  On Friday, we assembled and plated each dessert.  We also have our “buffet”.  Definitely wasn’t our best work.  

                              

                   

Mock Entremet

Monday, February 24:

Today we had to complete our entremet.  It was our second and last try before the final is due next Tuesday.  The first time I made mine, it wasn't the best it could be, the layers weren't divided correctly and didn't provide correct textures, so back to the drawing board.  I replaced the brownie layer with a chocolate crumble/sable, which allowed for a crunch factor.  My coulis also needed to be tweaked.  The first time I placed fresh sliced strawberries on top of the frozen coulis, which hindered slicing the cake.  So the second time I cooked the strawberries with the coulis, and allowed them to freeze together, also allowing the strawberries a better texture when slicing.  My timing wasn't great on the first try, however with the second time, I was better prepared and knew my outline. 

My Entremet (starting from the bottom)
-Chocolate Crumble/Sable
-Vanilla Bavarian
-Chocolate Dacquoise
-Strawberry Coulis
-Vanilla Bavarian
-Glaze

My entremet was also poorly garnished at the first attempt, but I was able to execute my plan for garnish with the second attempt.  I feel ready and able to successfully complete the final entremet next week. 

                 

Paris...Take Two!

We had so much fun in Paris last time, we had to go back!  Mallory and I bought a tour of Versailles & Montmartre, so we had to come back…So Paris, take two!

Thursday, February 19:

            Today we had class as the AM shift due to the MOF being held at ENSP this weekend.  (MOF - Meilleurs Ouvriers de France – a nationwide competition held every three to four years to celebrate outstanding French workers in 100 different creative professions.  If you’re interested to learn more, a dvd called Kings of Pastry is a documentary of the 2007 MOF competition).  This weekend’s competition was to narrow down the finalists for the chocolate section of pastry arts. 
Because we had class in the morning, we were able to leave a day earlier, packing the night before, bringing all bags to class and catching a bus directly to Lyon.

            The bus dropped us off in Lyon, supposedly close to the train station, however it took us a lengthy hour walk to get to the station, while carrying our luggage.  We reached the train station with plenty of time to spare before our train would leave at 6pm.  We stopped by the ticket counter to make amendments to our tickets for this trip as well as check into ticket prices for Nice for our final weekend in France.  Mallory and I want to go to Carnevale, and since Venice is extremely expensive to fly or take a train, we settled on Nice (a few of our classmates went a couple weeks ago and had a fantastic time – for Carnevale).  Train tickets were similar prices to flying, and flying is a shorter round trip travel time we settled on flying.

            It was time to board our train, found our seats, and got situated for the ride.  I worked on catching up on my blog, and watched Friends.  Two hours later, we arrived at Gare de Lyon – Paris Station.  We found our hotel, checked in, grabbed our keys and unloaded our stuff in our rooms.  We relaxed a bit, before heading out to see the Eiffel Tower.  I honestly will never get sick of it, the most beautiful jaw-dropping site ever!  I am amazed at its beauty each time, day or night, just gorgeous.  After the tower we headed back to our hotel, it was time for bed.  A long day ahead tomorrow, we’re going to Disneyland Paris!

Friday, February 20:

            We got up bright and early, got dressed and ready to go to Disneyland.  We were all truly excited and pumped.  We walked to the train station, bought our train pass, found the train and off we went.  We had to transfer trains once, but didn’t get lost and successfully arrived at Disney!  In Paris, there are two parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios.  We started with Disney Studios; it’s the smaller park and closes earlier.  First stop, Tower of Terror, a ride I didn’t want to go on, but Kristina pressured me into it, and I’m thankful she did, it was a fun ride, I felt joy that I rode and didn’t die, but not a ride I wish to ride again, LOL.  After tower of terror, we rode Crush’s Coaster, CineMagique, Armageddon – The Special Affects, and Rock n’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith.  

Next it was time to head to Disneyland Park.  It is similar to Disneyland Park in CA and Magic Kingdom in Florida.  The castle is a replica to the fairytale castle seen in Sleeping Beauty.  First we had to take ample pictures of the castle, and surrounding views, and of course check out the shops and sights walking through the entrance of the park.  Then it was time to each lunch, we stopped at a quick place, each grabbed a burger and again on our way.  Once we made it through the shopping district, it was time to ride the rides. 

We rode them all: Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Adventure Isle, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth, Space Mountain: Mission 2, and so much more.  The park is divided into different areas: Discoveryland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland & Main Street (shopping district).  The park closed at eight today, with a firework show taking place at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.  The show blew our minds, projecting scenes from different Disney movies and characters onto the castle, with Disney music in the background, surrounded by fireworks, absolutely unbelievable, put the other Disney parks to shame. 

 

After the firework show, we shopped.  We all bought at least one souvenir.  I got a sweatshirt (of course) and some souvenirs for others.  It was finally time to leave, a long day had passed, my feet were extremely sore, tired, and ready for bed, but first dinner.  We had dinner at Earl of Sandwich.  Mallory ate at Annette’s Diner and I joined her after for dessert.  Finally it was time to catch the train and head back to the hotel.  Bedtime deserved tonight!

Saturday, February 21:

            Today was the day we’d tour Versailles & Montmartre.  Mallory and I woke up early, got ready, left early with plenty of time to arrive at the meeting place, just in case (our track record is terrible).  We stopped on the way for breakfast, hopped on the metro, got off and transferred, arrived at the correct station, exited and saw our meeting place directly ahead.  We had arrived in record time, not getting lost or anything…Success!  Now we had almost two hours to entertain before the tour would begin.  We shopped around at a local bookstore for a bit, then it started to rain, we decided to go to a café, and I ordered a crepe so we could sit inside in heat and avoid the wetness that was outside. 

            We started seeing people arrive for the various tours, so we paid the check, and gallivanted across the street to our tour.  We checked in with a guide, specifically stating we were for the Versailles tour, and we were the first ones to arrive.  We were told to wait for at least fifteen to twenty minutes and see if others arrive.  After that time had passed, we remained the only two, and the company needs at least four people to run the tour, we were issued a refund.  Now it was time to figure out what do to with the rest of our day. 

            The rest of our group was meeting at Notre Dame at 12:30pm, so we had an hour to waste.  We wandered through Latin Quarter, and walked to the square to wait for them.  We met up, some took pictures of Notre Dame, some went in and explored inside, others including myself waited at a nearby coffee shop.  Can I tell you, I think I’ve seen more churches in my eight weeks in Europe than I’ve been in back in the states in my entire life? 

            After checking out Notre Dame, and some grabbing a crepe, it was time to head to the lock bridge.  I visited the bridge the last time we went to Paris, but nothing gets old in Paris.  On our way we stopped at a few souvenir shops and bought some over priced Paris gadgets. We managed to take the long way, plus made many detours, but finally made it to the lock bridge.  Most of our group bought locks, signifying a certain relationship or memory.  After the lock bridge, we separated, and my portion of the group went to check out Montmartre.  Kristina wanted to see the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur.  I didn’t realize it was another church, but why should I be surprised now.  The view was absolutely gorgeous.  There were two options to reach the Basilica, either a steep staircase or the funicular car.  We chose the car, which was free with our day pass from the metro.   The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking, pictures couldn’t do it justice.  

     

            

 Following the photo op, it was time to meet up with the rest of our group, and head to dinner.  We made a slight detour at on of our group mates’ aunt’s art studio, then we needed to drop our stuff off at the hotel before heading to the restaurant.  We were meeting at Hard Rock Café, of all places.  When we finally arrived, the wait time was two hours for our group of 13.  So we walked further down the street, our two options were Italian or French, and since were in France, its obvious we had to eat French.  So we got a table for our large group, and ordered.  Dinner was decent, classical French cuisine; I shared a Caesar salad and Salmon dish as well as had to eat escargot, which were delicious as always.  

            After dinner, Kristina wanted to check out the Opera House (Paris Opera or Palais Garnier), which was supposedly down the street.  Along the way, one of my group mates noticed her purse felt light and then realized her wallet was missing…so a bunch of us went with her to search for it, while the remaining went to check out the Opera House.   We finally arrived at Paris Opera, a gorgeous site, as everything is in Paris.  Many pictures had to be taken, we walked around its entirety, although we couldn’t enter, only open during business hours.  I checked my phone to see what if anything was going on with the wallet situation, and after turning my data on, and messaging, we come to find out a police report was filed, and the wallet hadn’t been found. 

            

            Some of our group left, it was getting late (almost midnight) and wanted to make it home before the day pass expired, while Kristina and I wandered around trying to follow the map and find the police station to meet the rest of our clan.  Finally found our clan, and headed back to the hotel, it had been a long day.

Sunday, February 22:

            It was time to head home.  We got up, packed, checked out and off to the train station.  We were departing from a different station than the one we arrived.  This train, the slow train, would be five hours long.  We arrived at the station, grabbing some breakfast and snacks for the ride, and boarded our train.  No assigned seats, so we sat as a group.  Mallory and I set up ourselves, pulling out my laptop and beginning to watch Friends.  We each fell asleep, and slept most of the ride. 

            Two-forty-five we arrived at Lyon Station, grabbed lunch, and caught our next train to St. Ettienne.  We then took a train to Firminy, where half of us went into a cab to take us home, and the other half took a bus to Retournac and grabbed a cab home. 

            It had been a long but eventful and successful weekend.  We successfully had a weekend where we didn’t get lost.  It was fun and stressful to travel with such a large group of people. 

 

Petit Fours - Week 6

                             

Tuesday-Thursday:

         This week we had Petit Fours.  It was a collection of cakes and cookies; very different from our petit fours class we had at JWU.  We made a variety of assorted petit fours and cookies, including pate sable, cremeux, mini tarts, a passion fruit-mango cake with passion fruit cream as garnish, macaroons, Speculoos, Madelines, and much more.  Each group of two made a different flavor of each to provide an extreme variety of tastes and colors for our final buffet.  It was a fun week, we knew the techniques for the recipes so we were able to complete more than the chef thought we could in three days.  

         My Thursday was even better as my package showed up earlier than expected.  It was supposed to arrive in the evening, and at that point I would have already left for Paris (a day earlier than originally planned).  It showed up in the morning, while I was in labs, and when the administrative came in to view our buffet, I asked if my package had arrived and it had.  The biggest smile ever, my cure had arrived, and I could start really feeling better.

         This evening we left for Paris.  We (a group of 8) will be there all weekend, Thursday evening through Sunday morning.  We all are going to Disney Paris on Friday.  Such an exciting weekend ahead; I can’t wait!