A Graduate of Le Cordon Bleu London

It's been a while since my last update, and I promise I have a good reason. When I started this blog, I thought my time in London would be limited, and I wanted a record so that when I was back in LA, I could look back and enjoy those memories. However, the circumstances of our stay have changed, and we have no plans to move back to the US in the foreseeable future. In that case, it seems like this blog has no particular purpose - I don't really want to maintain a record of my day to day life. BUT, I also feel that I should maintain this window into our lives that we lead so far away from our loved ones. In any case, the moms have asked me to keep it going, so I'm going to try my best.

Since my last post, I've graduated from Le Cordon Bleu with honours in Patisserie!

After the pulled sugar module, we had Restaurant Desserts, in which we had to plate two identical desserts for our assessment. As silly as it sounds, making two identical plates is ridiculously difficult! We had to include piping on the plate, a tuile, and a tempered chocolate design. I was pretty pleased with the way mine finally turned out, but let's just say I never cursed so much in my life.

Then it was time for our team to throw the tea party! Each term, the patisserie students throw an epic tea party, and we get to invite outside guests to come to the school and eat as much as they can of all the various desserts that we make. The chefs selected me as team captain, which was pretty stressful, since I had to make sure all of the desserts were ready on time and met the chefs' exacting standards. I'm happy to report that our team kicked major ass, and the tea party went off without a hitch! 

We also had a bread module, which meant we had loads of bread to take home for a while. I was lucky since I had assisted the chef for the short bread course, so I already had an idea of what we would be making.

We made lots and lots of brioche, which was delicious, but I especially enjoyed making our bread surprise! It's a box made of rye bread and decorated with bread flowers and wheat. The inside of the box is carved out and made into tea sandwiches. Functional and beautiful! I brought mine over to J's office for his lunch, and it mostly survived the trip on the tube. 

Our last module was chocolate. I hate working with chocolate since it's exhausting tempering chocolate by hand, and it gets everywhere. Don't ask me how, but I usually end up with chocolate on my hat, in my pocket, on my back - basically everywhere! But my chocolate box came out pretty alright - I designed it to look like a grand piano, and the lid comes off so you could fill the inside with truffles! We're supposed to showcase five different techniques, and I think I managed to get them all.

Another chocolate item we made was the chocolate egg. None of us were quite sure what to do with this one after we were finished, but it looked pretty nice so I took it home. I'm glad I took a picture since we had one of those rare sunny days in London, and my egg melted! Oh well. 

We were all pretty excited about the candy making session. It was basically chocolate and candy as far as the eye can see, and we all took home loads and loads. I think we were all pretty popular with everyone we saw that day. I dropped mine off at J's office, since I was already sick as a dog from sampling everything during class. 

All during superior term, we were all thinking of our final - the entremet. We were each given a list of ingredients and requirements and instructed to come up with our own entremet to present for our final exam. I did a lot of experimenting at school and at home, and I planned and planned so that I would be able to finish my entremet within the 4 1/2 hours we were each allotted.

I was really nervous about the time, and with good reason; I ended up using every last second! It didn't help that I dropped my tray of tuile during the exam, and I had to remake it. It was pretty funny when I dropped it, as I was pretty irritated, but everyone (including the chefs) rushed over to make sure I was okay and wasn't going to cry. Trust me, I wouldn't be the first if I did, but I'll be damned if I was going to cry over some biscuits. In the end, it all turned out okay since I passed!

Graduating was really bittersweet. I loved school and everything about it - all the new techniques, the chefs, my fellow students. It was hard to realise that I wouldn't be coming back - I had already assisted for most of the short courses, and I didn't really have any interest in taking any cuisine classes. So this was really and truly the end of one of the best experiences of my life. I would do it all again without a doubt!

Sugarland

The last two weeks have been all sugar, all the time.

I've been hard at work on my pulled sugar rose, and it's really encouraging since it feels like there's definite improvement the more I work with it. Thankfully, we had ample time to practice before our assessment at the end of the sugar module.

The actual assessment was pretty low key, and we had loads of time to form a rose and three leaves. Most people had enough time to make more than one. I made two, and I hemmed and hawed a bit about which one to present, but I think I chose the right one.

My very first sugar rose (over cooked due to wonky thermometer, hence the yellow colour):

My final rose for the assessment:

I didn't have long to relax as our centrepiece assessment was the following day. Luckily for me, we had another practice session after my first disaster, and I was pretty pleased with what I managed to produce. 

I tweaked a few things in my plan for my piece for the assessment, but of course things didn't go according to plan. My arm caught on my large background piece, and the thing fell over and smashed to bits. I rescued what I could, and I had to rethink how I was going to put all the pieces together. Fortunately, I managed to cobble something together that wasn't horrifying and showed six different techniques of poured sugar.

The small blue piece on the right is the salvaged piece, and I was a bit sad since it was my favourite. It had swirls of blue, violet, and green, with a clear piece on top to mimic a foaming wave. Sad.

In any case, I'm glad that the assessments are done, and now I could play with sugar at home! One of the chefs managed to finagle me an awesome deal on a proper sugar lamp, and now I've got one at home!

I still need a few more things, but I'm really excited to play around with things on my free time at home. Sugar is no joke, most of the kids in my class really, really hated it. It's very difficult and demanding work, and there's always the fear of something shattering beyond repair. However, the nice thing is that it does feel like you're improving the more you work with it and understand how it behaves. 

I'm eager to see if I could improve on my ribbon and blown sugar on my own time. We had some fun sessions where we just made some stuff that weren't going to be on the assessment.

My blown apple (it's hard to tell from the pic, but the thing turned out to be a monster!):

And I think I'll work some more on my ribbon. The one I did in class was just silly looking - word to the wise, it's better for just one person to pull sugar. Especially if the other person hates sugar work.

Back to the Real World

Summer's over, which means it's back to business as usual in London. Everyone's back from their August holidays, and the city feels like its usual self again - busy, hectic, and on-the-go.

Luckily for us, things didn't kick up to high gear straight away, so J and I had time to join a gym to try to undo some of the damage of being fat and happy. The pitfalls of a happy marriage is an ever expanding waistline and a preference for a cuddle on the sofa watching Sherlock over a workout at the gym. But we're working on it and going to the gym together has become our new weekend activity.

We may have undone all of our hard work when we went out to Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental in Kensington to celebrate J's birthday. But we agree, it was worth it! We went there last year, and it has firmly cemented itself as J's favourite restaurant. It's a good thing we go only once a year, as I don't think I would like to have more chins in addition to the one I've got.

I also made a cake to celebrate the occasion. J told me he just wanted something chocolatey, which isn't really much to go on. I ended up making a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and ganache with a salted caramel glaze and a toasted italian meringue topping. Whew. I dropped it by J's office, and I got a good workout just from carrying that cake around. It was ridiculously heavy, but everyone said it was yum so I guess it was worth having my arms just about fall off.

Autumn also means I'm back in school to finish up my last term at Le Cordon Bleu. I was originally planning on returning in January, but I got a bit anxious to get back and finish the damn thing so I decided to return at the last minute. My old classmates just graduated, so I'm joining a different group.

I'm really lucky as the new group turned out to be lots of fun, and it made the transition a lot easier. Most of them are fast-trackers, which means that they've been doing the same course as us regular folk but on a compressed schedule. Everything we've done in six months, they've done in three! But everyone has to go on the same schedule for the last bit, Superior term, so we're now all in the same boat. This term is a bit different from previous terms in that we no longer have demonstrations followed by practicals. Now, we go straight to the kitchen for a workshop, which consists of a short demo and lots more time with hands-on work.

We started our term with the sugar module, which is focused on creating centrepieces made with pulled/ poured/ blown sugar. It's really, really hot work. You're cooking sugar to really high temperatures and working under a heat lamp most of the time, which means I've been sweating buckets. I'm pretty sure my partner must be grossed out by the puddle of sweat at my feet at the end of every workshop. Oh well, some things just can't be helped.

My hands were really red and raw after the first day of pulling sugar, but things have improved with the addition of a few things - cotton gloves with multiple layers of latex gloves on top, with a set of rubber dishwashing gloves on top for when the sugar is really hot. I'm actually pretty happy with the pulled sugar rose that I've made, but I think there's still some room for improvement.

First attempt.

Second attempt.

Most recent attempt.

The poured sugar centrepiece was a complete fail the first time around. My thermometer was going bonkers, and I ended up overcooking the sugar, which meant it took on a ugly brownish tone. That wasn't so bad, and I managed to rescue it with some food colouring, but then the whole thing kind of slowly keeled over when I wasn't looking. I'm not sure if it was the humidity or if the sugar was too soft from overzealous blowtorching. Sigh. I'm looking forward to next week when we get to have another go at it, and I've got a brand new thermometer all ready to go.  Fingers crossed!

Here's what chef made to give us an idea of all the different techniques we can use in poured sugar.

I got to keep chef's centrepiece, so I took it to J's office so he could use it to decorate his shelves. People do tend to look at you funny when you're carrying a sugar sculpture through the city on the tube, just as a warning. 

Ten Days of Bread

Intermediate term may be over, but I'm still going to school every day as I volunteered to assist with the ten day course on Boulangerie.

The days are pretty long, around 8 hours or so, and my body is getting used to just spending all that time on my feet. I'm pretty wiped by the end of the day, and J's been taking care of dinner by bringing home Chipotle every night. Thank goodness, as I don't think I can look at another loaf of bread! The students make so much bread each day, there's usually a mountain of leftovers at the end of the day. I was gleefully stuffing my face with croissants in the first few days, but now I can't bear to eat another crumb of the stuff. I'm so glad the course is over, I don't think my waistline could've taken much more bread!

Today is my last official day at Le Cordon Bleu, and then I'm taking some time off to travel and attend some family weddings before returning to finish my degree. It'll be nice to be able to wear nail varnish and jewelry again, and staying out of the hot kitchen during summer is pretty much a no brainer. I am definitely not going to miss the uniforms and the awful hat that seems to shrink with every wash. Either that, or my head is growing bigger.

However, I'm going to miss my classmates. I think there's a special bond that forms when you all start on the same journey together, and I'm kind of sad that we won't be finishing it together. But I still live nearby, and I'm already planning on lots of informal visits to see what they're up to throughout the term. I guess it's just as well, as our original group finally got split up into two separate groups, so I guess it wouldn't have been the same anyway. But it's still a bit saddening to watch them continue on their journey without me, but I've been promised invites to their big afternoon tea that they throw as part of their class and to the graduation ceremony.

I'm also going to miss the chefs a ton. I can complain that the administration of the school isn't great, but the chefs are absolutely amazing. Not only are they extremely talented at what they do, but their love of teaching also shines through. They all have their own distinct personality, and each of them are hilarious in their own way and make learning pastry much more fun and less stressful than it could be.

I'm hoping they invite me back to assist for them, even if I'm not a student at the moment, and it'll also give me a chance to hang with my favourite porters. The porters work incredibly hard for ridiculously long hours, and I don't think the students understand how hard these guys work for us to make our kitchen a more comfortable place for us to work in. So a big, heartfelt thank you to them, and to everyone else at school who made it so much more fun than I ever thought it could be!

I'm not feeling too sorry for myself, since we're adding a new member to our family! She's joining us in July when I get back from LA, and I can't wait!

Many more cat adventures to come!

Intermediate Term Is Over!

It's been a crazy week, but I've managed to make it through somehow. It's been busy what with exams, selling our condo, and getting tested for my laser eye surgery.

The practical part of my exam went pretty okay. I thanked my lucky stars that we got the opera, woohoo! It's supposed to be the fastest cake, but also the most technically difficult. I've done better operas at home, but I think the one I did for the exam was enough for me to pass. I didn't start studying for the theory exam until the day before, and it turned out that none of the things I studied were actually on the exam. Doh! But I filled more blanks than left empty, so I'm not kicking myself too hard over it.

After the exams were finished, we got a taste of what to expect from the superior term. One of the chefs demonstrated the making of a chocolate box with tempered chocolate, and the end result was beautiful.

I'm almost tempted to give it a go, but maybe after I've recovered from exams.

We had the last few classes to decorate the fruit cakes that we had made earlier in the term. The chefs have been feeding them rum on a regular basis, and I tasted a bit of it. It tasted better than I thought it would and reminded me a lot of Christmas spices with the dried fruit and rum. It is, however, hard as a rock and quite dense.

In any case, we got to work on decorating. We had two technicals demonstrating how to decorate using flowers, but I just could not get the hang of it. I squeezed and rolled the same piece of paste for two hours before producing a few pitiful looking petals and giving up. I think it's become a mental block dealing with those fiddly little things, and I'll get to practicing again when I no longer feel like putting my head through a wall.

It was just as well that my cake didn't call for flowers, and I chose to do a stained glass inspired cake instead. I ended up taking the cake home to do a bit more work on it, and Casper decided to help by tasting my food colouring dust. I think I laughed for twenty minutes straight before I finally got back to decorating my cake.

I finished my cake just in the nick of time at the last practical, although there were some finishing touches that I would've liked to added. I was piping like a madman for the last thirty minutes or so, but I was actually pretty pleased with how it turned out! The chefs were also really complimentary, and it made my stone cold heart all fuzzy and warm inside.

It's hard to believe that intermediate term is officially over. Especially since the current plan is to take a break during summer and return for the autumn term. I'm maybe reconsidering that plan since the chefs told me autumn is going to be manic busy and super crowded. Ugh. I can't imagine the locker room fuller than it already is. That's one thing I'm definitely not going to miss. But I will miss my group and hanging out with the chefs. But it's not goodbye, just see you later, especially since I live so close to school, and I'm planning on volunteering regularly for the short courses. In fact, I'm volunteering for the boulangerie course that's scheduled to begin on Wednesday! 

Some of the other girls are leaving as well, but are actually leaving the country, and everyone got together for a dinner at the Savoy to say farewell. It's the sad part of being one of the few that actually lives in London. Pretty much everyone else is from far away, and it feels odd to feel like you're being left behind when school comes to an end.

Some of the girls got me flowers since I won't be returning for Summer term, and I'm going to miss going to classes with them. I really can't imagine being part of a funner group.

But I've promised to visit them lots over summer, with the cats and champagne in tow!

Funny Hair and Serious Studying

The best thing about being blonde is not being blonde. I've been cycling through the rainbow, and I think the purple could be my favourite. The girls at school have been making requests, and it looks like turquoise is next! People at work haven't batted an eye at the uncorporate colour, which I see as tacit permission to sally forth.

Don't worry Mom, it'll be a human colour by the time I'm back home. I'll try, anyway.

I have a day off today, which means chores, chores, and cakes! Laundry is nearly finished, which means it's back in the kitchen for me. I feel fairly confident about the Fraisier (minus the royal icing piping), but I get a bit wobbly about the Alhambra and Opera. I don't really like practicing the Alhambra just because I don't think it tastes very good. I don't want to eat it, and I don't feel right about giving someone a cake that I don't think is that good. But I've decided to just do the damn thing.

Let's just say I'm no longer a fan of roses.

It's getting to the end of term so I thought I'd get the chefs a little token of gratitude for everything they've taught me thus far. J and I ended up going to Harrods food hall, and I'm never going back. The service is great but the place is an absolute zoo and heaving with tourists. We couldn't get out of there fast enough! I didn't feel so guilty about taking J there since we also stopped by Bar Boulud for their amazing burgers.

Exams are only a week away, and I feel like I haven't prepared as much as I did for the Basic exam so that means buckling down for the next week and studying and practicing. I guess I couldn't deny my slacker nature, but fingers crossed that I'm still good at cramming!

Cakes and Bread

Our last exam dish, the Opera! It's made with a hazelnut sponge with a chocolate ganache and coffee buttercream and topped off with a chocolate glacage and piping. It's pretty fast to make in comparison to the others, but the chefs consider it to be the most technically difficult.

I was a bit over zealous with the trimming, so it turned out a bit undersized (like me), but it was still good enough for J to not share it with anyone. He's very keen on me practicing lots! 

We've had another gateau since, the Sabrina. It's named after Audrey Hepburn's character in the film of the same name. It's a rather girly cake, which isn't really my thing.

It's a sponge filled with strawberry mousse and strawberry pieces finished off with a chocolate glazed marzipan disk. I'm not that keen on the design, the piped batons with chocolate squiggles looks a bit strange. I didn't have any of it, but my partner didn't think it tasted that great with the exception of the chocolate-covered marzipan. 

We also had a boulangerie class wherein we made baguettes, focaccia and a rye loaf. I'm not such a fan of making bread, I find it a bit boring. We've had tube strikes, which meant I ran home that day with all that bread strapped to my back. Was not worth it, especially the rye loaf, but the focaccia was delicious!

The technicals thus far have been quite good. We had a class on savoury dishes, and we got to sample the chef's creations. It was a good thing I didn't have breakfast that day as I stuffed myself with sausage rolls, bouchees, and salmon puffs. Yum!

I find that I much prefer savoury to sweet these days, which also happened to a lot of other kids in my class. I guess you get tired of sweet things after being around them all day. 

Thinking About Exams: Alhambra and Fraisier

It's pretty early in the course, but we've already been introduced to two of our three potential exam dishes. I guess it's never too late to start practicing!

First up, the Gateau Alhambra. It's basically a chocolate cake filled and masked with chocolate ganache, enrobed in a chocolate glaze, and decorated with piped chocolate writing and tempered chocolate pieces, and topped off with a marzipan rose. Have I mentioned it's got chocolate? 

Needless to say, things were a bit frantic in the kitchen trying to do everything, and our group finished way over time. We had a relaxed chef for the practical, which can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing since it's a lot less stressful, but a curse as you tend to take time that you won't have during the actual exam. 

All in all, I was pretty pleased with how the cake came out, but my chocolate piping can still use a lot more work. I ordered 5 pounds of chocolate, so I'll definitely get some more practice in unless I eat it all first! I also need to practice tempering since chocolate can be pretty finicky to work with, and we're not allowed to use thermometers while we're trying to warm the chocolate by only a few degrees. The chocolate will "talk" to us and tell us when it's ready. Um, okay. I must be deaf or we're not speaking the same language. 

Our other exam dish is the Fraisier. It's a genoise sponge filled and lined with strawberries and creme mousseline. It's topped off with a marzipan disk and rose and decorated in royal icing. 

This time, we had a chef who pushed us constantly on time, which meant we finished early and had some time to practice piping with royal icing. I hate it. It's completely different from chocolate piping, and I think it may even be worse, but that may be because we have much less experience with it. I'm just glad I got the spelling right! Let's just say not everyone did.

Chef was pleased with my cake except for the fact that I murdered my sponge when I removed it from my ring mold, and I need to remember to be less vigorous with my knives. As if my poor finger wasn't reminder enough. The marzipan was also tricky to work with and kept sticking to everything, making it nearly impossible to remove from the workbench without ripping. I'm just glad I eventually got everything on the cake!

Our technical this week was quite fun as it was similar to a demonstration rather than just a lecture. The topic was confectionary, and we learned how to make caramels, nougats, and jellies.

The best part was the tasting afterwards! I'm starting to wish school had a gym...