Tuesday 13 February 2007

le cordon bleu - day 8


More bread today. This time it was making crusty and soft rolls; making us quite pushed for time in the kitchen. We finished well past our class time with the last batch of baking going into the oven at around 2.20pm. As soon as our things were out, you would've seen everyone going 'hot, hot, hot', trying to put their breads into boxes, bags or sandwiched in between towels so they could cool down. Fortunately, today's baking wasn't quite as crazy as yesterdays and I could actually carry everything in my hands. I've already had my fair share of bread rolls from yesterday and today and I got to admit, they're getting progressively better. As we made two different types of dough today, you could really taste the difference and actually make an assessment of what's good.



It seems also that I'm quite fast with kneading bread dough by hand (Chef Geraldine got us to knead one by hand and the other using the machine). Later on when I went for my first shift of work, the chef tells me that I have hot hands which are good for making bread. Now I understand why my bread seems to prove so quickly even though I put one tray of mine into the prover later than another girls. It'll be a different matter when we make chocolate next week; hot hands aren't really something you want when it comes to chocolate. *Fingers crossed that I'll be ok*. The chef I'm working with at work was laughing at me because I was getting chocolate everywhere (I was helping him out with the cupcakes that people have ordered for Valentine's Day tomorrow - to those that have bought them, I hope you enjoy them); although he does say that I'll get less messy over time.

On the whole, it's been a rather exhausting yet fulfilling day. I find that I'm absorbing skills and facts like a sponge. When the chef was going through theory in class, I was actually finding it quite easy to remember and really, it's all quite interesting. As for work, I've still got the excuse that I'm new and so it's ok to make mistakes but I guess I just really want to use this opportunity to develop all the skills that I'm learning. In the words of my good friend Andy, it's a hectic lifestyle but what have I got to lose. Fortunately I can still say that I'm young and can go about crazily following my dreams (I've been tempted to go to Paris to study Patisserie!) I've definitely met some very inspirational people over the last couple of weeks and made a whole new bunch of friends, as well as eaten so many cakes and sweets. What a life it is at the moment!

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