We started off on the wrong foot.
I'll blame it on the fire alarm, which sounded right
before the exam. Then we took the test, which didn't go over well for many of the students. Finally, we started in on Day 4 of pastry, a lesson on doughs and tarts.
That's when things got hairy.
Many of the students don't have pastry experience, so there was a major learning curve to be had. It was especially tough considering the high temperature and humidity, which made the butter in the dough quickly melt. Frustration abounded. It seemed we reverted back to Level 1 mentality, making stupid errors and causing the chefs anguish.
By 11 a.m., everyone was at each other's throats—and it just went downhill from there. I have to wonder if this is what it's going to be like in Levels 5 and 6 when we're in the restaurant kitchen. We better take it up a notch or it's going to be ugly.
For today's recipes, we used the pate sucre and pate brisee (the doughs we formed a couple days ago, thank God) and
made an apple tart, pear tart and quiche Lorraine. I wish it was as simple as it sounds. Tomorrow is just going to be tougher, as puff pastry is sure to take over half the day.
Let's hope everyone keeps it together and doesn't blow up.
After the kind of day I had, it was nice to have some plans that forced me out of my apartment. Ryan and I headed to a rooftop bar in the Flatiron District, and the New York views (and perhaps the cocktails) brought a smile back to my face.
This city has its way of making you forget about the day's problems.
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