Puff Pastry Week

Keeping up with the notion that the French like vacations, this past week my class, Anglo group A, had the Chef of Anglo group B as a teacher for the week. The differences in teaching styles were fascinating and really helped students in the class to realize that there are many ways to convey information and technical skills. The main focus of the week was learning to make Puff Pastry dough. On Monday and Tuesday we each made 5-7 separate batches of Puff Pastry dough, and used 2 of the styles of folding techniques on various batches. The differences were that we learned how to properly roll out and fold dough with butter inside, and vice versa. It was interesting how after the third time making the dough we all pretty much just started making the dough for memory. I think that is so important to be able to do. Puff pastry has SO many different applications, and this last week we just touched on a few. We made "cakes" which consisted of puff pastry and were filled with Frangipane, an almond filling. They were very good, and after making them realized they are pretty similar to a traditional King Cake of Mardi Gras. The other applications included making Chaussons, meaning slipper, which were individual bun sized puff pastries with various fillings and designs. The last application we made using puff pastry was the Mille Feuille, which I figured out after the description, is what many Americans refer to as a Napoleon. It is layers of puff pastry and pastry cream, with a liquid fondant and dark chocolate topping. It was very delicious, but quite sweet.

On Friday, our class got to set up a large table presentation of all of the various pastries we had all made from the entire week, and the other group, Anglo B, got to come view it, in addition to the colleagues of my teachers. The best part was when the teacher said "everyone, take as much as you want." Haha. I have never seen adults so eager to fill bags with pastries and boxes with tartes, then again, I haven't been in any situation where that was possible, and free.

The other group, Anglo B, took a Cuisine Catering class last week. That is what I will be taking this coming week. The teacher is very well versed in what he does, and it showed in their work. We went to view their setup, as they did ours, and they had made so many traditional French Cuisines I couldn't even imagine the amount of work that went into them. Everyone reading this will get to hear in depth about what the Cuisine entails, because I will be making it starting Monday. I'll update everyone Friday!

P.S. If you can, go to my Facebook page to view my latest photos from class. I just uploaded about 35 from this week.

Week 2

The second week had more to offer in different forms than I expected. What a relief! Not only are we (my other 9 classmates) and I taking French language and Pastry classes, we are also taking sparsely spread Bread workshops, Catering, Cuisine, Wine, Art study, and Food Technology. I am just amazed at how much the teachers know here. I have not had a teacher yet who has not taught at Ferrandi for at least 15 years, and that is so impressive and such a relief. Friday would have to have been my favorite day of classes this week. The whole week we had classes spread from 8am to around 5 everyday, but on Friday we had one class; Bread workshop from 1:30pm to 7:30pm. It felt strange waking up and running errands and then going to school, but class was amazing...The teacher was so knowledgeable and so good at conveying a lot of information in a respectable manner. We learned how to make traditional French bread, and what the guidelines are to make bread to actually be able to call it French bread. It was SO good. I have not eaten that much bread since I arrived, or ever for that matter. Chef Maurice was quite impressive. Next week we start off at 8am again, but we have catering all week. It's going to be all new classes again!

Wednesday: Day 3 of School

So, we learned a few things today. First, we learned how to make a basic dough for tart shells. It was an interesting method of mixing, but I was thoroughly impressed with the direction the Chef gave us and the final product. We will be rolling and forming the shells tomorrow. The cleaning standards in the school are absolutely impeccable! I cannot BELIEVE how clean we are asked to keep everything, but that is so impressive to me. Prior to even getting ingredients we sanitized all work surfaces, and when we were done, we HOSED down the entire kitchen, granite counters, fridges, floors, and all, and squeegied it all dry! I'm very inspired to achieve a whole new level of cleanliness. I so look forward to wine tasting class on Friday! We also took a short placement exam today for French lessons, so I am very excited to learn the French language of the kitchen. Fellow classmates and I share such a passion; it is interesting how everyone is SO different, has different aspirations, different pasts, and different personalities, but we are ALL there for the same reason: we want to become better pastry chefs. I really think this next 5 months will go by too fast with how much I am already loving class and my classmates. I am in the process of planning a Valentine's Day dinner and movie for Sunday, so I am very excited to have not only patisserie students, but cuisine students as well visit the apartment and go out into the city and get to know one another. Well, I'll update on the wine class. Can't wait!

Week 1: Day 1 of School

So, the first week in Paris was pretty up and down. It involved a lot of walking, not a lot of talking, in English, and more types of pastries and foods a person could wish for. The little grocery stores with fresh bread and produce make me wonder how we ever got by in the U.S. without them, and the Cafe's and Brasseries lining the streets offer the largest variety of local cuisine and coffees. I ventured down Sebastopol, the main road near my apartment here, and I have decided it is definitely my favorite main road so far. Rivoli is nice, and it is close to the river and the Louvre, also leading to Laduree and Angelina, but it is just too touristy, and I prefer this area of the 3 arrondissement with local shops and cafes. Note for the future: don't go north of the apartment after 10pm. Not bad...just colorful. Today was the first day of class, and it was AMAZING. We all went into a large room with the entire cuisine and pastry program of Anglo (English) speaking students, even though less than 1/4 of them were native English speaking. It makes me feel like I haven't done my part in learning additional languages when most of my classmates come to Ferrandi to have classes in English, their second language, and have to learn French in addition to it all.

The teachers are amazing, all so talented and nice. The lunch provided was actually quite good, and they make a rather delicious Saccher torte. The winding halls of the 5 story, including basement, school will probably prove to make me late to class a few times if I don't remember my map! I was SO impressed with the uniforms and supplies we were provided with. My knife kit included things like a bench knive, whisk, pastry brushes, and so many more tools necessary for utilization in the pastry kitchen, ALL engraved with my own number so I don't have to ever worry about losing them; and mine are all numbered 1! Luck I suppose.

Tonight I had my first guest in the apartment. My friend Aya from class, she is from Chicago and lives near the school, she came over to see the apartment and we went to do some shopping for her and decided the produce looked too good to pass up. We settled for a large dish of Greek Salad with fresh French bread, greek olives and feta, and oil and balsamic. We finished it all with some Sauvignon blanc wine and some classical music. I must say it was pretty enjoyable to have company and enjoy a nice fresh and homemade meal.

Tomorrow we finish with our introductions to the school and tour the additional classes. We will get to go into the kitchens, and I am SO hoping to get a Macaroon or two :) Wednesday we start classes for real, and I am very glad I am in group A, because my classes are from 8 to 5, as opposed to 10 to 7! Wish me luck everyone!