L’art de la Patisserie Practical Week 23
Practical week with Chef Patrice Caillot
Partner-Michelle Table 3 Kitchen 1
Monday
Career Services Day:
We had a lecture from an accountant and a lawyer. I did not learn anything new.
Joe D'Alessandro and Anne Kauffmann from career services had our final meeting of the program. I told them about my part-time position with CPCC, my plan to pursue certification and my hope that I could still find a way into Johnson & Wales. Chef Joe connected my to a woman who works for the American Culinary Federation and Anne asked me to forward the J & W email so that she could follow up. It was very fruitful.
Tuesday
Verbal Evaluation with Chef Sébastien:
9 out of 10
Perfect scores in attitude and organization and second best the others. He asked me about my future plans and asked me to follow up immediately by email so he could connect me to a former FPS intern and chef in Charlotte. She may be a good source for meeting people or finding a good work opportunity.
Chef Patrice gave me the name of a chef at Johnson & Wales and told me to specifically mention that he made the connection.
Exam Practice:
I worked on the soufflé. It came out well and I am baking and presenting tomorrow.
Michelle made isomalt and I worked on pulling a rose for the rest of the class. The key is to get the sugar cold while shaping the petals. My thumbs have blisters but I think they will heal by Friday.
Chef Patrice demoed Pâte de Fruits, Chocolate Caramel and Marshmallows.
There is a lot to do each day but if I break it down, it is not that overwhelming.
My plan:
Wednesday
First Day of Exam:
Today was a little chaotic. We have not had an exam in Kitchen 1 and there was not central location for scaling. This meant that you had to take many steps throughout the day to locate ingredients. I also decided to make a major change and scale as I went. This took up a lot of time. I am prepared to scale all of tomorrow's recipes at the beginning of class tomorrow. I made a chart so that I can easily scale things directly into the appropriate bowl, pot or deli cup.
My soufflé turned out well and I found out that I received at 97%. I used a large ramekin and it cracked on the sides. The inside was baked well and it was not soggy. It tasted good. I also buttered and sugared the ramekins more carefully so that the soufflé could rise evenly. Many people were going in and out of the oven so it took a very long time to bake.
I plan to bake the crème brûlée later in the day tomorrow so that the same thing does not happen.
I made the pâte de fruits and Chef Patrice said that it was too firm. I threw it away and plan to remake it tomorrow. I cooked it to 106ºc and will only go to 105ºc tomorrow. He would also like to see sucrose on the top of the pâte de fruit before it develops a crust.
I also saw my quiz scores and I did well but the questions I did miss were complete trick questions. They should throw them away because everyone got them wrong.
I have blisters on my thumbs so I do not plan to pull sugar until Friday. I hope they feel better by then.
Tomorrow should be more relaxing, since we do not have a quiz, but redoing the pâte de fruits is going to set me back a little.
I plan to make the pâte de fruits, marshmallow, pastille, chocolate cream and crème brûlée. I will bake the biscotti and present it on Friday.
Thursday
2nd Exam Day:
Today I worked on redoing my pâte de fruits. I cooked it to 105ºc and then held it there for a minute. The final product was softer and I think it will be good. Apparently, I used mango purée and not passion fruit. It was mislabeled. I hope that does not found against me.
My partner and I cooked and turned in our crépes at the same time. I received at 97%
The marshmallow turned out nice and soft and looks good. The chocolate cream was creamy and smooth and the mint pastilles were clear and minty.
I made the crème brûlée last and it looks good. I wrapped it and put it in the cooler to present tomorrow.
I presented the chocolate caramels. My partner said they tasted slightly burnt, at the end, but I asked Chef Patrice and he said they were not burned at all but that the cocoa paste was bitter. 97%. I also received a 97% on my mint pastilles.
This kitchen is very disorganized for scaling. The community table was a mess and Chef Patrice marked all of us down for organization. The dish was a mess. There are four people in the class who chronically leave their dishes and walk away. It does not even help to do dishes for other people because they keep accumulating. I do my dishes as I go. Very annoying.
Friday
Last Day of Exams:
Wow! I cut and presented my pâte de fruits and marshmallows immediately. 97% all the way around. Chef did not care that the flavor was wrong. I presented my crème brûlée and he did not like the quenelle. 94%
I started isomalt on the induction burner and got organized for sugar pulling. I have blisters on my thumbs so I wrapped them with tape and wore gloves. My thumbs hurt and I have more blisters. My rose turned out fine. I blew four pears and used two of them. I attached the wrong size disc to the dome but Chef Patrice said it was okay. It was not specified in our instructions. I glued my piece together and presented it to Chef. 94%
We did not have to do a deep clean so the week ended on a high note. Nine of us walked across the street for pizza. It was really fun to relax with my fellow classmates.
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