Petit Fours

Monday started my first class here at ENSP. Each class is a weeklong and we cover a certain topic. This week we were making petit fours. I was a little nervous at the beginning because I was not sure what to expect. However, it ran very much like my other labs back at JWU.

My chef was really nice, his name was Chef Richard. He has an Australian accent. He told me on the first day right after I met him that I was going to be the sous chef for the whole week. This meant I had to help him out and make sure the kitchen was up to par.

Chef Richard and I

The class began at 6 in the morning. This meant I had to wake up at 5 every morning to get ready and walk to the castle. From where I was living to the castle, it was about a 10 to 15 minute walk. Not only was today my first day of class, but we woke up to a blizzard and had to walk in the snow.

The Castle

As 6 o’clock arrived we entered the kitchen. It was nice and big and very different to the ones back at home. I was very much amused by both the refrigerator and the freezer. They looked like old boxes in the wall. We also had a dishwasher in the kitchen. This was new to all of us because we are usually doing all of our dishes by hand in the pot sink. Once we figured out how to use the dishwasher it was great!

Refrigerator and Freezer

Everyday we get a break for breakfast. We get a choice from fruit, cereal, and fresh bake croissants. I had Rice Krispies this morning, however I had to eat it in a stainless steel cooking bowl, and it reminded me of a dogs bowl! I also ate a chocolate croissant. Yummy French breakfast!

Though out the week, we made many different French petit fours. These included items like a Sable Breton, Pate a Choux, different types of Macarons, Canneles, Brownies Caramel, Financier Chocolat, and Smile Chocolate. We were given a formula packet for the week; each recipe was in French with English translation so we could get use to their language.

I also learned many new French words that relate to the kitchen this week. These include words like une maryse which is a spatula, un cul de poule which is a stainless steel bowl, un fouet which is a whisk, une triangle which is a bench scraper and une corne which is a bowl scraper.

The next three days, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were just as good as the first day! We continued to prep for the buffet that was held on Thursday with all of the different petit fours we made. Wednesday was also the first day of French class. For the whole time I am here I have to take 16 hours of French. Wednesday was the beginning of the first two hours. I was very confused the first day and had no clue what the teacher was talking about. He would ask was questions and we would have to respond. I had no idea what he was saying and I could not pronounce anything. It was not fun! However, the second day of French which was on Thursday was a little bit better. I figured out how to read both a bus and train schedule. We also learned our numbers and letters. I was feeling better after this day, as I was slowly beginning to understand the language. However, I still can't pronounce half of the French words!

Thursday was the last day of petit fours. We made some last minute chocolate decorations and put together the rest of the petit fours that we made all week. When everything was finished we put it all together on a buffet table to show off all of the products we made during the week. Other classes came in to check out what we made and to sample everything. Overall the buffet table came out great, and I learned so many new ways of doing things. I can't wait for my next class to begin next week!

I am looking forward to this longer weekend to travel and to catch up on sleep. Check back soon to see where I went this weekend!