Bready for more.

Bonjour!

I'm seriously loving France (and breads, apparently...). It's just so incredible here. I wish you were all here to experience it with me, but sadly you are not.. I'm slightly missing home lately, even though it's like freezing cold, I'd still love to be there and complain with you all guys! Hopefully you're all checking in on my blog and can sort of feel like you're here with me. :)

Also, quick shout out to my mom for sending me an AWESOME care package. I got gold fish, kraft mac and cheese, mandarin oranges, beef jerkey, and wasabi and soy sauce almonds. What 'a lady!

Anyways, back to school things....

This week we had bakery lab. Bakery lab consists of breads and viennoiserie (which is classic French breakfast items, mainly made of puff pastry dough). This was one of the top three favorite classes from JWU so I was really excited. Then, when I noticed my Chefs last name was Baccon I knew it was going to be a good lab. I mean, when has bacon ever steered you in the wrong direction?? Hah The only down side was that our two groups had switched time slots so we had afternoon labs which go from 1pm - 8pm instead of 6 - 1, which I really don't like. But, I had to tough it out.

Monday we made; pate levee feuilletee (puff pastry dough) which ended up making croissants and chocolate filled croissants, pain de tradition sur pate fermentee (baguettes), pain aux figues (fig bread), le tranchoir (sour dough bread), and creme patissiere (pastry cream). The class went by pretty quickly, even though it's slightly hectic because we had so many breads in so many places and you have to do a lot with each bread. Each dough we would mix, rest, scale, preshape, rest, or fold and rest, then do the final shape, proof, score, and bake. (phew!) So as a result, in class we'd have fifty different timers going off and if you didn't have them labeled properly or knew what step you were on it could become a wild goose chase. Luckily, Chef has a sixth sense when it comes to bread and could tell you without even looking at any dough what needed to be done. It's amazing! He would even make a comment about needing to fold or take a dough out and you'd look at your timer and it would have 30 seconds left. Such a talent, and he is TRULY passionate about what he does. It's such a great feeling to be learning something so technical, so easily from someone who is absolutely and completely in love with what they're doing. It makes you love it even more!

Tuesday we baked our tranchoir (sour dough) because it had to proof over night, we made creme patissiere et garniture puor pains aux raisins (rum raisin roll), pain viennois (similar to white bread), pain au lait (milk bread), and pain au graines (seeded baguette). We also mise en placed (prepared ahead of time) ingredients for the other breads we were doing wednesday and thursday). The tranchoir was AMAZING. I love-love-LOVE sourdough breads, so it was one I was really looking forward too and boy - I was not disappointed. The smell alone is just incredible. The seeded baguette was also really delicious. I usually don't like seeded breads because of the texture of the seeds and chewy bread but this was delightful. It had sunflower, toasted sesame, poppy, and quiona seeds.

Wednesday we made brioche (sweet, buttery egg based bread), pains aux ingredients (ingredient bread), pain aux noix-settes (bread with walnuts and hazlenuts), pain de campagne fantaisie (bread with some whole wheat flour, mainly used for learning shaping techniques), and brioche royale (brioche dough mixed with candied fruit peels, nuts, and rum). In class we got to shape the brioche which is always fun, and the ingredient bread was really interesting. Each group had a different bread to make and they were all so delicious. There was comter lardons (cheese and bacon), miel raisins et noisettes (honey, raisin, and hazelnut), chocolat blanc (white chocolate), abricot et noisettes (apricot and hazelnut), pommes camenbert (apple and cheese). Each ingredient bread was shaped differently which helped create a variety for our final product buffet.

Thursday we finished up all our products and deep cleaned the kitchen. Lots of nooks and crannies to get flour out of! (I'm still trying to get it all out of my phone..) We also made brochettes (three different flavors of bread on skewers, cheese, bacon, and olive), focaccia (flavored bread), pain de meteil (whole wheat bread with a unique design), epis bacon (small baguettes filled with mustard and ham, shaped), cheese buns, tomato roll, olive roll, and cheesy volcano bread. The final buffet was spectacular. I've never seen anything so amazing in my whole life. There was such an array of breads. And it was just amazing to see what we had created and accomplished in such a short amount of time. It was all possible because bread is so versatile. You can start with one dough, split it up, and create a bunch of entirely different final products. It's just a delicious blank canvas you can mold into what ever your heart desires.

There was so much bread.

Sadly, I don't think I will ever be able to eat Big Y "french" or "artisan" breads again in my entire life. This class (and just being in France, in general) has really turned me into quite the bread snob. Hah even the "worst" bakeries in Yssingeaux have incredibly fresh and delicious baguettes available daily.

This class was truly amazing though. I really learned a lot about breads and got a lot of practice with shaping the dough. I also got a lot of practice with eating the bread...

Viennoiseries

Array of breads

Chef and some girls from class

Cheese and bacon bread hanging over the buffet

Chef and I

I seriously wish I could appropriately capture just how large this buffet was.

We used five work benches to achieve this, I'm pretty sure it was close to 20 feet long.

Well now that I've overloaded on carbs for the past four days..I'm looking forward to a week long cleanse. Just fruits, veggies, and light proteins for this girl! This class definitely helped me pack on the pounds, so I have some ground to make up. Hah 

Just now realizing it's like 12:30am here... this has been a long blog post. 

Well, thank for making it this far! (IF you even did. hmmmm) 

Au revoir for now. :)

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Second week of classes done. Obviously, it was ice cream! Going into this lab I had a different picture in my head of what we were going to do. I thought back to JWU and our ice cream labs and how all we did was literally make ice cream, and one baked alaska. So I had assumed that this  lab was going to be similar to that. But, boy was I wrong. And I'm glad I was wrong because this class was awesome.

Monday I actually didn't start lab, our lab classes are only four days a week so I either have Monday or Friday off from lab. On Monday I had a first aid class where we just learn about CPR and how to treat cuts and burns. It's all pretty dry material, so it's difficult to pay attention to a four hour class. And the teachers don't speak English so we have a translator in the class. We also had a four hour food science class that I thought was going to be interesting, but it was actually more like food safety and it was terrible. I was basically falling asleep through both classes, I felt kind of bad.. but I wasn't the only one. Hah

Tuesday we started lab, I had the same Chefs as the last lab so it was nice to already feel comfortable in the kitchen with them. In class we learned about what we would be doing all week and then we started production. Each day we don't finish a complete dessert, instead how they organize it is that we make different components of all the desserts throughout the week and on the final day we assemble them all and present a buffet. So on Tuesday we made chocolate sponge cake, almond sponge cake, pistachio sponge cake, chocolate sablé dough (tart dough), pâte sucreé (shortbread), and macarons. It was actually a pretty fun class, and I'm glad that we weren't just going to be churning ice cream but we were going to be able to make complete desserts using ice cream.

Wednesday we made a lot of different ice cream and sorbet bases. We made pear, orange, kalamansi (very tart citrus), and strawberry sorbet bases. Then chocolate, green tea, pistachio, and pina colada ice cream bases and also parfait glacé vanille (sabayon and whipped cream mixed together and frozen). Sorbet and ice cream bases are just ice cream/sorbet before you churn it, and you make it ahead of time because you have to cook it so then it needs time to chill and mature before churning it. We also made more macarons.

Thursday we started assembling some of the final desserts and finishing up last minute components. We cut the sponges to the appropriate sizes, we assembled macarons, churned all our ice cream and sorbet, made whipped coconut ganache, made caramel ginger coulis, and cocoa nib nougatine. Class was actually pretty hectic and a little busy but it was fun and made it go by quickly.

Friday we went into class an hour early to make sure we finished everything on time and weren't rushing at the end of class and could set up the buffet and take lots of pictures. Everything came out so amazing. And it all tasted sooooo good! The final products were; 
Coupe glacee Pina Colada - in a martini glass made with pineapple granite, pina colada ice cream, whipped coconut ganache, tuile, and pineapple chip 
Orange mecanique - made with chocolate sponge, dark chocolate, and a macaron filled with orange sorbet and chocolate ice cream
Sencha - almond sponge cake with green tea ice cream, kalamansi sorbet, caramel/ginger coulis, and a sugar disc on top
Tenue de soiree - pistachio sponge with chocolate ice cream, pear sorbet, chocolate tart base, and cocoa nib nougatine
Fiesta - made with short bread, vanilla parfait glace, sesame nougatine, chocolate ice cream dipped in chocolate and toasted almonds, pistachio ice cream macaron and a strawberry sorbet macaron.

Everything was so amazing and incredible and I really liked the Chefs and I feel like I really learned a lot this lab about incorporating ice cream into desserts.

On Saturday we took a train to Granoble and walked around town. We had plans of seeing a rugby game, but had the dates mixed up so we ended up just going bar hopping and it was so much fun. We ended up at this one place called The London Pub and they were playing American music and we were all dancing and singing and drinking. It was a lot of fun. Tomorrow I start breads/viennoiserie which is croissants and other breakfast desserts made with puff pastry. I'm so excited to start. This was one of my favorite labs at JWU so I can only imagine how it will be in France!


View from my out my window the other morning.

Orange mecanique

Chocolate popsicles

Sencha

Fiesta

Tenue de soiree

Fiesta close up. This dessert was seriously incredible

coupe glacee pina colada

Me with Chef Jerome and Chef Pierre

Lyon

     Saturday morning we all woke up around 9am and got in a 9 person van to head off to Lyon. It was about an hour and half long drive but it seemed to go by so quickly because the drive was beautiful! Once we got there we had a little trouble finding our way to the hostel, but we went winding up this big hill to see the most beautiful view and our hostel! There were 13 of us from the school visiting Lyon together, 9 of us rented a van and then 4 other people drove in a separate car. At the hostel we stayed in three rooms, one room that housed six people, one for four, and one for three. I stayed in the room with six people. It was the cutest little place. It wasn't even like anything I had been expecting. You walk in and there were two sets of bunk beds immediately against the right wall, a shower and sink to your left, a window over looking the city straight ahead and a stair case above the sink that led up to a loft with two beds and a sink. They also had a bar and a kitchen available along with a large sitting area to just relax and use the free wifi. There were people from all over there. I guess these types of hostels are very popular in these types of areas because they're cheap (20 euro) and convenient. All the backpackers that travel around Europe stay at these very frequently, so it was cool to see the types of people that come through there.
   

After we dropped off our bags we headed into Old Lyon and walked around there. We went into an old church that was covered in pictures made entirely of tile. It was amazing. All the old buildings are so intricate and detailed.

Selfie I took with Kendall over looking all of Lyon.

Beautiful hanging lights in front of a cuterie in an open market in Lyon. The whole market was amazing. It was just booth after booth of fresh meats, cheeses, desserts, seafoods, and wine. It was basically a farmers market in doors, so incredible. The amount of fresh foods that they offer here is amazing, they have little to no processed foods in these places. Such a change from American markets.

Me and a few other girls stopped at one of the booths that also had seating for some seriously fresh food. We had oysters, shrimp, bread, and supposedly the best butter in all of France. The oysters were so SO good. They were so much sweeter than they are in the states. And the butter really was the best butter I've ever had. (And yes, that sounds weird because who even thinks that much into butter... but it was so good. Had so much flavor packed into it!) 

After we left the market we went back to the hostel to get ready for a night out on the town. We headed into Lyon and found a place for dinner. We had some slight difficulties because we were a group of 8 and trying to eat with out a reservation. We ended up at a place called Pique Assiette, we order three bottles of wine for the table and some people got appetizers. There was french onion soup, poached eggs, veal terrine, and an assorted meat sampler. We all shared and let everyone try everything, it was really exciting eating with fellow foodies like that for the first time. Once our entrees came out it was like a feeding frenzy. We were all gasping and oohing and aahing at the plating and flavors. I got ravioli with three different sauces; mushroom, pesto, and cheese. The mushroom and cheese one were delicious and creamy, but the pesto one I didn't care for as much. Other people got braised lamb, prawns, blood sausage shepards pie, lentils, and pig intestine. We didn't realize it was pig intestine until we googled it when we got back to the castle the next day, but we all tried it so.. hah It tasted like petting zoo! Everything else was delicious though, the lamb was really seriously good. We also got some desserts, naturally, there was creme brulee, sorbets, and a souffle. It was all SO good. After we left dinner we walked around hopping from bar to bar, until it got too late and headed back to the hostel. The view at night from the hostel was simply breath taking. (pictured above)

The next morning we went into town to grab a quick bite to eat, I got a ham sandwich on freshly baked bread and a coffee milkshake. I thought that I was ordering 'iced coffee' but then a milkshake came out, so I went with it. Hah Then we walked around and visited a pretty well known chocolate shop 'Chokola' it was so magical. They had roughly 30 different flavors of small chocolates you can buy, and they also had an entire wall that looked like a book case just filled with different kinds of chocolate bars. I walked out only spending 14 euro and I don't know how I managed that one! They also had an entire dress made out of chocolate, a chocolate water fall, and freshly made marshmellows!

After the chocolate shop we walked up the street some to another market, all these markets are so bright and beautiful and lively. Its so amazing to see all these people with their wicker baskets picking up fresh produce for the day. It appears that they have the opportunity to do so every morning! After the market we tried to find this really cool book store, but then they were closed so we made our way to a cafe for a light lunch. I got a salade lyonnaise that was mesculin greens with tomatoes, lardon (bacon), poached eggs, and croutons, it was so simple yet really fresh and delicious. Plus it was nice eating some healthy greens after all the bread and chocolate I had consumed through out the day. 

Today I didn't have lab, which was kind of a bummer. And it snowed last night so it's been really cold here. But today I had to take a food science class that was four hours long and then we had lunch, and a first aid class that was also four hours long. It is damn near impossible trying to listen to people that barely speak any English for four hours, I felt bad, but I was basically falling asleep the entire time. And I think I'm getting sick. So hopefully it's nothing serious and just a stuffy nose, but I'm drinking lots of water.

Well, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I start a week of ice cream labs, excited to be making lots of ice cream bases this week! Au Revoir!

 

First week of classes

I have been so busy! On Monday I started class, 6am, we took a placement test that consisted of answering 10 questions about basic pastry techniques and then we had to make eclairs, pastry cream, lady fingers, and creme anglaise. One of my chefs barely spoke english so it's a little difficult but throughout the week he learned a lot more. 

After class we went to a first aid class that was taught by two ladies that don't even speak English. So a lady from the school had to sit in and translate, it's very difficult to pay attention to people when you don't understand anything they're saying! During class our chefs came in to inform us of our grades from the placement test, and turns out that they had to fail the whole group because most people weren't up to par with the experience they require for the perfecting corse. (So it was basically all or none) so this week they gave us a week long review of the basic classical French techniques. Then on Friday they would retest us and see who had the potential to move onto the perfecting course. (three people would have to drop down to level 1 after Friday) I had been relatively confident about my placement test so it was a huge shock to me to hear the news. 

Tuesday in class we made eclairs, tart dough, lime custard, and pastry cream. It's all things i've done before at Johnson and Wales so it wasn't anything new to me. The whole school is very similar to JWU so I got the hang of things very quickly. After class we went to a demo put on by a professional pastry chef, he made all sorts of entremets. The demo was four hours long and he didn't speak any English, there was just an assistant chef there translating for him. It's very difficult not speaking French here, but I'm starting to pick up bits and pieces. 

Wednesday in class we just did more eclairs, filled them, glazed them, ate them. THEY'RE SO AMAZING. We also prepped stuff for our paris-brest (ring of pâté a choux) and our charlotte (entrement with lady fingers, cream, and fruit). 

Thursday in class we finished our Paris-brest and lime tart. The lime tart was topped with raspberry meringue which was seriously incredible. The paris-brest is filled with a parliné mousse that I wish I could explain how delicious it is. EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD. IT KILLS ME. Then after class today I did laundry, in my shower, because the laundry mat charges 8€ for a load of wash and then .5€ for 5 minutes of a dryer! Insane. I feel so broke over here. Hah today I also had the best lunch I've had here yet. It was beef in gravy with mushrooms and carrots, with couscous that had bell peppers, onions, and cilantro in it. 

Today in class we finished up all of our products from the week and displayed them on a buffet table. Everything came out awesome. We had napoleons, lime tarts with raspberry meringue, charlottes, apple tarts, and paris-brests. It's all so incredible and I was actually really happy about all my product. After class we got re-evaluated and my chef tried convincing me that I failed and had to drop down to level 1. It was not very funny! Hah but they said that I'm doing well, and obviously perfecting course material. (I don't know why I was even nervous!) 

Tonight we're all just hanging out (and drinking!) they drink wine like it's water over here. It's amazing. lol this weekend we're renting a mini bus and driving out to Lyon so I'll be off the grid all weekend but I'll try to post on Monday. It's getting really busy around here (which is a good thing!)

I'm missing home just a little bit, but I'm trying to stay busy since it's still so early! Hah I can't believe it's only been a week, I feel like I've been here forever!

Le Puy

Yesterday morning about 13 of us walked into Yssingeaux and caught a bus to Le Puy. It was only about 40 minutes away. Once we got there we found all the markets in the center of town. They just had booth after booth of clothing and shoes. We walked a little more into town and found farmers markets. It was so amazing. There was so much incredible food. Fresh produce, cheese, sausage, cured meats, and bread. They also sold live chickens and rabbits. They had crepe carts and a cart that had about 100 rotisserie chickens cooking. The smell was unbelievable. And I had the best clementines I've ever had. 

So we walked around Le Puy all day long. It's so beautiful there. All the roads are cobble stones and the buildings are close together. It's all so picturesque. The buildings all have shutters and theyre all so brightly painted. I'm slightly obsessed with all the shutters. It's just so cute. 

We also walked up a giant mountain to a castle that was once a church. The view at the top was unlike anything I've ever seen. The weather has also been perfect. It's been sunny and 48. 

We literally walked around Le Puy for 10 hours and we weren't planning on staying that long but we had to because the next bus wasn't until 6pm. And I wasn't wearing appropriate shoes so that kind of sucked but I survived!

Today we didn't really do much. Just explored Yssingeaux some more. Classes start tomorrow, I almost forgot that I'm actually supposed to be here doing school work! Hah 

And so it begins..

Today I had orientation. We got our toolkits which are actually better than the ones I got at JWU. It includes star tips, circle tips, circle cutters, whisks, spatulas, knives, spoons, thermometer, pastry brush, and bench scrapers. We introduced ourselves and got to know everyone a little more. There are 23 JWU students and 22 students in my program (the French pastry winter class). Everyone is from everywhere, it's so awesome to be immersed in such a diverse group. There are people from Iran, Australia, Bangkok, China, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, and two other people from the states. Everyone here is so nice!

We traveled into town today, it's called Yssingeaux. It's so cute and amazing. There's so many shops and places to go.  We ventured out to the super market and I got to spend euros for the first time. Kind of intimidating but a lot of people in the group are helping me learn French. There's a lot of live stock around here, donkeys, chickens, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, cats. It's really quite nestled into the country side. The school is surrounded by mountains. The center of town is only a quick 15 minute walk from the school, so it's nice to be this close. 

Tonight, we're staying in and having a wine tasting. Each person in the group bought a bottle of wine, so we're all sharing. People also brought bread, crackers, chocolate, cake, sausages, and Mexican candy. It's really awesome to see how kind and generous everyone is. We're 'cheers-ing' at everything, and everyone is just trying to figure out everything about everyone. I have a feelings we're going to be such a family and it's really comforting. 

We all have the entire weekend off, so tomorrow we're taking a bus into Le Puy for a farmers market and to explore some more. 

Well, back to tasting wine! :)

Finally!

Wow. What a day it has been. I feel like I've literally been traveling for a week. When I got to the airport in Paris I walk into the main departure area and there's a bunch of flight attendants all dressed up passing out chocolates and a band playing. It was definitely a sight to see. The airport was huge and slightly confusing. I also had to lug around my two 50 pound bags because I didn't have any coins to use for a cart. Once I found my gate I stayed there for three hours. Hah Luckily there was a larger bathroom there for me to change and freshen up, because that seven hour flight was awful. I don't think there is any possible way for a person to get comfortable in those seats!

Once I arrived in Lyon I was supposed to meet up with the coordinator from the school and I had no such luck. While dragging 100 pounds and freaking out slightly I ran into a girl that happened to be going to the school as well. And she had coins! So we got carts and walked around the airport looking for a woman in a blue jacket for an hour and a half. Once we found them we only had to wait a half hour for the bus to arrive. Then it was just one last hour long ride and I would finally be there! However, the bus kind of got stuck going around a turn and delayed us for about a half hour... Finally around 8pm we got to the castle and got dinner. It was lasagna with salad and fresh rolls. 

I then found out I had to drag my luggage up two flights of stairs to my room. Needless to say I took three trips. Hah the room is okay, pretty small and not much extra space. The closets are kinda tiny but I will definitely be able to manage. 

Well, now I'm all unpacked and showered and ready for bed! I have a long day of orientation tomorrow, and then I start classes Monday. I'm just ready to be back in the kitchen!

Bon voyage!

Bonjour!

I'm currently sitting in the airport waiting to board. I have a seven and a half hour flight to Paris, a two hour layover, and then a two hour flight to Lyon. In Lyon I will meet up with people from the school and we'll take a bus to Yssingeaux which is where the school is. The name of the school is Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie which is the national school of pastry. This is a program I had learned about through Johnson and Wales. They offered it as an internship option, but at the time I didn't apply for it. So then a few months ago I appiled directly to the school, got accepted, and now here we are! 

So when I get there I have to take a placement test and I will either be placed in the beginner course or perfecting course. I'm living at the school, it's basically a castle. It's so cool! I have classes for two months and then I'm doing a month long internship. I'm unsure of where though, I have to apply to places when I get there. 

I am so nervously excited about this whole experience. I am just so ready to be in France already. I can't wait to learn all about French pastries and to share it with all of you, of course!!