Graduation!

We survived the Final Exam.  We didn’t get failure calls from Student Services. My family had arrived safely.  It was finally time to graduate!

The exam was on a Tuesday (December 18^th) and my family’s flight was scheduled to arrive on Thursday afternoon.  I was so excited for them to come!  I cleaned the apartment, Chad and I made Christmas cookies, and I made cute little menus for our apartment: a drink menu (water, tea, espresso, soda, Kool-Aid, Milk, White Russian, Rum and Coke…) and an extensive dining options menu that outlined formal and informal places to eat in Ottawa, with a short description, and price range for each.  We picked my family up at the airport, and were ready for a fun Ottawa time.

I’ll talk about all the fun we had in the next post – this is the Graduation story!

Le Cordon Bleu graduation ceremonies are typically held at the Château Laurier, a historic castle-turned-hotel near Parliament.  Since our class was so large, this December’s ceremony was to be held at the National Gallery of Canada, an art gallery which we had visited during our visit last March.

I got ready in my family’s hotel room at the Château Laurier, doing my hair in a cute little updo (which I practiced a few times prior to keep myself motivated while studying), and put on snow boots for the walk, careful not to get my dress pants wet in the snow.  I had chosen a pair of patterned dress pants and white heels to wear with my chef jacket to mirror our uniform.  Mom ironed my jacket, so it was extra-crisp, and we carried it separately so my winter coat wouldn’t wrinkle it.  I packed my cute white heels into a separate bag, and we were off.

We were lucky there were signs - we had no idea where
to go

The gallery was only about four blocks from the Château, and it snowed during our entire walk.  When we arrived (early, as usual), we checked our coats (and my boots) and followed the signs into a lovely room outside of the gallery’s auditorium.  The room was directly under a serenity pool and the ceiling was made of glass so that the water was visible and its reflections and little waves danced on the floor.  Mom, Dad, Chad, and the boys went in to find a seat, and I waited in the watery room while my classmates gradually arrived.  We took a few photos (though not nearly enough, as I discovered) before we were herded into a small side room for our instructions.  Jeremie from Student Services gave us a brief outline of how the ceremony would be organized and where we were to sit, then were ushered into the large auditorium by class.

We took some photo ops before the ceremony, of course!

The Chefs and administration sat on the stage aside a podium and a large Le Cordon Bleu poster.  Opening speeches were made by Chef Philippe and Chef Hervé, the school’s new promotional video was premiered (you can see it here!  The back of my head is at 0:48), and it was time to hand out certificates.

The boys had my camera, and really enjoyed the Chefs'
accents during their speeches

When it was Basic Pastry’s turn, we were organized into alphabetical order by the stage.  I was first, so I walked, shook Chef Gilles’ and Chef Jocelyn’s hands, received my big envelope (which contained all of my grades from the term, none of which I had seen, my bronze pin, the professional class photo, and my Basic Pastry Certificate), and sat back down.  Evidently I didn’t pose long enough with the chef, because no one got a good photo of me up there, but that’s ok – better luck next graduation.

Shaking Chef Gilles' hand -- these were the two photos
the boys got of me on stage.

My family got to sit so close!

There were three more speeches, two by students and one by a special guest, and the ceremony was over.  It was party time!  The school had set up a nice cocktail reception for us out in the room under the pool.  There was champagne and soda and juice, and servers walked around with trays of curious little foods.  This was mainly a time for more photos, getting pictures with this group of students and that group, and, most importantly, a photo with the Chef.  I got to introduce my family to friends they had heard so much about, and Chef Jocelyn even spoke with my parents about my performance.  He said that I just “have the aesthetic,” that he can tell I have a good eye for design and a knack for decoration.  He also said that I work hard and that he can tell I will do well in the coming terms – good to hear!

With Chef Jocelyn, our Basic Pastry Instructor, and our
glasses of celebratory champagne at the cocktail reception

The whole crew!

Leslie couldn't get out of his jacket soon enough

I was nervous to look at my grades, since I am familiar with the French grading system and the type of sticker shock that comes with it.  My friend Leslie offered to look at the same time as me, so we both opened our envelopes and peered inside together.  My grade was surprisingly low until I remembered how the French do things, and I felt a little better.  Upon a closer look later, I understand my grade  better, and am glad I didn’t freak out after that first look.

When the party was over, we trudged through the snow back to the hotel to put my shoes and certificate away, then we walked to Milestones (a restaurant across from the Château) for a lovely supper.  We were seated in the bar, which was really noisy, but it was still a fun time.

Dinner at Milestones after the ceremony was
a fun way to cap off the graduation

Christmas Break had officially begun!

Basic Pastry Exam

We were nervous, my friends and I, but we were prepared.  The day of the Final Exam had finally arrived.

I was too nervous to sit around at home and wait until it was time to come to school, so I left even earlier than usual (which is pretty early) and arrived a little over an hour before the exam was to begin.  I ironed my uniform, bought a crisp, clean new toque, and sat with my classmates, speculating about what was about to take place.

Our friend, Tanvi, had taken the exam the previous day, as each section had its own time block.  She informed us that there were only three different cakes in her practical, and three recipes to write for the “Bon d’Économat” portion.  Knowing which six recipes her section had, I assumed that we would have completely different ones.  The school must know that students speak amongst themselves about these things.  Knowing which recipes her section had made me a little nervous:  it seemed like the selection was the easier half of the exam list, and I didn’t like how that was sounding for our recipes.

In my preparations, I took special care to know the Lemon Tart recipe and procedure front and back.  I just had a feeling that it was going to be the recipe I drew, since it was the one I had the most trouble with in its practical.  Trying to brush off nerves, we finally walked upstairs to the room in which we would take the written portion of the exam: the Bon d’Économat.

The Pastry Chefs, usually chipper and all smiles, were serious and quiet.  Chef Jocelyn ushered us into the room where there was a large table with a white table cloth, and bid us to sit and wait until it was time to begin.  When the time came, he held up an envelope and said, “I don’t even know which recipes are in here.  Wait to open them until I tell you.” and he walked around the table, handing each of us a numbered envelope.  We opened them and began.

My recipe was the Mirroir au Cassis, and I was pleased.  I would have done just as well on any other recipe, I think, after my incessant studying.  I flew through the recipe, double-checked it, and was the first to hand it in. 

Being the first to finish, I also had the first pick of envelopes for the practical portion, which were fanned out, face down, at the end of the table.  I knew they would be numbered, and I had my eye on number 8, since I had guessed it was my usual spot in the kitchen.  With them face down, though, I just chose one near the center and returned to my seat.  It was number 9 – not bad!

Once everyone had chosen an envelope, in the order in which we handed in our written recipes, the Chef informed us that we would have 10 minutes to jot down some notes on the procedure after opening our envelopes and before heading to the kitchen.  We all opened and, sure enough, I was looking at a big, bold “Tarte au Citron.”  Lemon Tart, we meet again.

Just a few notes to keep me on track

As instructed, I wrote down an outline for the procedure, and all of my nerves dissolved.  I was all business.  When we filed into the kitchen, I discovered my guess for the station was correct: #9 was right next to my usual spot, #8.  We also had three recipes for the entire class, with four students performing each.  The others were the Christmas Log and Black Forest Cake.

On the counter in front of me was a stack of the equipment I would need: trays, a tart mold, a cake board, a lemon zester more powerful than the one in my knife kit.  I quickly added my personal tools to the pile, scaled my ingredients, and got started. 

Everything was going so well.  Making the pie crust dough was like a reflex, and I baked it beautifully.  The almond cream practically made itself, and the lemon cream, though it took longer than I remember, also didn’t pose any problems.

And then there was the Italian Meringue.  The first time we made Lemon Tarts, nearly the entire class failed the Italian Meringue at least once, resulting in a thin, runny mess that was impossible to pipe.  Eventually, most of us with the help of the Chef, we got it to work.  Since that day, we had made successful Italian Meringues many times, and I had chalked up my first failure to the fact that it was my first time.

I scaled my ingredients for the meringue and started making the syrup (which is poured into whipped egg whites while constantly whipping until the syrup cools and sets up).  I whipped the egg whites, tested the syrup, and did everything like I always do.  My meringue failed.  Once I saw that there was no saving the batch, I notified the Chefs (as instructed) and started again.

I scaled the ingredients, made the syrup, whipped the whites, tested the syrup, poured and whipped and…another failed meringue.  At this point, I was starting to get a little tense.  Time was ticking and all of the Black Forest students were finished, leaning against their clean counters twiddling their thumbs.  I turned and saw that all of the Lemon Tart students, including myself, had failed our meringues.  I could tell that the rest of the class was glad not to be in our shoes, but that they felt for us.  My friend Jen, who was right beside me and had finished her Black Forest; encouraged me, reminded me to breathe and calm down, and gave me time updates, which were a huge help.

I didn’t have time to make the meringue again, so I piped what I had.  It didn’t look terrible, but I knew it wasn’t quite right.  My hands were shaking as I sprinkled the top of the tart with slivered almonds and popped it into the oven for toasting.  I crouched on the ground in front of my oven, hardly able to breathe, and watched the tips of the meringue brown while I tried to calm down.  Chef Jocelyn walked by, telling Robyn (a classmate with the exact problem as me) and I that it would be fine, and that we had time to finish.

My tart came out of the oven within the last minute of the exam before it would’ve been counted late.  I quickly unmolded it, with the help of Jen, slid it onto the cake board, and sent it with Chef Hervé to be presented to the guest judge panel with a large “#9” sticker on it. I wish I had had time to take a photo of the tart, because I am sure that it looked a lot better than I remember.

We were exhausted, but we had done it.  No one was late.  Everyone finished their dessert.  The Lemon Tart students convened after we left the kitchen to discuss what happened, and it turns out that I was right: everyone failed their meringue.  Three out of the four of us failed it twice and piped failed meringue onto our tarts anyway.  I am still convinced that the proportions of the meringue recipe that accompanies the Lemon Tart recipe are off (how else could four people who consistently succeed at Italian Meringue all fail it with this recipe?).  I was nervous, but confident that I had passed.  I cleaned out my locker, changed out of my uniform, took my hair down, and went home.

Back at the apartment, all I really needed was to sit down and have a good cry.  The stress of the exam was overwhelming, and it was nice to get it out.  I think Chad was a little flustered by the water works, but it definitely made me feel better.

Then it was waiting time.  The school handles exam scores like this:  if you pass, you hear nothing and show up at graduation.  If you fail, you get a call from Student Services.  I never wanted my phone to be silent so badly!

Luckily, though, my friend’s landlord was one of the guest judges.  He informed her that everyone in Section A had passed, and she passed on the good news.  SUPER relieved, it was nice to be able to relax and prepare for my family to get into town for the graduation ceremony.  I had done it.

Down to Business

As the Basic Pastry exam approached, it was time to really crack down on the studying. Two weeks before the exam date, a list of the 10 exam recipes was released, and we were told how the day would play out.  This is how it was going to work:

We would all arrive, in freshly-pressed uniforms and new toques, at a small demonstration room upstairs. We would each draw an envelope containing the name of a dish we were expected to memorize, and would have 30 minutes to write the recipe for that dish from memory and turn it in to the chef.

Ten minutes later, we would draw another envelope that contained the name and quantities of ingredients for another dessert from the exam recipes list.  We would all enter the lab kitchen at the same time and perform this dish from memory, with three chefs circling the kitchen and taking notes on our techniques, organization, and hygiene.  After 2.5 hours, we would anonymously present what we had finished to a panel of guest judges who would grade us on appearance and taste.

I was relieved to hear that we were provided the quantities of ingredients for the practical portion of the exam, as I had begun studying as if we would just receive the name.  What a relief!  Nevertheless, I made flashcards (one for each recipe’s quantities, and one for each recipe’s procedure) and set out to memorize 10 complete recipes in 14 days.  I was terrified by comments Chef Jocelyn made, like, “Presenting something that is terrible and ugly is better than presenting nothing.  At least with an ugly cake you get points.”  Deep breath, Erin.  Memorize.

This was our exam recipes list:

• Charlotte aux Poires
• Pavé du Roy
• Tarte Soufflée/Gratin de Fruits
• Tarte au Citron
• Éclairs et Religieuses
• Succès
• Bûche de Noël
• Miroir au Cassis
• Gâteau Forêt Noire
• Saint-Honoré

Piece of cake, right?...(shudder of fear)

Pastry Update #3

Basic Pastry is officially over.  Well, not quite, seeing as we still have our big scary exam to deal with this Tuesday, but today we had our final demo of the term.  That makes this my final Pastry Update of the term, rounding out all of the pastries we discovered in these three months.  Enjoy!

Leçon 13

In lesson 13, we encountered our first (of many, evidently) mousse cake.  The concept seemed junxtaposed, (with the term “cake,” I usually picture something solid and spongy, the definite opposite of what I picture for the term “mousse”) but after the demo, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of cakes. 

In the demo, the Chef made a Mirior Cassis (shiny-topped black currant mousse cake) and a Mirior Citrons (a shiny-topped lemon mousse cake).  They both tasted fabulous, but I preferred the lemon one.  In the practical, we were to reproduce the Mirior Cassis, and it went well, overall.

Chef's Miroir Citron (bottom) and Miroir
Cassis (top)

Chef's Cassis

Chef's Cassis - how whimsical! 

My Cassis!

A little too much glaze, and my mousse wasn't quite as high,
but overall a job well done!

Leçon 14

This was the soufflée lesson!  I had been looking forward to this one, featuring those notoriously time-sensitive (and therefore expensive) desserts that I had only seen in fancy restaurants on family vacations.  I was intrigued by the mystery of making such a strange dessert, and it was fun to learn how.

In the demo, the Chef presented what I think of as a “soufflée,” the “Soufflée chaud Rothschild” (in an individual-sized ramekin, this specific one is kirsch-flavored and spotted with candied fruits).  He also showed us a Tarte Soufflée (a large tart with a soufflée built into the top) with Coulis (a sauce made from assorted blended fruits), and a Gratin de Fruits (fresh fruits in a cream with a thin torched-sugar crust).  We were to do the three latter recipes in our practical.

I was a little disappointed in the taste of a plain vanilla soufflée, but now I know how to make chocolate ones at home, which is definitely an experiment worth trying!

Chef's soufflées, fresh out of the oven

Chef's Tarte Soufflée

After about three minutes...

My Gratin de Fruits

My Tarte Soufflée

Starting to fall a little already!

You can see the Coulis inside

Leçon 15

Lesson 15 featured the Gâteau Basque (almond-flavored cream and fresh cherries incased completely in a crust) and Cake au Citron (lemon bread).  The Chef also showed us some basic shapes to make with marzipan, which we would airbrush during the next lesson.  We only had the Gâteau Basque and a few marzipan characters of our choice to do in the practical, so it was a pretty laid-back class.

Chef's Gateau Basque

Chef's marzipan "characters"

Chef's Lemon Bread (one with fresh cherries on top)

My Gateau Basque

Leçon 16

I didn’t come into this course expecting to learn how to make ice cream, so Lesson 16 was a wonderful surprise!  Ice cream is my favorite food, so it had me pretty excited.  This was also the Crème Brûlée lesson, and we learned how to use the airbrush, so I was all smiles the entire time.  The Chef demoed Soufflée Glacé Montmorency (an ice cream that doesn’t require an ice cream machine, and that looks like a little soufflée in a ramekin), Crème Glacée Vanille (vanilla ice cream), Sorbet aux Framboises (raspberry sorbet), Crème Renversée au Caramel (caramel reversed cream), and Crème Brûlée.  For the practical, we didn’t get our hands on any ice cream, but we did make Crème Brûlée and Crème Renversée, as well as airbrushing the marzipan characters we finished the day before.

Chef's Reversed Cream

Chef's Creme Brulees, vanilla and chocolate

Chef's airbrushing (sorry it's a little blurry)

My plate from the demo.  Clockwise starting at 9:00:
vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, vanilla creme brulee,
reversed cream, and chocolate creme brulee (center)

 The Practical went incredibly well for me!  I surprised myself with the ease of the airbrush, and was happy with the way my marzipan characters turned out.  The chef was also very impressed, and asked if I had any experience airbrushing (I don't).  When he came around to taste my Reversed Cream, he took one bite and seemed to melt.  He looked at me, nodded a few times, and just said, "Yep!...Oh...perfect!"  He then took the one he had taken a small piece out of, set it aside by his personal tools, and said, "I'm keeping this.  Not letting this one go" and smiled at me.  As we walked out of the room after class, he asked me a few details about how I did it; how long I kept it in the oven, the oven temperature, all with a mouthful of my dessert.  It was a wonderful compliment.

Our section's airbrushed characters.  Mine are
in the top left corner

My Creme Brulee, after struggling with the torch that throws
fireballs

My reversed cream - a huge success, even though one of them
broke

My airbrushed characters: a hedgehog, a pear,
a rose with three leaves, and a mouse.
We had green, yellow, red, and orange to work with,
so I made my mouse red.  Why not, right?

Leçon 17

In Lesson 17, Chef Jocelyn demoed the Pavé du Roy, an incredibly chocolaty 3-layer cake filled and topped with dark chocolate ganache; and the Entremets Casino, a very attractive cake that consists of little cake rolls meant to resemble poker chips surrounding a pear cream.  He also finished the Montmorency from the previous demo, since it needed to be frozen overnight.  We made the Pavé du Roy in the practical and, aside from most of us leaving covered in chocolate spatters and smears, it was a pretty simple cake.

Chef's Pave du Roy

Chef's Casino, in the shape of a log because it is Christmas time.
Usually, is it round and flat, like a cake

The Montmorency from the previous lesson

My Pave du Roy: a success!

Very chocolaty!  Chad loved it, but I couldn't have more
than a very small bite a day

This was our first experience with handmade chocolate decor.
I made these chocolate swirls!

Leçon 18

Lesson 18 featured the infamous Charlotte aux Poires, a pastry that is always on the exam list, and that requires the chef to open the demo with an “Architecture Lesson” complete with drawings of buildings and how they stay standing, with plenty of comparisons to this little cake.  It is a small cake lined with Lady Fingers and filled with the most delectable pear cream and pear pieces, but with a flared bottom, it is perilously constructed.  We revisited the Coulis in this lesson, just so we could serve it with the Charlotte, and the Chef also made an Entremet aux Poires (a cake, as we think of it in America, layered with pear cream and pieces of pears).

In the practical, we were all faced with the construction of the Charlotte.  One student had a little trouble, but no one completely failed the construction, and I found it easier than all of the scary hearsay suggested it was.

Chef's Charlotte

Chef's Entremet

My Charlotte

The Chef complimented me greatly on my piping, saying
that if I pipe this well during the exam, Chef Herve will be
proud!

Leçon 19

Our last pastry approached so quickly!  Throughout the term, Chef Jocelyn made it explicitly clear that the course is specifically formatted for us to learn the most difficult cake last so it can be fresh in our minds for the exam.  He talked it up like it was terrible and we would all fail in some fashion.  We learned that cake yesterday: the Saint-Honoré.  Though it didn’t look as scary in the demo as the Chef had talked it up to be, it still involved many of the elements we learned in previous lessons, so it is probably best that this choux-based pastry was left for last.

The Saint-Honoré has a shortcrust base that is surrounded by choux (cream puff pastries filled with Chiboust cream), filled with Chiboust cream, the most delicious but also most difficult cream in the French Pastry realm, and topped with caramel.

The Chef also demoed Paris-Brest, a favorite of one of my French friends that I was anxious to try.  It was so delicious that I will definitely be making this one at home.

The practical was only over the Saint-Honoré, and, though no one completely failed the cake, everyone had a little something that wasn’t quite perfect about it.  For me, it was the color of my caramel.  Overall, though, definitely a doable pastry!

Chef's Paris-Brest -- SO tasty!
(They're puff pastries filled with praline cream
and topped with toasted almond slivers)

Chef's Saint-Honore

My Saint-Honore (not sure why it's sideways)
The caramel is too dark and my "Angel Hair"
decor didn't work out, but it wasn't a complete
failure at all!

Each little puff pastry is filled with delicious
Chiboust, a light, fluffy vanilla cream

Leçon 20

Though we had learned our last pastry, we still had a demo today.  In it, Chef Jocelyn gave us the details on our final exam (coming up on Tuesday – wish me luck!), and gave us an example of an Intermediate Pastry demo.  He made a stunning (and mouthwatering) chocolate mousse cake with layers of chocolate and crunchy praline, and topped with the most beautiful glaze and chocolate décor.  He seduced us with the decorating techniques and arm-saving KitchenAid, and definitely got me excited to begin the Intermediate term.  I just hope, for eveyone’s sake, that no one who saw such a great demo today fails the exam and isn’t allowed to continue!

The bonus cake we got in our final demo!  A tantalizing preview
of what we can expect in Intermediate Pastry

In Intermediate, we will make a small, plated
version of all of our cakes.  Like this little guy!