And we only have one month left! I have so many pictures to show you all and I hope you enjoy them.
We played around with sugar a bit in the end of level two, including making nougatine baskets...
After the last chocolate showpiece, we had a pastillage showpiece, which is sugar paste. We had to make an 8 inch high stand out of sugar paste that could support a cake, including four gift boxes, and that followed a theme chosen by the class, which, in our case, was "Cities." I chose Siena, Italy...which I believe to be one of the most beautiful and magical city in the world. I think my project turned out quite well :)
Level 2 ended with one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences I have had yet at FCI, and in life for that matter. For two days, we were instructed by the mecca of cake decorating....the Brad Pitt of sugar paste flowers...Chef Ron Ben-Israel himself was our Chef instructor. Here is a picture of he and I...
We were warned, "Do not even breathe when he is here," "Only say 'Yes Chef' or 'No Chef,'" "Treat him with the utmost respect." Being that we are one of the, ahem, noisier classes, I believe our chefs just wanted to make sure we didn't completely screw it up. But, of course, we were on our best behavior and Chef Ron loved us! We were perfect students and ALL of us produced beautifully sculpted, realistic sugar paste flowers. Chef Ron was a class act...as well as hilarious!
Here are my flowers...a tulip, tiger lilly, and pink roses...
My artistic side was well fed that day :)
Level 3 has been a completely different experience. We are treated a bit less like students and given much more creative license. We are using all of the basic skills we have acquired thus far, and taking them to a much higher level. For instance, instead of just learning about chocolate, we made hundreds of bon-bons using flavored fillings of our choice! Such as espresso ganache, Grand Marnier, white chocolate passion fruit, cherry vanilla, and honey saffron...just to name a few. The art of chocolate is very fun, but very specific! You can tell by the serious expression on Hunter's face...
We made bon-bons galore for the whole school! As well as learned new techniques, like these beautiful chocolate butterflies...
We closed our final chocolate leveln with a final showpiece. This was to represent everything we have learned so far and was taken extremely seriously by all. Our theme was decades...
I was so impressed with my work. It was rewarding and motivating to see how far I have come after just a few months.
We then moved on to a second level of plated desserts. Our family and friends were invited (finally :)) to reap the benefits and have a sit down dessert tasting from the class. We spent two days preparing and it was such fun being able to share our skills!
My partner and I created a mini doughnut dessert (inspired by one of my favorite chefs, Zac Young, from Top Chef: Just Desserts) with three dipping sauces: a gianduja ganache, an ugli fruit reduction, and a rum glaze. It was delish! And very cute I might add...
It was great to see our class really shine! It was quite a production as you can see...
Currently, we are working on our final level of sugar. Sugar is an art, and it is difficult and dangerous!
Here is Chef Christopher demonstrating the poured sugar owl...
And here is my owl as well the beginnings of a pulled sugar flower
Even though we are winding down towards the end, we all still remember how to have fun! Our class is very talented...but we are also a bunch of goofballs... like Stephanie the resident, ahem, taste tester. Step away from the cake!
or when we all go out after class and let loose after a long day of cooking (sorry Hunter and Josee, I could not resist posting this one :))...
Even Chef Christopher can't keep a straight face sometimes! Can you blame him with all that butter?
24 more classes to go...stay tuned :)
