I am so sorry for not writing in such a long time. Time has really flown by. Let me try to catch everyone up with me. This will unfortunately be the last entry for about 3 months. My stay in London is rapidly coming to an end as I have finally finished Superior Patisserie on the 8th of June. But I have decided to take some time off to regroup and take a much needed break for some R and R. Then in September, I will attend Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa to finish my Le Grande Diploma in superior cuisine and finally I will get the white hat!!! But I am getting ahead of myself.
These past few weeks have been exciting. My last full week of classes were for the tea party. We made numerous types of pastries and made tray after tray of overflowing sweets. It was nice. It got a little chaotic when we were all trying to assemble the trays of sweets, but in the end it was well worth it. We had one day of prep which lasted about 6 hours and the following day to put finishing touches on and set-up the room.
I was finally done with superior patisserie classes! I was so happy. I had about a week until my mother and her friend, Charlotte, came over. So I decided to sleep and just relax, doing whatever I wanted.
Finally, June 1st, mom and Charlotte came. We were on the go, sight seeing everything London had to offer. We went to Hampton Court, saw museums, went on tours and saw Portobello Road (it wasn't like Bednobs and Broomsticks), to name a few. We even went on a boat ride on the River Thames. It has been a wonderful time.
On Wednesday, 6th of June, I had to go back to school to do my final. Mom and Charlotte went on another tour to Stonehenge and some other places. My final started at 9:45 and ended at 3:45. I had 6 hours to cook - well, one hour of cold prep (I was not able to use any heat) and 5 hours to cook. I did it.
I finished on time and I was pleased with my products. We then stayed to clean up and get a debriefing from the chefs. I did not get home until about 6 and I was tired. It was a good long day, but now I am finally finished!
The next day I took it easy. I had to return to school to get a run down on my products. Chef Pascal said I did well. I got good marks and I should be proud of my outcome. There were about 40 of us and only 2 failed. That is the lowest amount yet. I didn't get an 89%, as I hoped, but I did well enough to pass and to graduate. So I was happy. No more LCB London.
On Friday, 8th of June, we got all gussied up and went to the Four Seasons
Hotel in Hyde Park for the graduation ceremony. We had canapes and champagne for an hour, then a three course meal before the actual ceremony started. I sat at table 11 with two kids from my group D and chef Pascal. It was a lovely lunch. We had wines and coffee and little sweets at the end. Then the ceremony began...Le Grande Diplomas were called first, then superior, intermediate and basic. It was great. I have a full diploma for completing the superior course and metal to show for it. I am so happy to be finished. Next step....the white hat and to complete Le Grande Diploma. The next couple of days were filled with sight seeing and on Sunday a proper English afternoon tea at Brown's Hotel. It was lovely! I highly recommend people doing this in London. Tomorrow we will go see Kensington Palace and gardens and just it easy....soaking up as much as London as possible. Tomorrow will be our last full day and then I AM GOING HOME!!!
This 3 month stay has been interesting. I've learned a lot in superior patisserie. I really enjoyed it when I was in the kitchen. I will not miss my house mother here, her constant nagging and complaining about life has reached the top. Since mom and Charlotte are here, they have been able to cover me, so I don't have to sit and listen. That has been nice. Anyways...it is time to say good-bye for awhile. But I'll be back in September to report on my final 3 month journey into becoming a chef.
