Week 10 & Week 11 (Superior Patisserie)

Week 10 - exam week! And week 11 - the final graduation!

Started early Monday morning for the practical exam. I felt fine the night before and woke up a complete bag of nerves...unfortunately the 3 grapes I forced down for breakfast made a sudden reappearance as I was getting ready to leave the hotel - that's how nervous I was! Got in the kitchen and had set up time, that seemed to go ridiculously quick and all of a sudden it was all systems go! I started off well and managed to keep up with my time plan, everything went ok until the last 20-30 mins. I had trouble shaping my tuiles and ended up snapping a couple, fortunately there was enough time to bake a couple more but they were tricky to shape as well...then I snapped one of the second batch! I was quite lucky in a way, they had to be the same shape and look identical and I managed to accidentally snap them in the same place!! Nerves got the better of me I think, because then I was fumbling with my chocolate dragonfly and couldn't get it to stick to the tuile, so that had to sit on the side. I came to remove the ring from my entremets and promptly burned the cake card with the blowtorch!! The chef gave me another one but I did the same again with that one - I gave up at that point and figured enough other things had gone right for me to just scrape through...especially after I was lifting the other cake card out of the way and ash from it fell on top of my entremets!! I was so disheartened at the end, but quickly saw the funny side! And all of a sudden that was it, no more kitchen sessions at LCB! I'd got the two plated desserts done and the entremets all on time, it's just a shame that the bits at the end clouded my judgement, everything else looked OK...I was pushing myself for perfection though, that's why I wasn't happy at first! Needless to say I was absolutely relieved to finish and completely exhausted at the end! 

Thursday was the written exam, it went well and didn't come as quite a shock as last terms one!! I managed to answer all of the questions and only guessed at a couple, despite having practically no time to revise! I was relying on absorbing lots during the term and luckily that served me well! 

Friday we were in for our debrief, after what felt like an absolute age of waiting it was finally my turn in front of the chef. He asked me how I was feeling and I admitted I was incredibly nervous, which he seemed a bit taken aback over! Not wanting to prolong the agony he reached over and shook my hand and said I'd passed and got a good mark too - 72.6%!! I was really happy with that, especially as the average seemed to be coming out at around 55-65%. He also said I'd done an excellent job on the portfolio - 93/100!! I was over the moon to hear that, it really made all the hard work and sacrificed weekends worth it. Those two marks only counted towards 30% of my overall term grade though, I still had to wait for graduation day (a whole week away) to hear what I'd got for the kitchen sessions (60% of the final grade) and the written exam (10% of the final grade). It was a long week to wait for graduation! 

Graduation day finally arrived, my family came down to London with me and it meant the absolute world to have them there. It was at the Intercontinental Hotel, very nice setting and to quote dad "a bit posh"! We started with a champagne reception and after another bore inducing speech from the principal (seriously just give us the script to read in our own time, leave the hard sell at the door and get on with what we're there for, Christ alive!!), it was finally time for the medals! We lined up and were each called in turn, I got mine and the big certificate and had pictures taken. Then we had a really nice lunch provided and had a drink at the pub afterwards. I was really happy to find out I'd got 76% for the written exam and 78.33% for the kitchen sessions! This brought my overall Superior Term grade to 76.38% and I could not be prouder! It means I managed to achieve over 75% every term! I gave everything to this course, my heart and soul were poured into it, I've learned so much and am really really sad it's over. But what a journey it's been! There have been lows and highs but I'm pleased to say the highs have far far far outweighed the lows, it's one of the best things I've done in my entire life. If anyone reading this is thinking of doing it - go for it, follow your dreams and don't think twice, it's a phenomenal course and you learn so much. I'm also extremely grateful for all the great friends I've made on the course, friends for life hopefully, and I'm really going to miss seeing them all on a regular basis.

So what happens next? Truthfully, right now, I'm not too sure! One thing is certain though, what started out as a mere hobby has turned into a burning passion, I have to do something with this course, it's given me an incredible foundation and absolute need to learn so much more. I definitely want to write out to a couple of places and get some work experience (chocolate shops and a certain local restaurant run by a very likeable French TV chef!), and I still want to open a patisserie business in the future. I'm excited for next year and the opportunities it'll bring, for now though, a rest (much needed!) and a relaxing Christmas break with my very special family! 

Didn't get to work in the kitchens with Eileen, however we had lots of demos and lectures together, so you get to know everyone...plus I really liked this photo!

One of my best friends from the course, so so proud of what we both achieved and she deserves every success in her future career. I'll certainly be supporting you all the way Helen!

Could not stop smiling after the medal was put around my neck! 

Thoroughly thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed working with these three. Simonetta (in the middle with me) was always smiling and laughing and a truly great person to be around, she'd be a pleasure to work with in the kitchen. Lorna and Sam are both superb pastry chefs and I've been hugely inspired by them throughout the course and wish them massive successes in their future careers. 

A few of my friends with one of the chefs I've grown very fond of, he's an incredibly nice chap and very good at helping you keep your cool and making sure you know you're supported...he's also one hell of a cake decorator! Chef, in case you ever read this, thank you for everything, you were amazing. 

Proud to have finally earned our medals!

My very good friends from the course, I'm going to miss them dearly. One of the things I wanted to get from the course, along with all the technical knowledge, was good friends - and these guys are friends for life, we've been through so much and had so many laughs along the way. You couldn't hope to meet a nicer bunch of people. I look forward to meeting up with them again over christmas and next year!

A very proud moment for both me and my family. I'm so happy they could all come, it meant the absolute world to have them all there. I didn't go to university, so this graduation was a really big deal for me!