Sinus infections and pastry crust don't go well together

Monday, February 9th was my first day at ESCF-Ferrandi. All of the pastry and cuisine students, the chefs and the administrators met together and it was really interesting to see the mix of people in the international program. We were quickly separated into pastry and cuisine students and were given a tour of the school by our chef, Didier Averty. He's hilarious and is always cracking jokes about something or making fun of us. During our tour, we kept commenting about how big the school is and how we need a GPS just to find our classroom. After the tour, we were treated to a four course meal complete with kir royale (champagne with red current cream) and wine. Listening to our conversation at lunch, you could tell that we were in cooking school and very interested in food. As each dish came out, we analyzed it in minute detail...hilarious! The food was fabulous and by the end we were stuffed. 

Dessert - Wildberry Charlotte 

First meal at ESCF-Ferrandi

After lunch, our class (pastry) went to be fitted for our uniforms. Our uniforms consist of white caps, white chef jackets with our school name and our name embroidered on it, black and white checkered pants, orthopedic looking white shoes, and a long apron...pretty snazzy. 

Our pastry class has 10 people in it and none of us are from the same country. Germany, Kazakhstan, USA, Austria, Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and Scotland/Ireland are all represented and we range in ages from 20-34. 

Yesterday, we spent the day learning about safety practices, getting our tool kit (so cool!), getting familiar with the lab and trying out our first recipe, pate foncer (pastry crust). It was great to be in the kitchen and since we have such a small class, it's a great learning environment. 

Chef beating the dough into submission

Today was a busy day in the kitchen. We made tart shells, applesauce, apple tarts, and poached pears. Our chef is very particular and spent about 30 minutes explaining the most efficient way to peel and core the fruit and watched us to make sure we stuck to the method. At times, class gets frustrating because whatever you're working on doesn't turn out exactly right or like everyone else's or it's taking you longer, but luckily, everyone is incredibly helpful and we're always helping each other out. 

Chef working on his apple tart

My unbaked apple tart w/ homemade applesauce on the bottom...can't wait to taste it

I better turn in...we were in the kitchen until 7pm tonight and have to be back tomorrow at 7:45 and Friday morning at 6:30!! I also found out yesterday that I have a sinus infection (imagine starting culinary school with a fever, sore throat, headache, and a stuffed nose) which has made school even more fun. I'm learning early that even if you're sick, you're still in the kitchen. More to come soon...