Besides the massive amounts of bread we made this week, we also had our first exam, went on a field trip, watched ice sculpting, and went cosmic bowling. The test was hectic, mostly because it was completely unexpected, even for our chef... We had to create a classic and a modern tart, an ambassador cake, and a dozen eclairs in six hours. It was a bit stressful, we all had to share the kitchen aides and scales and one woman (who I can't imagine will continue to do pastry) actually had a break down because she was so stressed out. The world of pastry...

My ambassador cake - (pastry cream, genoise and strawberries) covered with green almond paste with improved chocolate writing

Yet another traditional apple tart
For our field trip we went to a village about 20 kilometers from Yssingeaux to visit a famous pastry shop and go wine tasting. The shop was beautiful and the wine was tasty. The wine store we went to sells amazing table wine out of huge vats in the back room for only a euro a bottle. After three tastings with the different groups from our school the owner was exceptionally giggly and started to give us huge glasses of wine straight from the vats.We headed back to the school for an ice sculpting competition between all of the chefs... apparently ice sculpture is a common skill amongst pastry chefs, again, who knew? What I found particularly hilarious was that the chain saw the chefs used was called the "Oregon" and was made in Salem. Other desserts created this week include:
The Saint Honore Moderne (choux pastry with mango cream in the center and a lemon glacage center, covered in macaroons... not my personal favorite

Chocolate tart with a dark chocolate ganache, almond cream center and rich sweetcrust, covered in molded pastry cream and pistachios

And my personal favorite... a cake I'm really proud of at least, a black forest cake, with a cherry coulie center. I brushed melted chocolate with red coloring, let it harden and cut it into shapes to decorate the cake. I dipped my cherry in glaze and even put a fleck of gold on the chocolate window... my advanced friends loved it and it was even chosen for the display case (Don't you love how modest I am?) This week was the first time that I really felt good about everything that I made. I can already feel my improvement.
Pastry people are my kind of people (perfectionists and hard working wackos who love to please others). Before coming here I had only toyed with the idea of pastry as a an actual profession, but its not something you can only sort of commit to. People that don't invest don't last and don't get jobs. You have to be really driven to make it in this industry and while I haven't decided that this is what I want to commit to definitively. I'm definitely loving it and can picture myself taking on pastry as a career. So we shall see...
P.S. Here are some photos of the village I'm living in. Although some of the students are going crazy because its so small, I love its narrow streets and bakeries.