tummyrumbles.com

Well I’m not going to say it has been easy. Just about every part of me (physically, mentally and emotionally) has felt the change. My legs/feet/biceps/triceps ache. The tips of my fingers ache. My mind has uttered on a few occassions “why give up a nice cushy well paid desk job for a low paid apprenticeship in a kitchen?”. BUT…god dang it…I’m loving every second of it!

After years of sitting in front of a computer most of the day, it certainly is interesting to find yourself on your feet for eight/nine/ten straight hours. But I so love the tactility, the creativity, the smells, the sights AND the physical exhaustion. On Monday my legs ached so much I could hardly bear to stand on them. But come Friday I think my body has somewhat got used to the routine. I even finished my shift with a bit of energy left to spend.

7 o’clock starts - the day begins by unpacking / unmoulding the previous days efforts; lemon/passionfruit tarts, almond bases, truffades, raspberry mousse cakes, stone fruit tarts, pecan pies and a huge assortment of various cakes.

At the moment I fulfill the role of “assist”, which basically means I’m the odd bod who helps everyone else whilst learning the ropes. One day I might assist to mould sweet paste or quiche/pie cases, fill and top/decorate savoury pies/quiches, or roll croissants, danish, pain au chocolate etc.

I then start my regular tasks - one of which is to prepare trays of almond croissants. I split already cooked croissants and liberally douse them in rum syrup. I then pipe them generously with almond cream, dotting a little knob on top and decorating with flaked almonds. They are baked later in the day and sprinkled heavily with snow sugar. My piping skills are slowly improving. Not only am I getting a little quicker each day, but I am managing to complete the task without having almond cream all over the OUTSIDE of the bag and half way up my arms!

After this I’ll usually have a few other tasks on my list - making chocolate mud cakes, carrot cakes, biscotti, muffins, biscuits, lemon/passionfruit curd for tarts, raspberry mousse, raspberry glaze, pecan pie filling, ganache, cassata mousse cake, bread and butter puddings etc. My favourite task at the moment is to make the Biscuit of the Day (hereforth known as the B.O.D.). The rules are simple - as long as the ingredients are in the store, I can make whatever I want. So thanks to my fellow bloggers for providing a couple of ideas.

My first B.O.D. was a complete disaster. It was a Chocolate Espresso “Mayan” Cookie that tasted bloody marvelous, but spread out too far and ended up the size of a bread plate. Will tweak the recipe next time to try and reduce the spread. The real coffee grounds and chilli gave them a really pleasing kick though.

My second B.O.D. was a Chocolate Dipped Cardamom/Pistachio Cookie that tasted and looked bloody fantastic. I ground up fresh cardamom pods, which added a delightfully fragrant taste and aroma. I also found it was better to cook these to a nice golden brown, as the taste was much improved when they were crunchy. The Executive Chef said it was one of the best tasting B.O.D ever!

My third B.O.D. was another winner - an old Betty Crocker recipe called Spumoni Cookies (will need to change that name though). Three layers of shortbready paste - green pistachio, deep dark dutch chocolate and red cherry. I moulded them into small loaf tins, chilled and then cut them into slices before baking. They really did look outstanding.

Unfortunately I haven’t taken any photos of my endeavors (…being a new kid on the block I feel kind of self conscious!).

Overall the environment is fantastic - lots of camaraderie and bantering. At any one time there is about three pastry chefs, three “regular” chefs, and a couple of kitchen assistants on the floor. As the business operates as bakery and restaurant, there is a real mix between disciplines. Not only does the kitchen make stock for the restaurant/bakery, they also supply another retail outlet elsewhere, as well as fulfilling various wholesale orders. In other words, it is BUSY.

Next week I have my appointment to sign the papers for my apprenticeship. It is slowly becoming official!

Written by mellie on February 3rd, 2006 | Tags: Uncategorized | Category: Uncategorized |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL