Mid-Term

This week marked the middle of the Basic Course.  I am taking three 11-week courses: Basic, Intermediate, and Superior to earn the Patisserie Diploma.  I didn't have a mid-term test, but I did have a tutorial with my mentor chef.  My score so far is slightly above my group's average.  I was a little nervous about my meeting and was very happy to hear my score.  I hope I can keep it up and do well on the final exams on March 16th.

A few weeks ago a chef explained how our final exams will work.  There is a written exam and a practical exam.  The written exam is 45 minutes and consists of mulitple choice, true/false, and short answers.  These questions will be about ingredients, methods, procedures, the science behind baking/pastry, etc.  The practical exam is one of three dishes: choux pastry (eclairs and swans), lemon tart, or a Victorian sponge (we haven't made it yet).  We will pick our dish out of a hat when we arrive for the exam.  So we have to know all three REALLY well.  First we will have 15 minutes to write down the recipe and then we will have 2 and 1/2 hours to prepare the dish.  We will only have enough ingredients to make the dish once, so no starting over.  If we don't finish the dish in time we fail the exam and the course.  Maybe just a little bit of pressure?  I'll be spending a lot of time studying and practicing over the next several weeks. 

I had a request to hear more about other students in my class.  In my group of nine there are seven girls and two guys from Brazil, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.  Most of them have taken pastry classes or worked in a pastry kitchen before.  One of the guys already completed the Cuisine Diploma is now working towards the Grand Diploma. 

In our entire Basic class there are seven groups of 8-10 people with only about eight guys.  There are a lot more guys doing the Cuisine courses.  In the whole school the ratio of guys to girls is 40/60.  Two groups are doing both Pastry and Cuisine.  Besides the countries I've already mentioned, I've met people from Enthiopia, Uruguay, Singapore, England, Arizona, and Chicago.  There is one other girl from California.  Most of the girls I've become friends with want to have their own pastry shops.  One friend close to my age is currently working in Marketing and only signed up for the Basic course to see how she likes it first.  She has lived in London for about 14 years which makes it easier to just take the courses at her own pace.  Most people I've talked to are doing all three courses.  From what I can tell there are a lot of students in their mid-twenties and less than ten who are over 40.  It's hard for me to guess ages.  People usually think I'm a lot younger than I am and I'm sure I do the same with others.