becky
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Hello from London! As you might’ve noticed, I’ve disappeared from blogging for the last couple of weeks. That’s because I’ve been busy packing up and relocating to the other side of the pond.
I am here in the UK to begin my studies at Le Cordon Bleu London. For the next three months I’ll be working toward my Basic Pâtisserie certificate, which is the first step in completing the Diplôme de Pâtisserie.
Over the the term I’m going to try to blog as a way of recapping and reflecting on the week, and to assess my own goals/successes/failures so that I can chart my progress as I move along in the course.
I figured this blog would also be a good way for everyone at home to follow my journey!
Orientation
Our course started with an orientation. We had a chance to tour the school, meet the teaching chefs, learn our way around the kitchens, and receive our uniforms and locker assignments.
At orientation we also got to meet our fellow classmates for the first time. One of the things I’m loving about the school so far is the diversity of the student body! I’ve met students from all over the globe. There are students from everywhere from South Africa to South Korea, as well as a few London locals. In my group alone we have students from Germany, Sweden, France, Brazil, Turkey, and a whole host of other countries. There is just one other American in my group, and we’ve bonded over our struggles with the metric system (Celsius temps are still a mystery to me…) and learning to write our dates backwards!
Our First Lesson: Decorative Fruit
This past week was our first week of demos and practicals. It was the first chance we had to do some actual cooking! For our very first lesson we learned basic peeling and knife skills while making a fruit salad with a citrus-infused simple syrup, and a decorative fruit plate.
Granted they started us off with something very easy, but I thought I did okay with the fruit lesson. My favorite part was arranging and presenting the fruit plate. I liked that it gave me a chance to be creative and add a bit of artistic flair. My strawberry slicing skills could use some work (I didn’t attempt any fancy shapes like the chef did in the demonstration) but otherwise I was pretty happy with my finished plate:
Raspberry Meringue Nests
Our second practical lesson was much more challenging than the first! We made meringue nests with raspberries, and a variety of pastry creams. These included crème diplomat and crème mousseline. In the demonstration we also learned how to make the various types of meringues–Italian, French, and Swiss–and the differences between them.
In this practical I learned how important time management will be, and also that I need to take more detailed notes in the demonstrations. It’s very important to remember all of the steps necessary to complete a recipe. I was happy to be working in pairs for this assignment, because having a teammate helped to make sure we completed all of the tasks on time. It was also good to refresh each others’ memories about what we saw in the demo.
“American Sized”
What I loved most about this assignment was piping the meringues and all of the different pastry creams, once again because I got to be a bit artistic. Chef joked that my finished pastries were “American sized” because they were twice as big as what anyone else made! (If you take a look at the difference between the chef’s demo and my finished product below, you’ll see that he wasn’t exactly wrong…) So, the size of my finished product is also something to remember for next time. But at least I finished on time and with a reasonable facsimile of what we were supposed to produce. As a total newbie I was pretty proud of that.
Cheese Lecture
The best thing we did this week was take part in a cheese seminar with Tom Badcock, one of London’s foremost cheese specialists. He is clearly very passionate about the subject of cheese, and about sharing that passion with us, which made the class so much fun. We traced the history of cheese from its earliest beginnings, and had the chance to sample a variety of cheeses from around the world. We tasted (and smelled) some very stinky cheese. Then we sampled a delicious bleu cheese, and even learned to pull string cheese by hand!
My favorite was a whey-based Norwegian goat cheese called Gjetost, which I’d never even heard of before. Gjetost is unlike any cheese I’d ever eaten. Sweet, rich, and brown in color, it has more in common with fudge or caramel than it does with cheese. I can see how it would work well in a dessert course. I’m already planning a cheese-shopping expedition to see if I can find a block of Gjetost for my own refrigerator!
Outside of class, I’ve been busy enjoying exploring my new London neighborhood (Islington) as well as the city in general. I’ve had the chance to see a couple of shows in the West End, and to wander around taking a couple of pictures. (Feel free to follow me on Instagram @becky_frey for more of my photography adventures!) I’m hoping the weather will warm up a little bit so I can plan some longer photo-taking sessions on days when I don’t have class.
So Much Ironing!
Oh, and one last thing! I’ve discovered that my wardrobe skills are going to come in very handy during my time at pastry school. It turns out that spending a few hours washing, pressing, and starching chef’s uniforms is not at all unlike a daywork call!
That’s all for week one at Le Cordon Bleu London. I’ll try to update the blog once a week, and will also be sharing lots of photos on my baking Instagram (@bastecutfold) in between.
Cheers!
About Rebecca:
Rebecca earned the Diplôme de Pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2020. She kept this detailed diary as a record of her journey, and as a way to help others decide if pastry school might be the right choice for them. Rebecca also holds an MSc in Culinary Innovation from Le Cordon Bleu and Birkbeck, University of London, and a Professional Chocolatier’s Certificate from Ecole Chocolate. She currently works as a recipe developer, food stylist, food photographer, writer, and pastry chef. Feel free to make one of her original recipes, or to follow her on Instagram @bastecutfold for more baking and pastry inspiration!
