Friday we spent most of class doing our entremets practice. My flavors are still the same, just improved recipes and different thickness. I have an orange Bavarian cream on top of an almond cookie, and the middle layer is a compote of cranberries cooked with cinnamon sticks, anise stars, and allspice. It tastes like delicious fall, but I still have some work to do on figuring out how to make each slice pretty. I like the décor on top, and I made the chocolate curls successfully, although I did sing to the chocolate the entire time out of nervousness.
It was a rough week for most of my class with their entrements and our new chef makes us grade each other, which causes intense amounts of tension and misery. However, I got a grade I was happy with, and everyone really liked my flavors, which is surprising because they are not the most mainstream. So I am mostly happy overall. Alice and Stephanie are not that happy, but they each figured out important steps so it was not a total loss.
Finally, we set up our buffet with our entrements and products we had made that week.
After class, Matt and I rushed out to drive to Avignon, a few hours south. After many hours in traffic and wrecks, we finally made it to the medieval walled city. It is amazing that most of the walls are still intact, huge, and in pretty good shape. However, because it is a medieval city it is also incredibly confusing to walk or drive around. We eventually found our hotel, which is in an old cardinals home. It was centrally located and the staff was incredibly nice. They helped us make a reservation at a nearby restaurant and we quickly headed that way. Called Le Lutrin, it is across the square from the imposing Pope’s palace, which is the reason Avignon was fortified in the first place.
The restaurant was in a beautiful medieval building with wood beams, stone walls and huge fireplace. It was the perfect place to enjoy a good dinner. Matt ate French onion soup, beef stew, and a chocolate and caramel mousse for dessert. I had confit of eggplants, a rosemary roasted half chicken, and chestnut tiramisu. We had a delicious bottle of cote de provence, and went home exhausted and full.
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