a little bit of everything

quick post about what I've been up to these past couple of weeks! We started Monday morning with traiteur class (catering buffet).

gazpacho-esque soup

salmon rolls with spinach

chicken breast with marinated beets

asparagus wrapped in jambon cru (raw ham) and then lightly baked

salmon with zucchini

full buffet including delicious lamb and marinated strawberries in the front row!

Then we moved into the pastry lab, where we used brioche dough to make:

Kugelhopf with golden raisins inside, almonds on the outside, and dunked in melted butter

Swiss brioche - brioche dough with pastry cream and raisins rolled inside... would definitely make again!


Barquette aux marrons - a mini tartlette baked with almond cream and blackcurrants, then topped with a chestnut filling and decorated with chocolate and coffee fondant


cross cut of the barquette aux marrons


Then we made mini brioches for...

Polonaises - layers of mini brioches on an almond-filled tartlette and layered with pastry cream and candied fruits

Finished polonaises - covered in meringue and almonds and barely baked


Tarte au chocolate made from leftover dough!


Baba au Rhum, Savarins, Marignans - all soaked in syrup and doused with rum...


petits fours for restaurant service (fortunately the actual desserts were our ice cream cakes from the previous week)

The next couple of days were busy making choux (think of mini profiteroles) for our:

St. Honoré - a ring filled of choux pastry filled with crème st. honoré and topped with whipped cream... surrounded by mini decorated choux.


the mise en place for our Croque en bouche (mini choux tiered up in a conical shape)


my finished croque en bouche --- unfortunately I didn't get a chance to get a great picture of it, but here it is!

The next week was only a 3-day week, thanks to the Ascension holiday (so we got Thursday and Friday off of that week). We had another traiteur class, but due to a misunderstanding, we had a shortened class and only made quiche lorraine.

my dinner for the next few nights

Nougat de Montelimar in the making...

and finished, with a coating of icing sugar/cornstarch mix.

Yes, we did make some amazing soft chocolate caramels,


and flavored guimauves (marshmallows - I made mandarine),


which were bagged to sell!


Amazing sugar-coated pâte de fruits... cut with la guitare to make perfect squares


pâte de fruits in 4 flavors: passion fruit/apricot, strawberry, pineapple/pear/blackberry, and raspberry


assortment of different cakes made the day before vacation (either almonds, candied fruit, or lemon)!