próxima parada: Palma de Mallorca

the beach that awaited our arrival

This post is long overdue, but I thought, hey it's better late than never, right? The week between graduation and the next long chapter of my life, I decided to stock up on some of that ocean sun that I've been lacking. After unfortunately seeing sold-out/overpriced tickets to Dubrovnik and Corsica, my dear Turkish delight, Ece, and I finally decided upon the Spanish island of Mallorca as our summer destination.

We soaked up some rays, tried to blend in with the Germans that dominated our hotel, celebrated as Espagne won 1-0 over Portugal in the World Cup, took long daily bus rides into the capital Palma, slept on the buses on our day-trips to Alcúdia and Soller, gorged ourselves on more than enough tapas, and had as much fun as we could before an intense 6 months ahead of us.

the beach just steps from our hotel

along with the ocean, sun, and casual attire, this stop served as a little reminder of where I want to take the bus next.

a little further down the coast...

Plaça de la Reina (the end of the bus line, i.e. our most frequented stop)

open pedestrian path in the middle of the road

multiple florists lined the way

another popular hangout spot,

where we indulged in a little local specialty, Ensaïmada

the cathedral

view of the "water show fountain" from the cathedral

romantic courtyard, swans included


just a taste of one of the many delicious tapas during the week

someone's got some pride during the World Cup... España vs. Portugal 1-0

day-trip to Alcúdia, surrounded by fine white sand and shallow blue waters

We thought it was only proper to have a cappuccino at the Grand Cafe CAPPUCCINO... Despite my lack of coffee intake, I think I can get used to these :)

day-trip to Soller, more of a port than a beach... still charming, however

one of the many green shutters we saw decorating the buildings


last night on the island - decided a little change from tapas to paella was in order...

here we go...

Quick post before my first day of my stage at Plaza Athénée tomorrow. Monday and Tuesday are all orientation, so I don't have to be in until 9am, and will hopefully get out with some time to profite from the soldes (major sales.... 50-70% off) happening this month.


The HR woman during my interview recommended that I wear a suit, skirt or pants, for the two days of orientation... that meant that I had to go out and buy one. Fortunately, you can find them everywhere. Unfortunately though, my extra long arms and broad shoulders made finding a jacket that fit me difficult. I ended up going to 5 different branches of the same store, only to find that none of them carried the jacket that had fit me so well the weekend before (and didn't buy). Apparently it was "last season" (February) and out of style now. I bought another style anyway and will have to make do for these next couple of days.



I'm nervous yet I'm more filled with anticipation for the start of this next phase in my life. What's it going to be like? Am I really going to hate it? Are they going to be nice to me? Will they repeat anything if I don't understand it the first time? What if my bus goes on strike and I'm late? Will the first week, or even month, just totally suck? Will I stay with it the whole 6 months? Am I going to be friends with the other stagiaires? Will I do more than just wash dishes? How long is our lunch break? Will I even have a lunch break? I wonder how many stagiaires the pastry lab has? Will I miss seeing my friends everyday (answer: yes)? What if they yell at me everyday? I hope I don't cry or stress out. So many questions running through my head, yet only time will give me the answers. I just have to remember, it's all how I make of it. If they make me wash dishes for an unreasonable amount of time, I'll make myself be the best dishwasher they've ever seen. I'll learn to develop a thick skin, and my French better have improved by the time I leave.



Just take deep breaths, and I'll be fine. I mean, I came here to do this.

Basque-ing in the sun!

The week after our final exam, all 40 of us in the anglo program (20 pastry, 20 cuisine) took the night train to Pays Basque (border of France and Spain) for a 3-day break away from the hustle and bustle of Parisian life. I have too many pictures to post, but here's a peek into the life of a pastry student not in lab!

Day 1:

arrived in Irun and breakfast along the coast

on the navette from Hendaye to Hondarribia

the view from Hondarribia, Spain

wandering the streets of Hondarribia


back in France and lunching at a luxurious resort on the beach... spent the afternoon soaking up some sun

town of Espelette - known for their peppers

after a full afternoon of the beach and exploring different towns, we drove to our B&B in the mountains... the other pastry class stayed at a blueberry farm where we had fresh blueberry sangria!

the view from their backyard

a first day's hoorah - see Chef on the far left??

Day 2:

started the morning out with a wine tasting at Irouleguy

then we made our way over to a pig farm

cute babies!

after lunch, some of us hiked up a mountain...

Chef Thierry (our chef!) and Chef Didier ... looks like father and son, non?

the most exciting part of the trip, by far: a visit to Truite de Banka (trout farm)...

quick stop into St. Jean Pied de Port

Day 3:

Chocolaterie Puyodebat (chocolate museum) - the little shelves on the lips of the cups are meant to prevent hot chocolate mustaches!

time for lunch at a 1* Michelin resto: Table et Hostellerie des Freres Ibarboure

enjoying some champagne before lunch

first course: a ravioli filled with pork, I think...

a game-y terrine with slices of foie gras in the spiral

fish with some sort of octopus or something like that... delicious!

pina colada ice cream on top of a pecan biscuit cookie... wish we could've made this at school!

After our spontaneous 20-min. detour to the beach so we could dip our toes in the water one last time, we made our way to the train station and took the 6-hr ride back to Paris, arriving back around midnight... graduation the next day!

it's over already?!

Well, I guess this is it. 660+ hrs in lab, over 20€ spent in art supplies I never used, 2 aprons that once were white (and now have a yellowish tinge to them), countless number of photos, two cuts on my fingers, hundreds of flips through my recipe book, and maybe a few lbs. more, I am done.

This past week was all in preparation for our final exam on Thursday. We did the mise en place/practice on Monday and Tuesday, while Wednesday's boulangerie class was a nice diversion from all things pastry. Although only 5 of us showed up for the 6h30 class, we did accomplish quite a lot. I made 2 types of dough/bread: pâte à croissant and khachapuri, the Georgian purses I made last time. With the pâte à croissant, I tried some sort of spiral pastry lined with almond paste/pistachio paste. I also managed to squeeze in a batch of pain au chocolat as well!

my pistachio-spiraled "claws" before baking

I got a little bored with the "claws" so I made flowers


my finished "claws" and flowers - surprisingly not too sweet... yum!


my pain au chocolat before baking... some lucky ones got 3 sticks of chocolate!

khachapuri, but filled with emmental cheese (like swiss) and lardons (thick bacon chunks)

just a sampling of what my friend (and partner in crime/lab/eating contests) made with her 10kg batch of bread: olives, cheese, cheese + chorizo, roquefort + chorizo, cheese + onion, the list goes on...

Thursday was the BIG DAY, our final exam. Earlier in the week, we received a time-table to make each item (i.e. 8h - pâte à choux, 8h40 - crème anglaise, 9h15 - crème pâtissière... all the way until 16h - présentation). After mentally preparing the recipes according to the time-table and reviewing specific tips to remember, I went to sleep before the sun on Wednesday night. It was kind of weird, considering it was already 10.30pm but just starting to get dark.

Thursday morning, I met the rest of my classmates (who all showed up on time!) before 8h and we got our stations ready with the necessary tools and pastry tips. Once 8h struck, we were on our way to making some pâte à choux. In the beginning, I felt a little off, considering I was moved from my normal spot and stationed right next to the central ingredient area/oven/"hang out" spot for the 3 judges and our 2 chefs... yea, a little distracting, to say the least. And somehow I was the last one to start the pâte à choux. Luckily I got into my groove and sped along during the first half of the exam. I was in my own world as I tried my best to keep my station as clean as possible, while working efficiently. If they weren't talking, the judges would walk around the lab and peer over our shoulders as we were rolling out our tart shells or piping our moka. While I thought it was quite normal for them to inspect all our moves, I don't think it was fair how they hung out right behind me or just to the right of me... not only could they keep an eye out on my every move (umm, there are 9 other students to watch as well!), but their conversations distracted me as well... and then after lunch, they seemed to move closer to me, so I couldn't even open my fridge without bumping into one of them! I was hoping they would get the hint after the 3rd time, but whatever. Things happen during exams and you just have to go with the flow and do your best under whatever conditions are present, right?

After frantically trying to glaze my éclairs/religieuses and make almond paste roses after lunch, I finished a little before 16h. While the judges made final notes, we cleaned the lab, as if it was a typical day... and then we went home, EXHAUSTED.

List of what we had to present by the end of the day:
- pithivier (filling with almond cream and striking specific design on top)
- moka (cutting, filling, and decorating the cake)
- tarte aux pommes (lining the tart ring, slicing the apples, and arranging them on the tart)
- tart shell for a flan parisien
- 8 religieuses (making/filling with pastry cream and glazing them with the difficult fondant)
- 8 éclairs (same as the religieuses)
- 8 chaussons aux pommes (cutting and filling with applesauce before striking design on top)
- ice cream mold (making crème anglaise and after churning ice cream with it, filling an ice cream mold, free of holes... harder than it looks)
- 3 roses made from almond paste

tarte aux pommes, pithivier, and moka

éclairs, religieuses, and chaussons aux pommes

roses that I had made at home earlier in the week for practice

Today (Friday) was a day of painting our pastillage (white disk made of sugar paste...) . Afterward, we packed up our tools and had a final meeting with the director of the anglo program. Chef distributed our "grades" and we left, loaded down with a heavy suitcase full of knives, scrapers, spatulas, and whisks, among others, in addition to whatever else had been hiding in the depths of our lockers.

my pastillage - everyone else seemed to replicate a painting, but somehow I didn't get that memo/never thought to refer to great artists for inspiration... this was inspired by my day-trip to Giverny!

I have to say that I was pretty pleased with my final exam and how everything turned out. It went by so much faster than I imagined, and I felt pretty confident throughout it all, besides my roses and disastrous éclairs and religieuses... oh well, it's over! Still hasn't sunk in, but I'm sure it will later. No time to think of that though, time to pack and get ready for a few days in Pays Basque with my classmates next week!