ta-da! an exam post that is only a DAY after the actual exam! i should be careful about setting that sort of precedent though, it's like what i've told my classes (i teach swim lessons): the problem with doing a good job is that you keep having to do so! and knowing my schedule, i got lucky this time.
read more after the jump!
just like before the last exam, chef t asked us to write out an itinerary, imagining specific items that we'd have to make (since of course we'd have no idea ahead of time, boo!), so that we'd be thinking about our exam before actually walking into the kitchen. i was nervous that even with the extra mental prep that i'd end up rushing to the end, scrambling to finish like last time, so i really tried to think through my itinerary, and anticipate to the best of my ability what i could possibly be making, even though i had absolutely no clue. the hints that chef t gave us were as follows:
- winking when "palmiers" were mentioned
- that we'd have to be ready to make an apple compote (filling for a dartois) OR pastry cream (filling for a napoleon, or a component in a pithivier)
and that was it. and because of the way that the unit was set up, it wasn't really clear which were the recipes that were too labor intensive for an exam, or which were the ones that it'd be good for us to know, but that we wouldn't necessarily be tested on. given all of that, i guessed that i'd be making a pithivier, palmiers, and a napoleon, and planned accordingly, including writing out a MEP list, so that i could just check things off as i had picked them up, instead of constantly referring back to my recipes.
when i got to class, i had to put the last two book turns in my inversée dough. pâte feuiletée is basically a package of dough wrapped around butter (or in the inversée, butter wrapped around dough) that is rolled out, folded up, and turned, so that the whole process can be repeated for a minimum total of six times. a book turn is actually a faster method of turning the pâte feuilletée dough, because instead of having to do three sets of two turns, you can do two sets of two turns. the dough needs to be rolled out, folded up, turned etc not because the french like making things difficult, but because that's how the layers are made in the dough. too few turns is just as wonky as too many, and it would be obvious to chef t that we had made that mistake--remember that pâte feuilletée is unique because of its high rise after baking (cheers to mechanical leavening) and if that dough is supposed to rise but doesn't, there are problems.
anyway, back to exam day. while we had already made our exam dough on monday, circumstances prevented a solid number of us from finishing putting our turns in the dough: namely, a lack of air-conditioning which is especially terrible when handling butter that needs to be chilled to use. i actually ended up having to start over (for what reason i'm not entirely sure, because we all were in the same boat of wonky dough handling due to the air temp, but i did appreciate doing it over, i guess) so i was entirely behind the eight ball by the time wednesday actually came around. i was worried from the get go about how things would go, but as i was mentally preparing before class, i realized something. part of my personal flop of an exam last time wasn't just because there was so much to be done and so little time to do it, but because i let that panic set into my product. there wasn't any love there, it was more of a "shoot gotta get this finished" with (perhaps) a few expletives peppered in there along the way, and that is no way to make a good dish, whether it's mac n' cheese or a ten course meal. when i realized i was behind and would pay the price no matter what, i froze. well, really, from there on i just sort of threw in the towel. i was determined to turn things around this time, and got on my game face for exam day.
i let my dough rest while i took the written portion of the exam (more conversions, definitions, recipe breakdowns etc) and then picked my practical portion at random. it turns out that the itinerary i imagined actually helped me out more than just psyching me up for the task at hand--i drew the following items from chef t's mixing bowl:
- five palmiers or papillons
- one eight inch pithivier
- three speedy vol au vents
this was how my night went:
- 5-5:30: generic set up (sheet pans, parchment paper, large or small pot etc), last turns in my dough
- 5:30-6:15: written exam
(from here on specific times are omitted, because i did not take note of how long things took as i went along)
- roll out dough, chill in fridge
- MEP
- assemble crème pâtissière, let chill
- assemble crème d'amandes
- cut and chill dough
- eight inch round, nine inch round: pithivier
- three squares: speedy vol au vents
- roll out demi-feuilletage (scrap dough) and sugar for palmiers
- assemble frangipane
- assemble pithivier and chill
- recut speedy vol au vent cases, assemble vol au vents
- bake: pithivier and cases
- assemble crème chantilly
- cut and bake palmiers
- clean and plate up!
once the actual practical portion of the exam started, things just sort of melted together. i rolled out my dough, and popped it back in the fridge. then came the pastry cream. then the almond cream. back to the dough. i knew i wanted to give my palmiers plenty of time to rest, to really let the sugar's hydroscopic qualities take over--which means that i wanted to see some juicy, sugary soupy mess leaking dripping from the palmiers before i cut them, so i knew i needed to get them chilling asap. as far as everything else is concerned, the pastry cream's chill time and the palmiers soupy mess time were the only things that guided how i progressed through the night.
a drama-free night for sure, but like i said, there were some hiccups along the way. the a/c was still not working, my speedy vol au vents were actually misshapen until i recut them (thank goodness they could be either five or three inch squares), and i forgot to ensure that my vol au vents would rise evenly. but even with all of those things, it all worked out. and when it came time to grading, i did not mention a single glitch to chef t, i have since learned that unless chef asks, don't mention mistakes on exam day!
and so, without further ado (thank you for reading this long!) i offer you my plating for grading. from left to right we have five palmiers, an eight inch pithivier, and three speedy vol au vents with chantilly cream and blackberries. and a close up shot of each because they were such prima donnas. bon appetit!
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