Culinary School Pictures

I was going through some of my 1000+ pictures on my computer that I have forgotten about and came across these and thought I would share them with you. Going to Culinary School was on my list of things to do and when I actually had the chance to go I was so excited. I couldn't wait to get my hands on new ideas, new tools, new recipes and techniques. The experience and knowledge is something I will never forget. Maybe some day I will go back to take a few more classes, just for pure pleasure!

GARDE MANGER

Here you see a smoked pork leg and a whole smoked salmon. I personally liked the smoked salmon better.

Not very pretty but oh so yummy. This was the salmon before covering it with a glaze and edible decor.

The salmon is covered with a glaze that was used to preserve the fish. The white coating is referred to as a Chaud Froid, which is a type of aspic used to preserve meats such as fish or poultry. This was such an interesting thing to see and do.

Me covering the smoked pork with the same glaze we used on the salmon.

All of the students made their own appetizers for the last day of our Garde Manger class. See the plate to the left of the deviled eggs? That's my plate....Roasted Butternut Squash Bruschetta with sage pesto topped with a little goat cheese. Below is a dish with chicken breast stuffed with a ratatouille over a veggie pilaf.

BAKING AND PLATING

This box was made completely out of chocolate. Our culinary teacher for this baking class did the decorative swirl on the top. Inside of the box are an assortment of chocolate truffles....yummm

This was one of my favorite desserts we made! The dessert is called Frangipani. It had almond paste in the batter and it was a mixture between a cookie and a cake. Moist but sturdy enough to cut into bars. The design on top of the Frangipani was made out of chocolate.

Frangipani presented in an elegant way that you might see in a restaurant.

This was done in a tropical fruit sauce and a raspberry sauce. On the left below is a Chocolate Molten Lava Cake and to the right more Frangipani.

The bowl is made out of caramel and is filled with an Apple Compote and vanilla ice cream. We had a few of the sugar bowls burn during the process of making them.....didn't smell to good. But the ones we did get right looked great and tasted good too.

Our swan made out of a pastry puffed filled with Chantilly. These took a little practice to get right but the effect was great was they were plated.