OKAY!!! I MUST DO THIS!!! I MUST UPDATE MY BLOG!!!!I had such a fun weekend....I can't wait to do the posting on that. However, before I get to that (which will be another night's project), I would like to catch you up on the happenings at school.
Last week, we wrapped up the Candies and Pralines unit! WOW!! I never knew how much fun it would be!!!...okay, who am I kidding???...we're talking about CANDIES AND PRALINES!!!...not budgets and financial statements (no offense to those of you who enjoy it...but it's just not for me). *shrugs*
Honestly, I feel like I ate more than we made in class (if that's humanly possible). YES YES...I definitely need to get back on track with my long runs. *sigh* I was doing so well too....hahaha unfortunately this weekend won't help because I will be taking a weekend course with Andrew Shotts (more bon bons and confectionary comestibles). *mini claps*
So, what did Chef Notter do? He made little candy elves out of us. We were busy casting molds. Just let me say...it is NOT an easy thing. If you see people do it and it looks easy...it's probably because they've had years of experience. Of course the first day I did it, I dropped the mold into the vat of chocolate....GO ME!! :o) However, for my practical, I was able to do it flawlessly (BUT I must credit Christina for being the guinea pig and risking her mold for the good of our group...WE HEART XTINA!!!!)
By 9am on some days, you could tell that some of our classmates had ONE too many rum truffle. *lol* RUM and CHOCOLATE for breakfast?!?!??! SERIOUSLY...Check out the side effects!!!!!
The day before our practical, we were sending all sorts of goodies through an enrobing machine. That was surely a fun day...but it took us a lot longer to set up the machine and break it down than the time we spent playing with it. Oh well...add that to my list of more toys I want to buy (I swear...I'm going to have to live to be a thousand to have Santa get me all the fun contraptions I've seen in school). *grin*
Anyways, I would DEFINTELY have to say that the BEST part of this unit (minus eating and eating....and eating) would be having Chef Notter as an instructor. I must admit that the night before our first day with him, I was extremely nervous. I didn't know how strict he was going to be or how critical he was going to be with my products.
However, it didn't take our class long to fall in love with him.
CHEF NOTTER:
loves what he does
is BEYOND GREAT at what he does
is extremely fun to joke around with
is one of the most personable instructor
doesn't want you to settle for mediocrity
enjoys showing you how to do it (right) *laughs*
wants students to respect the food and equipment
hates it when you show up to class late or don't show up at all
is what makes going to Notter School of Pastry Arts all worth it
Some of my most memorable phrases that he said were: "May I show you?", "Make a break.", and "Funny, Not Funny." Okay, so maybe that just sounds weird, but you just had to be there!!!
I was quite sad to see this unit come to an end...but this isn't the end of Chef Notter. He will be back to teach us Sugar, Pastillage, and Chocolate Showpieces (I hope). *crosses fingers* Until then, it's off to the Wedding Cake unit...
Wilton: I will try my best to represent you well! (if I don't, it's because I haven't touched cakes since February) :o)
