Friendship Friday

SETTING THE STAGE FOR OUR DESSERT DECATHALON:

Friday afternoon, as I was getting ready to meet up with Elena to check out Icings Cupcakes' grand opening, I received a text from John seeing if I wanted to grab lunch. Since I already had plans, I invited him along for the ride.

Well, with me, one never truly knows what they are getting themselves into. Ain't that right, John and Elena? *wink wink* It is ALWAYS an adventure!!

BEGIN JOURNEY:

With much enthusiam, John carefully navigated while enjoying what he called a "mini road-trip". *gives John the look of confusion* Were we not in the same state?..let alone city?? Too cute! :o)

I guess one has to understand that Orlando is widely spread out across the state of Florida. So if you live on the east side, you may never visit the west side (unless you hitch a ride with me) :o)

As we circled around Winter Garden, trying to find the cupcake shop and (ahem) Elena , we decided to stop at a Starbucks. You know it's going to be a good day when you start out with an Iced Grande Eight Pump Vanilla Latte. :o) When we were all united, we made our first pit stop at Peterbrooke Chocolatier. While in there, we were entertained by a lady who was excited about her job AND chocolate. I cannot wait until we start the chocolate unit in school.

CONTINUE ON JOURNEY:

We decided that since no one knew where they were going, it was best to take one car. As we followed the directions Google Maps gave us...we ran in to a road block. It dead ended due to construction about 100 yds from the cupcake shop. Grrr....we were so close...we could smell the chocolate (okay, not really, but we were SO close). I had to ask Officer Friendly for directions to get around. After careful manuvering, we made it to our destination (ALAS!!). YAY!!! We saw Renee!!! Hip Hip HOORAY!!! It was crowded but we were offered complimentary cupcakes. However, the one thing that I really wanted to check out, the MAIN reason why I went there, was to check out their shotglass desserts (aka verrines). So which one did we get? ONE OF EACH, PLEASE!!! Yup, ONE OF EACH!!!











CONTINUING ON OUR JOURNEY:


After we devoured the 6 verrines and 3 mini cupcakes, I wanted to show them the bakery that I had once visited in Winter Garden. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the door that said "Gone Fishing..will return July 23rd." *frown* The sign was too hilarious...wish I had a pic. Oh well!




Did that rain on our parade???? Of course not. It was now time to execute Plan Bluezoo.






BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN:

Chef Sally said that if we ever wanted to know what "fine dining" dessert looked like, we should check out Bluezoo at Swan and Dolphin. So, we did just that!!! (yes, another great opportunity to set foot on Disney property!) Because our practical is on Tuesday, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to get some inspiration. Our inspiration (3 different desserts) was consumed faster than you can say "inspiration". The dessert was definitely FANTABULOUS!!! :o)

TIME TO WALK IT OFF:

Since none of us has ever been to the Swan and Dolphin, we thought it'd be fun to walk off the dessert in order to prevent sugar crystalization in our tummies. Because it was still daylight, many of the shops on The Boardwalk were closed. However, this place definitely seems like it would be a fun place to hang out at...better yet?...MAYBE A NEW RUNNING ROUTE??? Hmmmm...Savitre, put this on the list of places to come back to.







While walking around, we noticed that you could take the water taxi around the resort area...soooo....I decided to kidnap the crew and go for a joy ride!!! Way too much fun!!








Because I didn't want to leave Disney property, our next adventure took us to the Wedding Pavillion by the Grand Floridian. I was hoping to show Elena some of the wedding cakes that they display in their windows...however, there was only one. :o( I love admiring Elena's cakes. Check out her latest creation!! Ooh La la! :o)



TRYING TO FIND SAVORY FOOD:


As the sun was setting, the darkness was rising...and so was our appetite. We were all craving something NON-SUGARY! !! What did we have in mind??? Cici's Pizza Buffet!!! Buuuuut....so did everyone else in Orlando! :o( The line was out the door (literally). It was kRaZy!! So, we drove back to Winter Garden (where we originally ditched Elena's car) and settled for Urban Flats. It was pizza on a flat bread with a flare! Seriously, check out their menu!! This place was definitely yummers!!!

M-I-C (see ya real soon) - K-E-Y (why? because we definitely have to do this again):

I definitely needed this outing trip...but after a long day of fun filled adventures, it was time to say goodbye. Thanks y'all for joining me and giving me a day of laughter and much happiness!

Looking At The Same Thing, But Seeing Different Things

This week we continued the Plated Desserts unit with our new commander-in-chief, Chef Sally Camacho.

Chef Sally Camacho received her Associates Degree in Culinary Arts at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. After completing her externship and employment at Caneel Bay Resort, a Rosewood Hotel property, in the Virgin Islands, she returned to San Francisco to complete the Baking and Pastry Program at CCA. Sally then worked directly under Executive Pastry Chef Donald Wressell at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills for five years. Clearly a turning point in her career and the core basis of her training, she learned all aspects of the hotel industry from plated desserts to wedding cakes as well as helping Chef Wressell train and practice for his many competitions. In 2005, she relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada to open the Wynn Resort as an Assistant Pastry Chef for world renowned Pastry Chef Frederic Robert. The Wynn Hotel is the only five star five diamond casino/resort in the world. She continued her journey as Pastry Chef at James Beard Award winning restaurant Bradley Ogden in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. -2008 World Pastry Team Championship

Her desire (or as she would say "hungriness") for knowledge and success has paid off. I have found it a blessing to have her as an instructor. I have had one of the BEST weeks at school. *mini claps*

Although I must admit that I do NOT have an eye for art, Chef Sally has definitely been an inspiration. Usually when I see things...that's as far as it gets...I just see THE THING! *shrugs* But now she's encouraged looking at things differently, like color scheme, light, shapes, lines,texture, innovative technique, aesthetic appeal, flavor combinations, etc. Not only will this benefit me when I work on my plated desserts, but it will also aid in seeing the world in a different light and hopefully appreciating all that's around me. *sigh of peace*
Usually, as soon as class lets out, the first thing I think about is..."MUST GET TO THE GYM!!!". However, this past week, I have had a lot of fun hanging out with her after school and getting to know her better. She is extremely personable, encouraging, and knowledgable in all facets of life. Very seldom do I meet people I look up to...she definitely makes the list of Top 10 People I Look Up To. :o)

There has definitely been many days that I wake up and say "WHY OH WHY can't I be more artistic?" or "I wish I had dainty hands and fingers!" or "What in the world am I doing here?!?!?!.. I do not belong in this industry!!!!" AND THEN...somthing always happens (a blessing in disguise is what I like to call it)...where my questions and prayers are answered...be it a phone call from Renee, Justin's blog about one of the GREATEST people EVER, Walter E. Disney, or continually knowing that I have the best support group one could ask for!!!!

Boo! The ice cream (that we made and spun) was melting on contact!

I love my blogger fans!!! Thank you everyone who has continually kept me on my feet and encouraged me to "keep going because the race is not over, it has just begun", whether it's from being homesick, keeping on track with working out, pursuing my dreams (whether Big or Sweet and Petite) *wink*, exploring new territory in Orlando, or providing kind words of positive reinforcement!!!

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison

I know I was suppose to work on a plated dessert, but I couldn't resist the temptation of making a verrine out of the popcorn panna cotta we made in class. I'm so rebellious!! *slyful grin* :o)