The holidays are over, and I was back to school yesterday.. This is the unit I was considerably nervous about.

It’s the first of the advanced classes, no more being told how to make something (though she will demo stuff we haven’t seen before), most of what we make we should at least know the process. It’s a whole different layout too, 11 exams in 6 weeks. 8 plate-ups which constitute our ‘every day’ lessons, Chef will demo a category (we have custards, caramel, chocolate, seasonal etc) and tell us our guidelines for it one day, we can start production then and then the next day we have to finish and present. We have one theory and practical exam (timed making sauces), the afternoon tea where we can invite one person, and then our final exam which lasts the entirety of week 6.

We have 2 classes (both this week) where we make something that doesn’t go towards one of the plate-ups.. and if we make them well enough we’re allowed to save them and use them. We also have a chocolate tasting on Friday which will be awesome. She’s going to teach us another way of tempering that doesn’t use a thermometer since it’s quicker and the items go on the plate and are eaten so as long as they don’t bloom in that small amount of time it’s fine!

I like the Chef Instructor we have, you can tell the passion she has for creating plated desserts.. and she’s honest.. She’s said we’ll probably spend this week floundering and wondering what we’re doing, settle into it and then in the final week get stressed and feel pressured and once more wonder why we’re doing this.

We also make the desserts for the restaurant – Ventana, and as of today (they weren’t open last night as it was the first night for students working there too) everybody in our class has their name on the dessert menu.. which is kinda nice.. and while I won’t be able to say on my resume that I worked there I can say that we made the desserts. They’re on their holiday dessert menu at the moment (I want to try the Guinness gingerbread cake!) but midway through the unit Chef wants to change to the spring time menu.

We have a whole forest worth of paperwork with different information, I am actually a little excited now about the unit, there’s so much we’re going to learn. We’ll go into the seasonality of produce, how to cost desserts, what components you need, how to balance the flavours.

The only downside of all of this is I have to carry my big heavy hardback textbook to class every day for this unit!