Oh boy! Balancing both the cuisine and pastry stream has certainly kept me very busy.

Obviously lagging behind on my updates (it’s now week 9), here’s what we lovingly prepared in a short 3 weeks —

[LEFT] Puree of pea soup Saint-Germain with Croutons (by Chef Andreas) – simple, healthy and delicious if you can get hold of some good chicken or vegetable stock.
[RIGHT] Prune and Almond Tart (by Chef Andreas) – prunes are not my favorite

[LEFT] Salad of Pigeon with Pine Nuts (by Me)
[RIGHT] Sardine and Mushroom Tranche (by Chef Tristan) – what a lovely lovely tart that is pretty simple as long as you have some virgin puff pastry at hand

[LEFT] Creamy Garlic Soup (by Chef Andreas) – another simple yet delicious soup….this one’s thicker as it contains quite abit of potatoes
[RIGHT] Breast of Pheasant in Puff Pastry (by Chef Andreas) – made ‘Beef Wellington’ style, this dish is quite a showcase of skills as it required us to debone a bird, cream some mousseline, whip up some perfect (thin) crepes all tightly wrapped in a thinly rolled puff pastry

[LEFT] Pork Cutlet Normandy style (by Chef Andreas) – classical dish. Sadly, I overcooked my turned apples which appeared like baby food on the plate 😦
[RIGHT] Braised Cos Lettuce (by Chef Andreas)

Passion Fruit Bavarios (by Chef Andreas) – The last time we made a bavarois was in Basic Cuisine – at that time, I concluded that bavarois is not my kinda thing as it was too rich, creamy and one-dimensional in my opinion. This dish, however, totally overthrew all my previous perception – love love love the flavor and aroma the passionfruit added to the dessert!

[LEFT] Duck Breast with Black Trumpet Mushrooms with Roast Garlic Mash (by Me) – Simple yet absolutely delicious! I think garlic mash’s such an awesome idea.
[RIGHT] Savarin with Kiwi (by Me) – A baked yeast dough soaked in syrup….Way too sweet for my liking.

[LEFT] Rabbit – before butchering. I was glad the rabbit did not come complete with head and paws!
[RIGHT] Rabbit – after butchering. Chef reminded me to take a picture as he felt I did a good job in justifying the sacrifice of a rabbit 😛

[LEFT] Braised Rabbit Parcels with Soft Polenta with Truffle Oil (by Chef Andreas) – Although rabbit tastes rather similar to chicken, the ‘gamey’ taste is distinct. DISLIKE.
[RIGHT] Baked Cheesecake (by Me) – Absolutely delicious! In my opinion, the cheesecake was too dark but Chef felt otherwise.

[LEFT] Smoked Salmon Fantasia (by Chef Iris)
[RIGHT] Saute of Chicken Basque (by Me) – one of my favorite dishes in terms of taste – it really reminded me of my mom’s awesome chicken & potato stew which I LOVE.

[LEFT] Potato Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce (by Me) – First attempt at gnocchi-making was fun! Although too starchy for my liking…but it is so fun to curl/roll those cute little things I may consider doing it at home!
[RIGHT] Cottage Cheese Tart (by Me)

Look at the amount of tea towels I use on a weekly basis – these, on top of the 5 sets of chef’s jacket & aprons. It is no wonder I have been spending majority of my time outside school doing laundry and playing hide-and-seek with the sun!

With the theory exams down, I am now left with my cuisine practical (3-course meal in 4.5 hours…nerve-wrecking!) and pastry practical (10 Eclairs and 1 Fruit Tart in 5 hours…abit too much time?!?!) exams next week. So for now, it’s back into the kitchen to practice, practice and practice this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend and eat well!