I should explain how the exam works. First, we have what is called the bon d'economat. This is a blank form that you must list out the ingredients to a specific recipe as well as the units of measure. After this, we receive an envelope with a specific recipe in it. There is no instructions on the preparation, only the ingredients and we go into the practical portion of the exam. You go into the kitchen with your recipe, find your place in the kitchen and begin. Two chefs walk around to evaluate your techniques, when the exam is over you must stop immediately and your dessert is then taken to another room in which more chefs evaluate the presentation, taste and texture. The exam is worth almost 50% of your entire mark for the term. No one receives a perfect mark so it very nerve-racking to think that if you fail the exam, you fail the term.
The night before our exam I couldn't sleep. I called my mum and told her that if I failed I would be on the first flight home. She said I was being ridiculous and that of course I would stay and I would just do it over again, she also didn't think I had anything to worry about though and said I'd do great. I disagreed, I was convinced that I would fail. I didn't think I was prepared at all.
I got to the school early and got dressed in my uniform in silence as everyone else was buzzing with nerves and excitement. I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone, I thought I'd either vomit or I'd begin to cry. Which I actually did the latter. Couldn't help it, I went to the bathroom and burst into tears. I eventually pulled myself together and went upstairs to await the first portion of the exam.
I got upstairs and Chef Hervé saw how nervous I was and bless him, he was so nice, he tried to console me by telling me to just relax. It backfired, I burst into tears. This was extremely awkward. I managed to walk into the exam room and sit down, holding my tears in. We were each given an envelope and told not to open it until everyone received theirs. When I finally opened it, my heart sank. I got the one recipe I did not want for the bon d'economat, the Gâteau Basque. I knew I wasn't prepared for this but I forged on anyway and wrote down whatever I could remember. When I was done, I handed it in and walked out of the room and I knew I had messed it up. Christine had her notebook and let me look over the recipe. This was a mistake because I got even more upset, I did very poorly on this one and I was now definitely convinced that I would fail. I wanted to go home.
Next up, the practical portion. We were all called back into the room and we were asked to pick another envelope. We waited to be told when we could open up the envelope. When I finally opened mine and saw which recipe I was to make for the practical, my heart just sank....Pear Charlotte. Remember this one? My total disaster?! This is what I had to make for my exam?! UGH not good. To make matters worse, I looked over to Emily's recipe and she got the lemon tart. One of the easiest recipes. Emily, I love you, but honestly, that day I hated you :P
We go up to the third floor kitchen and it is so hot in there so I'm really nervous that my charlotte won't set again but at least there aren't as many people who need to use the freezer. First things first, I start making my lady fingers and I have to separate egg whites and egg yolks. I break the yolk into the white. Shit. (sorry for the language!) Okay, get more eggs, crack them. I break the yolk into the white. Shit. I did this three times before Chef Hervé came over and whispered to me that we have a container of egg whites and to just measure out the whites. Phew! That definitely helped. As I got into the groove of actually making the charlotte, my nerves started dissipating a little and I was able to focus more. I actually finished the exam ten minutes early with no major disasters! I did overcook the coulis but I had enough time to re-do it. Everything looked pretty good when I presented it and I can only assume it tasted good too.
Finally! Done! Our graduation ceremony was the next day and we had to wait until the morning of the graduation to find out if we passed and would receive our certificate. That was a stressful night, but I felt a lot better after my charlotte unmolded properly!
Myself with Emily and Chef Arnaud
1 comments:
Told you you would do great. Mothers always know! So proud of you!
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