The final week of the foundation term. And it didn’t disappoint. Skills practice, a Christmas lunch to beat all that came before, and the final flourish: a four layer white chocolate and lime celebration cake with lemon and lime needle shreds.
Before all that: the much anticipated theory assessment. The preceding weekend had been spent learning the cuts and cooking times of beef, pork and lamb; memorising terms like starch gelatinisation, dextinisation and coagulation; and the reasons why my bread might not rise or my pastry could be greasy. Mid-revision marathon, I discovered my mum’s notes on yeast from her own exams at college 50 years ago. They might have been useful if I could read her handwriting! The 90 minute exam included all of the above and more plus an ingredients identification test. Twenty ingredients in little pots for us to smell, taste and name. Somehow I couldn’t place the smell of Marmite despite its constant presence since my early childhood. As soon as I tasted it I knew. There was a chilly spice mix that potentially foxed me but overall the assessment was fair and I had learned the right things – phew! Then it was home to prep my time plan for our skills practice session on Tuesday.
A short talk from Valerie Berry, food stylist and writer, kicked off Tuesday. Valerie has styled recipe books, supplements and magazines. She talked us through the must-have skills of a food stylist. I was delighted to discover that you don’t need to be a photographer. However, you do need to be meticulously organised, adaptable, able to troubleshoot and to smile sweetly when your client or photographer suggests something you hadn’t expected. Twenty years at the Bank of England feel like good training!
For the skills practice session, I had selected to make wholemeal rolls, choux buns and creme patisserie. Rather a lot to get through in three hours. My family were delighted when I returned home for the second time with choux buns and creme pat. And my nanny has a particular penchant for the rolls so I’ve kept her on side for a few weeks.
Wednesday was a standout day of the foundation term. Our teachers, Ryan and Mark had been preparing for some weeks in advance to wow us with Christmas lunch Leith’s-stylee. And wow-zer it most definitely was. We ate the finest Christmas fare from 10.30am until 3pm. The menu began with Welsh rarebit croquettas adorned with walnut ketchup: crunchy, soft, savoury yet sweet. Up next a beetroot and orange cured trout on seeded soda bread served with a cucumber, dill and horseradish salad. The teachers oozed tips and tricks for the main event: roast turkey, onion gravy, pork, sage and onion stuffing, honey and mustard glazed gammon, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, nut roast, red cabbage and roasted carrots. A real showcase of how to nail it without losing it. To finish: a light Christmas pudding with no added fat or sugar making it less rich and more moist than the traditional variety. Eggnog ice cream was the creamy and spiced accompaniment to the pud. We left stuffed and content, and for once the washing up was not our job.
Thursday marked our final day in the kitchen as Blue Group B. A fun and fitting end to our journey. Our naked celebration cakes took all day to create. We iced them to perfection, prettily dotted with cornflower petals and daintily draped with lemon and lime shreds. A quick change into our civvies and back to the kitchen for farewell mulled wine and a speech from Lou, head of school. Emotional to say the least to bid adieu to those with whom we have shared this transformative experience. We’ve made friends for life bonding over shared passions, kitchen disasters and triumphs, and washing up marathons.
My final practical assessment of the term was six days later allowing me some time to practice and get nervous! In 3.5 hours we had to serve: a lamb rump cooked to medium rare, a salsa verde sharp enough to cut through the fattiness of the lamb, a cucumber and tomato salsa, 6 spiced chickpea flatbreads and 2 lemon and poppy seed drizzle cakes. Intense. Exhausting. Stressful. I started off relatively calm and ahead of my time plan: cakes in the oven, dough proving, lamb tempering. The salsa making scuppered me with its exacting requirement for knife skills, expert palate for balanced seasoning and steady finger on the magi mix for correct texture. By the time I got to my dough, a new life-form seemed to have developed in the tuppaware. It was huge, but also soft and moist and the spices smelling appetising. I was against the clock though. Two pans on the go simultaneously to get the breads cooked. One skidded to the floor mid transfer between stove and bench. A quick check that no-one had seen and I hurried on. I served everything with one minute to spare in the 20 minute service window. I was absolutely spent. But as always the washing up, clearing down and stove clean still needed to be done. By now, it was gone two o’clock and I was starving. By the time I got home at 4, I was only capable of boiling the kettle and eating a large slice (or two) of the cake. A few weeks’ rest now (alongside Christmas) before embarking on the intermediate term, about which we have been primed to expect a considerable stepping up. For now though, thanks for reading and sharing my journey so far. Merry Christmas and see you in the new year!
@Shelovescake 
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