@Shelovescake

Back to school and I couldn’t be happier. After a very long break, the anticipation had been building as we received the recipe pack and draft curriculum for the term. Frightening and exciting in equal measure.

Straight back into the kitchens on Tuesday morning. And there was a subtle yet definite shift in expectation from the teachers. So long chatty vibes of fountain term; hello focused elevating of skills and technique. We were, however, eased in gently with a prawn laksa. Revision of prawn prep and cook and a reminder of julienning. The aroma as we whizzed the spice paste in the blender was pungent and aromatic. Adding coconut milk resulted in a broth that yielded a gentle warmth. A perfect foil to the cold, wet January day. When I served it to my daughters for supper, the eldest immediately exclaimed: ‘Mummy, I’m so glad you’re back at Leith’s!’. I’m not sure what this says about my cooking over the holiday but better not to dwell I suspect! In the afternoon, we were reunited with our fabulous Frenchie, Marjorie, for a revision of Level 1 Wine. Anyone hoping to do Dry January would need cast-iron will-power to resist Marjorie’s tastings.

Jerusalem artichokes and soda bread were our focus for Wednesday morning.. First, sweated slowly to make a creamy soup and secondly, finely sliced on the mandolin and shallow fried to crisps. I had eaten most of those before we had left the kitchen. Soft, flavoursome soda bread rolls studded with an array of seeds filled the kitchens with an appetising aroma and have formed the basis of many a light supper this week. The afternoon dem was a total treat: pate sucree as the base for an indulgent chocolate tart with honeycomb and a zingy yet mellow tarte au citron. Three hours of first aid training felt daunting after a full day but it was so engaging and practical the time whizzed by and I left feeling evangelical about mandatory first aid for all.

Further skills revision on Thursday with risotto, and a reminder that the expected 20-25 minute cooking time is something of a fantasy. Yet, stirring a risotto is meditative, and happily provided some catching up time with fellow students. We served our ‘sighing’ risottos with thyme-roasted golden beets and a pangrattato – the perfect herbaceous crunch against the soft, unctuousness of the rice. A hanging mallard and a partridge greeted us in the dem room that afternoon. A prelude to an afternoon of roast partridge, wild mallard ramen and wild boar rags. Big, bold flavours and (apart from the partridge) long, slow cooks.

The partridge was ours to roast on Friday. And what a dinky little bird it is. Thankfully provided to us ‘oven-ready’ with just the wish-bone to remove to ease carving later. The dish had a number of elements that required plenty of mise en place and multi-tasking. Several pans on the go simultaneously to sweat mirepoix, render pancetta fat and flash fry chanterelles. There was also a duck fat crumb with a shocking ratio of dense white fat to panko. And that’s before we basted the partridge in a hefty wodge of butter. This was French cooking at its finest! The indulgence continued in the afternoon with a soufflé dem: twice baked goat’s cheese, rhubarb and praline. All with slightly varying methods. And all of which we will tackle ourselves in the coming weeks.

What a treat the week has been. And a powerful reminder of how lucky I am to be at Leith’s. The fun continued into the weekend with the opportunity to help the home ec team (one person!) on Saturday Kitchen. A 5.50am cab to Cactus Studios and a fascinating yet somewhat surreal morning prepping veg, fruit and pastry in a tiny kitchen which then appeared live on TV. Tired and only mildly star-struck I returned home to the familiar washing pile of chef’s whites and a pastry case blind-bake to practice.