Refreshed and Renewed!

My finals are over and I couldn't be happier with the results. My final written exam went very well, so did the product id test and so did my final practical exam.

For the final practical I had to make a fresh fruit tart, strassburger cookies, eclairs and pastry cream to fill the eclairs and tart. These are all things I have made before but I historically screw up under pressure and forget to put in sugar or baking soda or whatever. This time I actually felt remarkably calm and confident during the whole baking assembly process. What a difference six weeks of instruction can make. Then came the grading part and I was extremely nervous. I'm actually surprised that I didn't drop the whole tray just walking up to the from to get graded. Luckily I didn't and my chef instructor was very happy with my products. Phew! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before she tasted everything.

As a reward I went to New York with my husband. As part of our pre-flight routine we went to the Surdyk's Flights for a cocktail and late lunch.

Then we got to New York. And I ate. And I shopped. And I ate. And then we did some eating and shopping.


It was the best trip ever.