Despite being sick with the flu for the last two weeks, I have been working hard at Ganache. Unfortunately, everybody has been sick at Ganache! After the initial fever/achy stage, I have followed my usual pattern of illness...coughing, coughing, coughing...and then more coughing.
Getting to Yaletown has been easier than I first thought. I am now a BC Transit user! This is very exciting for me because I have been the typical Vancouverite for so many years, travelling solo by car wherever I went. Luckily, the Number 16 bus conveniently passes down Arbutus, right by our street and drops me off at Seymour & Davie about 20 minutes later. This leaves only a very short walk to Ganache. At the end of the day, I conveniently catch a ride with Eric home. My new routine is making me very environmently conscious as well as richer by saving gas and I encourage anyone who is reading to do the same!
The other way in which I have been going green is in the kitchen. In fact, I am feeling less "green" since I am more comfortable with the new techniques and products at Ganache. My involvement has now moved beyond just making components of random entremets. I have been assembling finished products (although still not doing the final decorating touches, that is Chef Peter's job) which include cutting out joconde sponges, cake bases, making the mousses and assembling the whole product. For example, on Saturday, I made 48 Matcha-Exotique 3" entremets and it took me almost 4 hours! Trimming each black sesame joconde sponge to the right size and fitting them into the rings, cutting out the sponge rounds, making the green tea mousse, then putting them all together with the frozen mango-lychee gelee inserts is a very time consuming process! My multi-tasking skills and efficiency are works in progress but I think I am improving. Getting faster and neater are my goals for this practicum.
To my pastry classmates out there, I must say that I have been fascinated by the new techniques I have been learning. Did you know that you can freeze left over mousse, then defrost it in the microwave until the right consistency again and use it? Undoubtedly, there must be some loss of volume but it still works!
Getting to Yaletown has been easier than I first thought. I am now a BC Transit user! This is very exciting for me because I have been the typical Vancouverite for so many years, travelling solo by car wherever I went. Luckily, the Number 16 bus conveniently passes down Arbutus, right by our street and drops me off at Seymour & Davie about 20 minutes later. This leaves only a very short walk to Ganache. At the end of the day, I conveniently catch a ride with Eric home. My new routine is making me very environmently conscious as well as richer by saving gas and I encourage anyone who is reading to do the same!
The other way in which I have been going green is in the kitchen. In fact, I am feeling less "green" since I am more comfortable with the new techniques and products at Ganache. My involvement has now moved beyond just making components of random entremets. I have been assembling finished products (although still not doing the final decorating touches, that is Chef Peter's job) which include cutting out joconde sponges, cake bases, making the mousses and assembling the whole product. For example, on Saturday, I made 48 Matcha-Exotique 3" entremets and it took me almost 4 hours! Trimming each black sesame joconde sponge to the right size and fitting them into the rings, cutting out the sponge rounds, making the green tea mousse, then putting them all together with the frozen mango-lychee gelee inserts is a very time consuming process! My multi-tasking skills and efficiency are works in progress but I think I am improving. Getting faster and neater are my goals for this practicum.
To my pastry classmates out there, I must say that I have been fascinated by the new techniques I have been learning. Did you know that you can freeze left over mousse, then defrost it in the microwave until the right consistency again and use it? Undoubtedly, there must be some loss of volume but it still works!
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