Exam II Recap

My class recently completed our second exam out of what will eventually be a total of four. It's strange to think we're at a halfway point, but there hasn't been much time to dwell on it. This exam tested our knowledge of ice creams & sorbets, plated desserts, sugar candies, and tarts. We began with a written test comprised of 40 questions (ten from each section). I considered myself remarkably unprepared for this since I had a stage the previous evening and didn't get home until very late, yet I ended up only missing two questions out of the 40.

With the first hurdle cleared, we had the rest of the day Wednesday as well as Thursday and Friday to present the following items to Chef John:

• vacherin cake (chocolate ice cream sandwiched between two rounds of meringue, frosted with whipped cream, decorated with meringues, and frozen)
• cappuccino creme brulee served with biscotti and a scoop of chocolate cream
• traditional souffle
• 12 chocolate caramels, wrapped
• 12 passion fruit-apricot pate de fruit candies
• 12 peppermint-flavored pastille sugar candies
• lemon curd tart (made with sweet dough and decorated with meringues)

The process went smoothly overall. To be sure, there are always jitters, but after the first day it's a lot easier to evaluate where the rest of the week will lead. My partner, Carolynn, is a speedy rock star and finished quite early on Friday; I wasn't too far behind her. No rush, no panic attack, just a quality effort with good results.

Here are a few product pictures: