Crispy Desserts - Le Cordon Bleu

 

The Teaching Team: Chef Bernarde, Jong Li(?), Gabrielle & Crystal

If it's Crispy and a Dessert, it has to be good ... doesn't it?

On the menu, Apple, Cinnmamon and Orange Crumble Tart!  This is different from the usual crumble you see at home, in that the crumble is actually baked separately and then placed on top, preventing it from becoming soggy.  It was delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream.

Today we had an award winning chef, Chef Nicolas Bernarde, as our teacher.  Chef Bernarde had the French Flag colours on his collar, which indicates that he has competed in “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” and won in his section. It is a very prestigious award and it was nice to see someone of that calibre teaching us as well as full-time students.

Laura was in this class with me and we were both quite taken with him.  He was an excellent teacher, taking time to explain things and also asked if we had any questions regarding any type of pastry cooking, not just what we were making today. You could tell that he loves what he does.  In fact, that is our experience with all the chefs, bar one, at Le Cordon Bleu.

Chef pointed out that butter can often be the cause of failed pastry.  We learn excellent tips when on these courses, little "secrets" that make the difference in baking.  We also learned a couple of other pointers, but I am keeping them to myself (sorry)!  I have been making pastry the wrong way for years!! It was also good to learn technique for making sure your pastry completely aligned in the ring and some hints on how to make the edge look more attractive.

My crumbles were the only ones that went flat and didn't stay in their original shape.  It was a good example of how even with the same ingredients and instructions and baking, things can turn out differently.  You could eat them just on their own actually ... especially while still warm.

We also learned how to cook the apples so that they are sealed and don't collapse while cooking.  The addition of vanilla, cinnamon and orange was lovely.  I LOVE vanilla ... it is one of life's beautiful flavours.


Chef Bernarde had been demonstrating a "chocolate art" course earlier in the day and his apron was still clean! He told us that if we don't lean against the bench when working, we cannot get the food on us.  Chocolate Art is the once class I haven't been able to find while here, private tuition is possible, but the cost is prohibitive.  I will just keep practicing and I bought a book from the school which shows some of the techniques with chocolate. Looking at some of the cakes in shop windows in Paris, it is amazing what can be done in this field and patisserie in general.