Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend! Whether you spent it with family or friends, out by the pool, or simply by sleeping in, I hope it was a nice break from the everyday chaos. I sure enjoyed it! I got to spend part of the weekend with my amazing roommate in her hometown of Knightstown, IN. We got to go swimming, do some 4 wheeling, and just enjoy the country. One great thing about being in college is all of the new friends that you make! I'm very grateful that we randomly became roommates and I hope that we stay in touch long after our days at Sullivan come to a close.
   As for school, things are quite busy around Sullivan! Since I last blogged, we had an extremely fun Spring Luau in mid-May. (I got to sell massive amounts of cotton candy to raise money for Christian Fellowship!) There was a dunk tank, all kinds of inflatables to race friends on, a delicious free BBQ, and much more. It was a nice day out of class where you could bond with other students. In addition, some Sullivan students took a trip to Cumberland Falls, and this coming weekend they will be visiting a giant Go Karting Track! All of these activities help you build closer relationships with fellow students.
    Last week in lab we worked on dead dough showpieces. We had to come up with our own unique design and use various dyed, dead doughs to make the designs come to life. I've always loved palm trees and beaches, so I chose that as a theme! At times it was difficult to get all of the pieces to come together, but it was worth it in the end. (View my pic at the bottom of this post.)
   Since Week #10 just started, it's Final Practical time! This can at times be stressful, but the Chefs here are always willing to help with any questions or problems that a student may face. Since I'm in Artisan Theory, our Final consists of making 5 French style baguettes along with presenting some decorated pate choux swans. Luckily, our final is split in to 2 days, so there is plenty of time to get everything done. We also make work plans which helps to keep everyone on task. I'm hoping to get a high grade on Thursday when I present my finished products! Next week will be the end of the quarter and we will all take our written finals. The weather sure is beautiful outside so I'm ready for a break!

My roomie (and lab partner) posing with me to show off our finished napoleons! They sure were a challenge to assemble.

A very pretty (and tasty!) strawberry shortcake. Sable crust on the bottom, 2 layers of yellow chiffon cake macerated with a savarin syrup, then layered with strawberries and Bettercreme!

My finished dead dough showpiece! I'm not a very artsy person so I was shocked that my palm tree design actually worked! This took quite a while, but it was definitely worth the extra effort.

 

Coming to an End

Chocolate mousse with raspberry icecream

These next few weeks are going to be kind of bittersweet. Last quarter, I really started to question whether or not I wanted to do this the rest of my life. I knew I didn't have a passion for bread, but I wanted to be a pastry chef. This quarter has truely made me fall in love with what I do. Modern Pastry & Techniques is the most amazing lab I have taken so far. Chocolate, plated desserts, tortes and petit fours along with celebration cakes are what I want to do forever. This class has exposed me to the reality of what being a pastry chef in a restaurant would be like. Chef would give us 30 minutes and tell us we had to havea plated dessert with a sauce and garnish. Sadly, I only have a few more weeks left until I move on to my final lab, Global Pastry & Design. It has definetly been an exciting journey and I cant wait to see what this field has to offer!

Chocolate candies & showpiece!

  This quarter, I also decided I wanted to get my bachelors! Having an associates is nice, but a bachelors will really help me further my career and skills! :)

<3 Allysa

Celebrity Chef

Hey guys! Mei again:).
So a couple weeks ago i got the greatest opportunity yet... i got to meet Chef Cat Cora from Food Network's Show Iron Chef America!! If you dont know who she is you should start watching Iron Chef. I took a picture with her!


She came to Louisville to do a demo at Macy's at Oxmoor Mall. It was Derby weekend and she was going to participate at Taste of Derby so thats why she was here in town! She made delicious Meatballs on a Pita Bread and Hummnus. I know it sounds crazy but it was delicioussssss!

This was really cool. Not only is she an awesome chef but she is the only female chef on the show.

International

International <3


          Starting the middle of March, I have been in International for Baking and Pastry arts. I could not be happier with all that I have learned. It honestly feels like I have traveled the world. But it makes sense right? This industry allows us to speak a language of food, you can literally communicate with anyone. It is its own world, food is a necessity, a way to sustain life. How lucky are we, that we can speak to anyone with a plate of love and passion? To wake up everyday, and do something we love? 

          The first week of International, we entered the world of Austria and prepared a traditional Sacher torte. It dates back all the way 1832. How crazy is that? The fact that we still prepare a torte that is almost 200 years old, just infinitely blows my mind. Franz Sacher, was only 16 years old and created this torte last minute for Prince Clemens Lothar Wensel Metternich. Talk about pressure?


International has expanded my horizon of the Baking and Pastry world, and I couldn't be happier <3


Love always,
Halie :]