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 :]

Meet Me Half Way

     So we are half way through the quarter and I can't even believe that we are this far! Five weeks of learning and studying new material all to come down to midterms that I feel pretty confident on! In fact, the 92% on my Advanced Technique in Breads final was such a relief! 

     We had an extra day to practice, special thanks to Chef Straw, and so many of my nerves were calmed that first day. Then day one of my midterms, I had to bake the horns of the cream horns and make my dough for the egg bread. Not to bad, and a quick day, with a lot of time to clean. Then on day two, the fun started to pick up. I divided out my dough for my six knots and the three portions for my braid, as they bench rested I started my turnovers, filling them and chilling them. I finished off my bread by rolling it out, forming the braid and knots, and getting them into the Proofer after a slight egg wash was applied. Everything was falling into place. I filled my cream horns and began washing up my dishes before my food went into the oven. My turnovers went in just after my bread that had proofed to the max, I feared they may have started to over proof. But, being one of the first people to put my food in the oven meant that there were several other people that began to oven the oven door letting all the heat escape. My bread came out perfect without a flaw other than the rolls not being as shiny as the braid (I used a more watered down egg wash on the rolls than the braid). My turnovers, however, were taking forever. because the lost in heat wouldn't allow the puff pastry to rise like it should. Finally, they puffed up in the last few minutes and had a slight golden color from the sugar on top. I was ready to present with time to spare and it all was worth it. I do owe a thank you to Chef Woerhle, my theory instructor, for making us write out a work plan even though Chef Straw didn't require it, because by planing out every step to the precise  five minutes helped me get my head together and it definitely helped calm my nerves. 

     On top of all the excitement of midterms, two friends and I signed and were approved for our new apartment, and we started our scheduling for the next quarter! Tentatively, I'm scheduled from 7AM to 2PM with four classes, one being Modern Pastry Technique were you get to work with chocolate and do some cake work (I Love Cake!!!!).  Even though I have had a busy week with school and working twenty-five hours on top of it, I have also had such a exciting and fun week! I hope everyone else is having an awesome time with their learning and life, because I couldn't choose a better place to be a student at then Sullivan University.

                                                                                                               -Hunter Erbentraut 

                                                                                                               Baking and Pastry Arts Major

Next Chapter

I have been anxious lately, and I've been wondering why. The feeling came to be at the beginning of this week, which is "Advising week." It seems scheduling my classes for next quarter showed me how little time is left before I graduate. There is only a few more quarters left, and I'm ready to get going! I'm ready to see what else is out there for me. I want to see what everyone is talking about when they say how challenging life is. I have vigorous motivation that will always be there to keep me going. I feel like a schoolkid again anxious for his first day at high school. I'm just ready to see what else is out there for me!

Thanks,

Live, Love, Slay, Study

- Nikkos

love what you do!

AHHH! Its midterm’s week ALREADY! I can hardly believe it! Time to crack down and study hard, the quarter will be over before you know it! I can't wait to see new smiling faces walking the halls! I've been one busy lady this quarter. These past 5 weeks have been literally nonstop for me! Since I started the quarter I have 2 classes in morning, my internship, a job, and now another job I'm about to start as well! The only days I've had off so far is when I went home for Easter! I know your probably thinking,"dang that's whole lot, why would anyone want to do all that?" My answer to you would be, "This is my passion, I'm doing what I love, and I wouldn't change it for anything. The hectic craziness, sleepless late nights, and stress are completely worth it. Every bit of it is molding me more and more to who I am and who I'm going to be. It all makes me stronger and better in my career field." Culinary/Baking and Pastry is my complete life and has been since I was a little girl and I couldn’t be happier with life than where I am right now! Now, I challenge you to follow your dreams and do whatever it takes to accomplish them! Trust me it’s an amazing feeling! :)

                     Gabrielle :)