and then i am left with superior course....

3 Oct 2011 - Day 1 of superior class while Mummy is relaxing on her flight back home... (which she said it wasn't as relaxing)

Superior started off with Sugar work..i never thought i will like it that much. it is actually quite fun like REALLY fun! i hope i will be able to do it when i am back in SG. To pull sugar (which i will show you what products can be made out of this technique) we have gotta have a table with a lamp producing high heat to keep your sugar hot enough to pull which is freaking hot lah!!! so hot that it feels like u kena had sunburn lor. since i am not rich enough, i guess i gotta DIY a table and a lamp to work my sugar (as Chef G had done back then. i like how he always teaches us how to save $. be it ingredients or equipment. also telling us stories of his experiences) instead of buying those pro lamp cum table thingy..

so Lesson 1: Pulled Sugar (a technique where you boil sugar and water followed by adding glucose to it. At 137 degrees, add 5 drops of tartaric acid. cook sugar till 162 degrees and pour it over Silpat and add drops of alcohol colouring. let the sugar cool slightly and form a big ball of sugar on the Silpat. pressing down one end of the sugar with your palm and pulling the other end of the sugar with your fingers. repeat this process till the sugar is shiny and colour is consistent through out. and APLA! you are officially pulling sugar~) NB: don't say that i didn't warn you. the sugar is so hot that you get blisters on your fingers even after wearing 4 pairs of latex gloves. that happened to most of my friends. not me though. i guess my skin is just too 'thick' :x

Also, to add more knowledge to your brain or to impress others if you wish, glucose is added to reduce crystalization and tartaric acid is added to create elasticity so that the sugar is easily pliable.

Chef G showed us how to do a rose which is really pretty! i find the assembling of the petals quite tough as i cant really feel what i am holding. maybe due to the 4 pairs of gloves that i am wearing or maybe they were sore from the heat...the sugar when cooled are very fragile and brittle. as petals are thinly pulled, they cool down really fast and with the numbness of my fingers, it isn't as easy to fit the petals as when you are working on marzipan.

i find that my petals are too round. not very satisfied but overall it still looks like a rose right? keke.. Chef G was very encouraging as he goes around telling everyone that their roses are beautiful and that being a first timer to work on sugar, we are fantastic :)

see the 'sunburnt' that i had while working the sugar under the torch...

Lesson 2: Poured sugar (we are to do a sugar plaque, one of the item that we have to present for our final exam. basically the method of making is similar to pulled sugar, just that we do not add tartaric acid)

Chef G's

Chef N

hmmm so these (refering to chef's work) are what we are supposed to do for the exam and this is what i created..some hideous sugar plague plaque...

and believe me it got worst... -.- T.T

4 Oct 2011 - 2nd practice on poured sugar and pulled sugar

we learned to make ribbons which i like a lot. the technique is like how Sticky (Handmade customized candies) makes their candies :)

Chef G's ribbon

and mine..i cooked my sugar to 161 degrees, just 1 degree less and there are bubbles seen on my ribbons :( if cooked to the right temperature (162) the ribbon will be smooth and pretty...

and my poured sugar....like i said, the sugar plaque is still as hideous looking but i had changed the design where Chef G taught us how we can do stacking to create a different type of sugar plaque. ok i admit that my colour combination is all over the place.. but i am trying out the colours!!! which seems just an excuse...

i like how the orange twirly thing turns out. however, after 3 more tries to date, i am still not able to replicate the exact same twirl that i had done during this particular practice... hmmm i like how the design is all simple and plain..not sure if it looks boring and nothing unique...

and guess where all these sugar goes right after we were done with class......

6 Oct 2011: Technical lesson

for our very 1st tech lesson, we are already being pressured with the final exam. Chef J went through what are they expecting of us with the portfolio and the exam pieces that we will be making during our 6 hours exam marathon...she said you can bring snacks or drink or even your picnic basket..i am however quite sure that at the end of the exam, the food remain untouched. she said a girl once brought energy food and drinks. at the end of exam she asked the girl if she had any and the girl said: 'i don't even have time to pee!!!!' lol

just a breakdown of what has to be done for exam, just so you know i am not leading an all stress free life...

1. Two identical free interpretation plated dessert (there are criteria on what is to be included such as mousse, sponge, jelly, tuile, chocolate deco and sauces)

2. A petit-four stand (the sugar plaque) made from poured sugar with at least 5 techniques

3. Brioche a Tete

4. Six identical 2-flavoured Sable Hollandias

5. Six identical moulded chocolate truffles incorporating two colours of tempered chocolate

6. a portfolio (like a project report) of the exam piece (we have to write out the recipe, methods, description, design, cross sections, etc)

interesting and exciting right???  i know i always complain about projects, essays and reports when i was in school back then but actually i am secretly in love them to bits and pieces <3 <3 <3

9 Oct 2011: a day before 3rd lesson of poured sugar (a typical kiasu SGrean is preparing...)

the planned colour theme of the plaque was purple and gold... but it turned out.... (please see 10 Oct 2011)

and it's either i had double dose of caffeine (entire day of green tea, which i normally drinks and is still able to sleep, and a cup of black coffee) or i am just to excited for the next day's lesson as i cant wait to see how the purple and gold turns out as i was pretty sure it will look stunning...but i guess i am wrong :(

10 Oct 2011: 3rd practice on Poured sugar and 1st lesson on blown sugar

i didnt manage to get the purple that i wanted and the gold didnt turn out gold... look at the base! i added a few drops of violet colouring and it looks like black as seen on a thrash bag. fml -.- then i got the purple from the red and blue colouring as seen on my twirly sugar. however, it looks kinda dull. tried to marble it with the gold sugar which is epic fail to the max...as it seems like i didnt had enough purple to fill my mould and i used the gold sugar to top up -.- fml again...

next lesson on blown sugar didnt turn out well either..we are supposed to produce an apple and a pear which i only manage to produce a pear which surprisingly, Chef N said it was beautiful and elegant...kekeke happy to the max!!! :) like i said i only manage to produce a pear, the story goes like this no matter how matter times i tried, the apple keeps popping when i blow my sugar using a pump..when chef asked me if i had done any, i replied him sadly that i only have a pear and he say that's fine just present it. so i hurried to assemble my pear with the stalk and the leaves...hence only a pear was done :)

because i did badly for the poured sugar and the next day was my last practice, i was so nervous and afraid that i was not able to perfect what i wanted and also have no pictures for my portfolio...sooooo i had another sleepless night (not really sleepless. woke up at 1.30 am after sleeping for 2 hours and stayed up till 3.30 am still i had to wake up at 6.30am)

11 Oct 2011: last and final practice on Poured sugar and blown sugar

so i had decided on my design of my plaque as for the colour, i will be going with blue and orange..however....my blue turns out to be green!!! fml again and again..so...playing by ear, i guess orange should be fine just like the colour pencils that i had when i was young with one side being green and theother being orange..

much better right?!!! even my friend N look and said to me today's sugar is so much nicer :) thank you N!!!
also got a tip from Chef N, 'keep things simple'

we did a underwater sugar lesson...where all of us made dolphins using blown sugar technique. lesson was fun as it was very relaxing and everyone is joking around..talking about fins, beaks, sharks, whale, dolphin farms, etc...

and my 'ermmm are you sure this is a dolphin'?

haha i know the beak of the dolphin is funny looking and the shape is not quite like a dolphin either.. anyway, i made the top fin of the dolphin like a hook on purpose and chef commented that i put it on when it was too hot that's why it bended. then i look at him and said..ermm i did it on purpose =x and he stared at me and said ohhh on purpose?!!! haha i am sorry. lol well u know like free willy..this way i my dolphin is different from others..keke...

after 2 days of 'sleepless' nights, i better head to bed..have to work tomorrow..hope it will be a good day :)

nighty..

xx