It is now the third week into the term. Things have settled down a lot. We are all getting used to the routine now. I am still enjoying classes.
In Superior Pastry, we have a 3-hour demo each week, with a 5-hour workshop (practical class) to do what we were shown in the demo. In addition, we have Bistro shifts on some Thursdays and Fridays. (Bistro Bleu shifts give us valuable practical experience and are considered part of the course.) There's also time to do a stage (internship/externship), but I did mine during Intermediate Pastry. And there is the option of some observation sessions in Signatures (the five-diamond restaurant attached to LCB Ottawa), where students can obtain permission to watch the chefs at work on certain evenings. It would be interesting to participate in this; I shall look into that very soon.
We have had a couple of classes with Chef CF so far, and I find I am getting much more practice in listening to French (because Chef uses more French in class), and that's a good thing. Much as I appreciate the chefs who speak good English (particularly English as their second language), I enjoy having the challenge of trying to understand Chef CF's explanations and comments in French. I may only be able to pick up a few words here and there, but I can generally guess what he is trying to say. Of course, Chef always tries to translate what he says in French into English, or get a bilingual student to do so, and that helps a lot too.
By the way, there are 24 students in Superior Pastry this term. Twelve in Group A and twelve in Group B. I remain in the same group as before. I like my group because we work well together, and there's generally an abundance of goodwill and positive energy in the group. Most of us have been in this group since we started Basic Pastry, and we truly appreciate the blessings of being in a harmonious and cohesive group. I know I personally would not have enjoyed my learning experiences as much if I had been in a group with a lot of overly-competitive and/or inconsiderate people. So I thank my lucky stars for what I have now.
