Old World Charm (Quebec City Sights)

Here are some photos of Quebec City, as promised earlier. Don't you just love the old world charm?

I daresay I now understand why people in Quebec are proud of their culture(s) and their home. Who wouldn't be if they lived in such a charming place?


This is the parliamentary building in Quebec City, the day after a huge party to celebrate Quebec National Day (which is on 24 June). I thought Aussie youths were huge beer drinkers, but I think they had nothing on the Quebec youths, judging by the amount of empty beer bottles I saw around the place.


Château Frontenac. Such a grand and majestic hotel! Imagine the view from the top floor of the hotel.


One of the streets in the Old Town area.


Again, in the Old Town area. I believe this is Place-Royale.


An example of the shops and restaurants in the Old Town area. This is a view of Rue du Petit-Champlain from Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Stairs).


Horse-drawn carriages. One of the most memorable things during my tour of the city was witnessing a horse (with carriage in tow) parallel park itself into a parking bay. It pulled up, then reversed in at an angle, then straightened up (just like you would in a car). Amazing stuff!!! It must have done it often because it knew exactly how to do it. I saw another horse trying to do it later, but it was not so experienced and needed the handler to guide it. Practice makes perfect, I guess. :)


Manoir Montmorency, at the entrance of the park leading to the Montmorency Falls.


This is Chez Marie (8706 Avenue Royale, Château-Richer, QC G0A 1N0. Open 7 days a week), not far from the Basilica of Ste-Anne de Beaupré. Chez Marie is a homestyle bakery, with all the bread products sold at really affordable prices. Marie bakes her breads in an outdoor woodfire oven, and the breads are absolutely delicious! I suggest having your morning or afternoon tea here. See the next photo for what I ate during afternoon tea. :)


This cinnamon and raisin scroll (topped with maple butter) from Chez Marie was probably the best one I have ever had (and I have tasted many before, because it is one of my favorite pastries). The flavour was great, and the texture was so soft and fluffy. Mmmmm... the wonderful taste of freshly-baked pastries. I hope I can make something like this one day. That's something I am aiming for.

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This photo was just for fun. I liked the contrast of colours, so I just took a picture of it.

Montmorency Falls (Québec)

Yesterday (on Quebec National Day, 24 June 2009), I went on a bus tour of Quebec City, including the spectacular Montmorency Falls just outside the city area. I took lots of photos of Vieux-Québec (the Old Town, which is such a beautiful place), but I will display those photos later.

Right now, I would like to share with you a short video of the spectacular Montmorency Falls. It was such an amazing feeling to be standing so close to the waterfall, and hearing the deafening roar of the waterfall! Reminiscent of my visit to the Niagara Falls in August last year.




If you have never been to Quebec City, please consider going. I assure you it is well worth it. I personally found the beauty of the city (and the old-style architecture) quite inspirational.

Train Travel

I was travelling to Quebec City on a train (VIA Rail) yesterday, and this was what the economy-class cabin was like. More comfortable than a plane by a long mile, I reckon. More leg room, nice view of the Canadian landscape, affordable prices, no need to check-in hours before departure ... I really like travelling by train here.





Up until now, I've travelled by train from Toronto to Niagara Falls, from Toronto to Ottawa, from Ottawa to Montreal, from Montreal to Quebec City, and I've always enjoyed myself.

The next few photos were taken at Sainte-Foy, just outside Quebec City.


Sorry about the reflection from the train window. I only had a couple of seconds to take this shot while the train was moving. But I wanted to show you the spectacular view I saw from the train.

The next 3 photos were taken while the train was stopped at the Sainte-Foy station. I just felt like taking a few photos because it was such a beautiful day. I know these are not your typical tourist photos, but I wanted to capture a little of what I actually saw from the train.







This just reminds me of the scenery you see outside of major cities in Australia, in the semi-rural areas. Some might say, industry and human progress impinging on the natural landscape... Or, perhaps, last vestiges of natural beauty in the midst of human progress. Depends on your point of view, I guess.

So much of Canada remind me of Australia and New Zealand, yet there are many subtle differences too.

Sight-seeing in Merrickville, Ontario

Today I went with some friends to this quaint little town about an hour's drive from Ottawa. Merrickville is the name, and here are some scenic photos of the town. Please enjoy!



















It was a relaxing day. I enjoyed myself immensely. I'm looking forward to going to Quebec City by rail tomorrow.

Unusual Produce

While shopping in the Byward Market yesterday, I came across these unusual produce (see photos below). As always, I take photos of new ingredients that I come across, for my own records. I then try to read more about them, if I can.


These are Wood Blewitt mushrooms. I don't think I have ever seen these in Australia. They have a tinge of blue on them, and tastes (to me) a bit like a cross between a Shiitake and a King Oyster. Anyway, I am always keen to try different kinds of mushrooms.


These are Black Velvet Apricots. I thought they looked like plums, but when I tasted them, they reminded me of apricots. I like the flavour of these, and I think they would look stunning as a decoration in a dessert. (Note: these are actually apriums -- a cross between plumcot and apricot. A plumcot is a cross between a plum and apricot.)


These are Saturn Peaches. I thought they looked most unusual. These two were not very sweet.

Winding Down

These few days I have been catching up with friends and organizing my travel arrangements. I have not had much time to tend to this blog. This is basically a wind-down.

I will be doing some sight-seeing in Quebec City and Montreal (for 2 weeks) before heading to Europe for a short holiday. After that, I'm heading home. By the time I reach home, I would have been away for a whole year.

And what a year it has been! I shall never forget it.

I came to Canada looking for inspiration and to learn a new skill. I wasn't disappointed. I am grateful so many people (the chefs, my classmates, my housemates, my friends) cheerfully taught me what they know, and encouraged me to persevere when I needed moral support. This is a new beginning for me.

As a Chinese philosopher once said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." I know this was just my first step in a new direction...

I feel a sense of renewal now, with the determination to forge ahead on my new career path.

Sight-seeing in Chelsea, Quebec

Last Thursday, the day before Graduation, DF (owner of Wilbrod House) drove me and another housemate to Gatineau and Chelsea (across the river, on the Quebec side) to get some wine and to do some sight-seeing respectively.

This was the highlight of the trip for me:

It's a quaint little ice cream parlour in Chelsea, called La Cigale. And they make really, really nice ice creams. Just about as creamy and smooth as the vanilla ice cream Chef made in Superior Pastry Lesson 1 demo. I could tell they use quality ingredients. Mmmm....


A list of the flavours they had in the ice cream parlour. I went for my favorite combination: citrus (oranges crémeux) and chocolate.




This is the lovely garden outside the ice cream parlour, where people can sit on the deckchairs to enjoy their ice creams. I really enjoyed myself here. Thank you, DF!

The other interesting place we came across was a boutique for wine accessories in Gatineau. It's called Boutique St-Hilaire and is near Carrefour du Casino.



The shop sells all kinds of wine- or alcohol-related equipment and accessories. It was fascinating for me to see all the different gadgets. All I can say is "Wow!"


I bet this is heaven to a wine-lover.

"Group B Mafia"

Here is one of the nicest photos of the "Group B Mafia" (a nickname given to us by Chef Hervé) -- Group B of Superior Pastry (Term 2, 2009). This photo was taken in the Student Lounge, five minutes before the start of our practical class on 4 June 2009. All twelve of us just decided to get on the couch to pose for a photo. It was completely spontaneous, and the photo turned out well.


(Click on photo for a larger image)
[Many thanks to the photographer -- a classmate from Group A, who happened to be walking by and was asked to take the photo for us.]

In the photo above, if you look at the back row, the first (Christine), second (Hanna) and fourth (Danielle) students from the left were the three students who were chosen to participate in the post-secondary baking section of the Skills Ontario Competition in early May (two representatives and one reserve). The two who ended up representing Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa came first and second in the Competition (i.e. they were provincial champions). Hanna first and Danielle second.

The winner of that provincial Competition (Hanna) -- who is also one of my housemates in Wilbrod House -- then had the chance to represent Ontario in the Skills Canada Competition (a national competition) in late May, and she came first again (i.e. she is the current Canadian champion)! Congratulations, Hanna!

Here are photos of some of Hanna's competition practice cakes, chocolates and petits fours (she practised for months leading up to the competitions in May, under the guidance of Chef Hervé). Aren't the cakes and chocolates beautiful?

Petits fours in the foreground, mousse cake and plated dessert in the background


Mousse cake on a display stand that is made completely from poured sugar (the rose is made from pulled sugar)


Chocolate box with chocolate bonbons (all handmade)


Buttercream cake with pulled sugar roses

I'd been taking photos of Hanna's practice cakes every now and then, but I was asked by the chefs not to post any of these photos online until after the competitions, hence I am posting them now.

For the Sake of Completeness (Re: Practical Exam)

As I have done in previous terms, I will include some information about the final exam and my exam results here.

The cakes and chocolate bonbons for our Superior Pastry exam were:

Group A
* Apricot Tart, Rum (molded chocolate) and Pâte Amande Cafe (dipped chocolate)
* Entremet Vanessa, Tea (molded chocolate) and Rochers (dipped chocolate)
* Bûche de Noel, Honey (molded chocolate) and Caramel Chocolate (dipped chocolate)

Group B
* Apricot Tart, Rum (molded chocolate) and Pâte Amande Cafe (dipped chocolate)
* Entremet Fruit des Champs, Praliné (molded chocolate) and Palets Or (dipped chocolate)
* Bûche de Noel, Honey (molded chocolate) and Caramel Chocolate (dipped chocolate)

Each student only had to present one of the combinations above (--> one cake + one plated dessert, 10 molded chocolates and 10 dipped chocolates). Five hours to complete the tasks, including tempering chocolate.

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The exam was worth 30% of overall marks. The other assessment components of the course were the exam sugar showpiece (worth 25%), the written exam (worth 10%, and the student transcript indicates I scored over 9% on that), and the regular practicals (worth 35%).

My student transcript for Superior Pastry (photo below) shows I was pretty weak in my organisation and presentation on exam day, and that's no surprise to me.



I think the chefs were fair in their assessment of my skills. They had a set of marking criteria, and I did not fulfill the criteria as well as my classmates (I know that in my own heart).

Having said that, my organisation may not have been the best in the eyes of the chefs (and in comparison with my classmates), but it was how I wanted to do things, e.g. I deliberately left the Praliné filling to the last because I wanted to pipe the Palets Or first, before I got too tired and had to pipe with shaky hands (I have shaky hands even at the best of times, and it just gets worse as I get tired). I was aware I was slower than I could have been, but it was the only way I could keep from getting too nervous (or too panicky) in an exam situation. Like everyone else, I tried to cope the best I could. I didn't want to stress out like I did in the Intermediate Pastry exam.

This exam was the first exam I had enough confidence to do things my way, and that, for me, was a breakthrough. When I presented my cakes and chocolates, I felt I had done enough to satisfy the minimum criteria. In my mind, my Entremet Fruits des Champs for the exam was better than the one I made in the Lesson 2 practical, and my Palets Or dipped chocolate were more even in size. I was glad about this because it meant I was making progress. And I am happy my exam cake and chocolates tasted good enough to score 22 out of 30.

As I look back, I'm pretty amazed I managed to learn so many (sophisticated) skills in pastry in the nine months at LCB Ottawa. If I had just gone to a TAFE college (vocational skills college) in Australia, I reckon I wouldn't have seen and learned French pastry techniques at such a sophisticated level and in such a systematic way.

Yes, the chefs at LCB Ottawa do have high expectations (and they push the students hard), but they also teach techniques systematically. The program was designed to introduce more challenging techniques as we go along, and that was what I liked about it. In educational terms, we were provided some "scaffolding" each step of the way, and it gave us a better chance of succeeding overall.

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A special thank-you to all the kitchen stewards (aka dishwashers) for their assistance in our practicals. Without their help in washing the pots and bowls during our practicals, life would have been tough. As it was, they saved us time and made sure we had clean utensils to work with. For that, I am most grateful.

[Aside: We use many pots and mixing bowls (and the mixer a number of times) in each of our practicals, and if we had to wash everything ourselves, we would not have had as much time to concentrate on our cakes or chocolates.

By the way, I recall I actually washed some pots, bowls, dishes and other kitchen utensils in Production Kitchen while volunteering there one day (just out of sheer curiosity), and found that it wasn't as easy as I thought. It takes some skill and quite a lot of experience not to splash water everywhere. When I first tried "doing the dishes" in Production Kitchen, I ended up soaking wet and I nearly gave everyone around me a shower... :D Washing up in a commercial kitchen is nothing like washing up at home. Hence my respect for dishwashers now.]

The Best Thing about Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa...

I attended the LCB Ottawa graduation ceremony yesterday. It was such a surreal feeling to finally graduate with a Pastry Diploma. Everyone is asking me how I feel now. Am I sad or happy to be leaving? The truth is, it hasn't quite sunk in yet.

Pastry is one of the most challenging things I have ever tried to learn, and I would even say a little more challenging than earning my PhD degree -- because even though it is not easy to complete a PhD degree, I felt it came to me more easily than learning to bake. You see, by the time I got into the PhD program at university, I could read and write quite well. But when I enrolled in the Pastry program here, I could hardly bake. In Basic Pastry, I struggled with piping, with making a genoise sponge cake, with Italian meringue, with chantilly cream, with everything... Literally. Then the struggle continued in Intermediate and Superior Pastry. Nothing related to baking came easily to me. I guess I just need a lot of practice to become comfortable with it.

However, I have absolutely no regrets. It was good to learn a new skill and experience the discipline required to become a pastry chef. I believed it was possible to learn to bake well even if you didn't have the natural flair for it that some people are fortunate enough to possess. It is like learning a new language or playing the piano. Not everyone can excel at it (because it depends on so many factors), but everyone can achieve some level of competency, if they practised, persevered and found some coping strategies whenever they encountered problems or difficulties.

If you asked me what was the best thing about Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, I would say without any hesitation: The Chefs.

For me, it was wonderful to be taught by the best of the best. The chefs taught us many things -- techniques and skills (both macro- and micro-skills), aesthetics, problem-solving and coping strategies... And they had high standards and expectations, which spurred us on to achieve more than we thought we could.

Furthermore, I appreciated their patience with me, even though I sometimes did stupid or crazy things in class or in production kitchen. For instance, the first time I made pâte à choux in Basic Pastry, I put all the ingredients (except the eggs) in a pot, thinking I had to cook everything together. Chef T had to tell me to discard everything and start again, which I did... I burnt caramel at least once, stuffed up the pastry cream and Italian meringue a few times, forgot to put whipped cream in the white chocolate bavarian cream, made "lifeless" marzipan leaves (just to name a few things) ... I am glad the chefs weren't exasperated. Well, maybe they were, but they did well not to show it. :D

I was always grateful for their feedback and critique of my creations, even if I didn't always agree with their opinions (note: ninety-nine percent of the time, I agreed with their assessment). I am glad they continued to give me constructive criticisms. As a former academic, I can tell you the worst thing for a student is to receive no meaningful feedback. It doesn't matter if the feedback is sometimes a bit hard to swallow, as long as it is ultimately a worthwhile learning experience. Being classified as a "Lost Cause" would be the saddest thing that could happen to a student.

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To all the chef instructors,

I owe you a debt of gratitude for all that you have taught me, for inspiring me, for being patient with me. Thank you!

Dinner at Signatures Restaurant

Last night, as an end-of-term celebration, the School treated the Intermediate and Superior students to dinner at Signatures restaurant, with a set menu as follows:


Amuse-bouche: Lobster and crab soup with peas and cilantro, served in a shot glass (I don't normally like cilantro -- better-known as "coriander" to Aussies -- but the cilantro in this amuse-bouche was really subtle. The texture of the soup was just the way I like it, and the flavour was sooooo good.)


Appetizer: Smoked salmon gourmandise, Provencal vegetables with basil (I nominate this as my favorite dish for the evening, and those who know me would be surprised by this statement because smoked salmon is not my favorite thing in the world. However, I have to say the smoked salmon gourmandise was absolutely delicious! And I would have gone for seconds too, if I had been offered. What I also loved about this dish was the unusual flavour combination -- I was especially surprised by the sweet tuile in the midst of the savoury elements in the dish. Quite an education for my palette indeed.)


Main Course: Roasted veal filet, grilled leek cream, canneloni with herb ricotta, served with Fairy Ring mushroom sauce (A lovely main course. The canneloni was the focus of much attention -- many of us tried hard to analyse and deconstruct all the complex flavours in it. I went into the kitchen later to ask the chef what was in it. He told me the combination of ingredients, which I won't divulge here, and I thought it was interesting...)


Dessert: Chocolate Flower (It was essentially a beautifully-plated Douceur Chocolat, something we had learnt to make in Intermediate Pastry, but the plating here was really nice. It made me realize how elegant a simple plating could look, if well-designed and well-executed. It's something I can aim for in the future.)

I spent much of the evening taking photos of the food and my classmates (as I normally do), and observing the servers. Now that I have done my service and kitchen shifts in Bistro Bleu, I have a better appreciation for the amount of work (and skills) that went into preparing and serving a meal like this. My sincere thanks to all who were involved in preparing and serving the meal last night.

Not only was it an enjoyable evening spent with classmates and friends, it was also an education for the palette. I would like to thank the School for organizing this event, because it was a meaningful and fitting way to round off our education here.

SP Final Exam

It is all over now! I did my Superior Pastry Exam today (8 June 2009). It was a lot less stressful than my Intermediate Pastry exam, because this time I was not as worried about the cakes on the exam list (except for the Millefeuille, which still worries me). Also, I decided to try a new strategy today -- I stopped to take a sip of water when I felt myself stressing out. It forced me to take a deep breath, and I could calm down again.

I was hoping to get the Apricot Tart as my exam cake, because I have had practice rolling out tart dough in Bistro Bleu, and I can do a streussel quite well now (having made a horrible mistake with a batch of streussel while I was doing stage not long ago, and having had to make another batch in mass production)... But, as luck would have it, I picked envelope number 8 and got a mousse cake (Fruits des Champs mousse cake). Fortunately, I have not had any major disasters with mousses ever since I failed miserably with my Marquise au Chocolat in Intermediate Pastry (where my mousse was hard like concrete).

We made the Fruits des Champs mousse cake in Lesson 2, and this was what mine had looked like then:


This was what my exam cake looked like today:

Same recipe, different design

As you can see, I made sure the top of the cake was not too red this time (I remembered Chef CF's comments from last time). I knew I would have to use the dark glaze this time, and I was not confident about marbling on white glaze, so I practised piping intersecting lines (at different angles) on a plate at home last Monday. Plan A was to do the lines at about 135-degree angles, but criss-crossing so that the lines would looked like a net (a pattern I remember from my childhood). Plan B was this design I used today (lines at 90-degree angle, a design which I had used on handmade cards before). I ended up doing Plan B because it was simple and I was running short of time.

I believe my white chocolate mousse and raspberry coulis insert inside the cake were fine today, though I almost had a heart attack when all three chefs (Chefs H, CF, and T) came over to taste my mousse as I was pouring it into the mold. It was the "uh-oh" moment -- for a moment, I wondered if I had forgotten something vital in the mousse (I have been known to forget things, which is not good). I was pretty sure I had put the gelatin into the pastry cream (since I had used the timer as a reminder), so I began to think maybe my mousse was not the right consistency, and doubt started to creep in... It was a scary feeling. I have no idea why the chefs did this -- I mean, the chefs do walk around and inspect things, but seldom all three inspecting the same thing at the same time (unless there's trouble). Anyway, I breathed a sigh of relief when they said it was ok.

I didn't get a chance to take any photos of my chocolate bonbons (dipped Palets Or and molded praliné chocolate) or my plated dessert. I was glad I practised the Palets Or last week, because I was able to pipe them much more evenly this time. It gets better with practice.

I took longer than usual to temper chocolate today, because the heat and humidity in the pastry kitchen simply made it harder. After I used the seeding method, the temperature of the dark chocolate stayed at 33 degrees Celsius (even though I kept stirring the chocolate, trying to cool it down), it just wouldn't come down to 31 degrees. I had to use the tabling method to bring it down to the optimum temperature of 31 degrees.

Then I found that the chocolate would not set quickly in the mold, so I had to put the mold into the fridge... Every little step just took longer than usual.

At the end of 5 hours (without a break), I was able to serve the required items, though I felt I could have done a few things better or differently. Isn't that always the case?

It was certainly not my best effort, but it was not my worst either.

After the exam, each of us were treated to a glass of champagne and some finger food by the School. It was nice to be able to spend some time relaxing together... Then most of Group B went to Angelo's for some pizza and chicken wings. As we were happily chatting away, it dawned on us that this was our last time together as a group, which made us a little sad. This was a good group to be in, because we have never had any fights or serious disagreements. We always did what we could for the good of the group, and we were supportive of each other. We shared ideas, tools, ingredients, cleaning duties ... and, most of all, we had a lot of fun!

Thank you for the wonderful memories, Group B!

Sun Bread (Pain Soleil)

One of my favorite breads to make is the Sun Bread (Pain Soleil). Here is one that I made in Production Kitchen yesterday:


I decorated the Sun Bread with slices of apricots and chopped pistachios. I reckon this looks more like a gerbera than a sun, but it doesn't matter.

I really enjoyed the experience of making the Sun Bread from scratch. I was in Production Kitchen at 6am to make the dough, then I rested the dough while I made other bread doughs, then I came back to the Sun Bread dough and did all the steps to make the final product (i.e. what you see in the photo).

Chef CP was also kind enough to teach me how to make a decorative wheatsheaf bread. It was a variation on the traditional design, and it was interesting.


This was what the dough looked like after we finished making the decoration, and dusted it with flour. This photo was taken while we were waiting for the dough to proof before baking.

Making the wheatsheaf bread was time-consuming, but I didn't mind, because I enjoyed learning the techniques for making it.

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My gratitude to Chef CP for giving me the chance to volunteer in Production Kitchen one last time this term, and for teaching me more bread-making techniques. I have many happy memories in the Production Kitchen because it was where I gradually built my confidence in baking.

An Interesting Version of the Eiffel Tower (Photos)

Today, while I was volunteering in Production Kitchen, I watched Chef A make an edible (and, might I add, healthy) version of the Eiffel Tower for tonight's function at LCB Ottawa (Apéritif à la française). I took the opportunity to snap a few photos.






I reckon even if you're a meatlover, you would find the vegetables on this platter most appealing. :)