Week One of Pastry School!

A couple months ago I applied and got accepted into the classic pastry arts program at the French Culinary Institute. I will be attending the night program, while working full time, and cannot be any more excited to have started!! Baking is a real passion of mine, and it's amazing to be able to take it to the next level. Classes started this past Tuesday, and with the first week done, I can safely say that I LOVE it!

Full uniform - my embroidered jacket didn't come in yet. Sexy hat!

This week I got an email from a friend that said something along the lines of, "Hey, I saw you started pastry school this week. It's about time you realized that's what you should be doing." I feel that way too.

First fully baked project - apple tart

The first week of classes was simultaneously exciting and terrifying. I was so nervous to start. I had no clue what kind of skill level my fellow classmates would be at, what my instructors would be like, etc, etc. I get all kind of anxiety about starting new things, and this time was no exception. Fortunately everything went so smoothly. My chef instructors are amazing. The head instructor is Chef Cynthia, and she's really incredible. She made Caroline Kennedy's wedding cake, and now in addition to being an instructor at French Culinary Institute, she has her own really impressive cake company in NYC, Cakeline.

Banana tart - A couple of the rosettes got smushed in the fridge

In our first week of class, in addition to covering some basic lessons, we made and completed an apple tart and a banana cream tart. I brought the apple tart to work and I swear it was completely gone within 5 minutes of unwrapping it. I shared the banana tart with my family yesterday, and they approved. I'm really looking forward to all the other things I'll be learning and hope to be able to update this with pictures and stories while I'm going through these next 9 months before I graduate!