17 July 2012

This morning, in our final demonstration (sniff sniff) we learned to cook: Broth with broad bean leaves and mint, Hot oysters with champagne sauce, Hot oysters with beurre blanc and julienne of cucumber, Poached whole salmon, Carpaccio with slivers of parmesan rocket and truffle oil, Carpaccio with rocket and parmesan, Fillet of beef with currants and Armagnac, Quail Veronique*, Salad of quail with grapes, Oeufs a la neige, Peach sorbet with raspberry cream.

* Seeing someone joint and carve a quail is something special - it's like the machine from "Honey, I shrunk the kids" zapped a roast chicken to the size of a peach, making the chopping board and carving utensils look hilariously oversized. Best served alongside a mini-bar bottle of booze for full pretend-giant effect. 

Wild salmon chilling out in a herb bed while shrimp sunbathe on its back.

Tomorrow, I shall be studying like mad for the written exams on Friday. There are six hours of exam papers on all manner of topics including: identifying cuts of meat and fish, spices, herbs, food hygiene, compost, cheeses, freezing, preserving, chocolate ... and the list goes on! The past few nights I've been having some exceedingly delicious nightmares. Last night a giant menacing soda bread demanded I list the ingredients of a basic bread dough - I couldn't answer, but I ate him. 

On Thursday at 8am I have my practical exam where I have to cook a three-course meal and a 'surprise' bread (hopefully not a half-eaten giant menacing soda bread) in three hours and then present it to three judges. I know, it sounds a bit like the finale of a TV cooking contest - I expect there will be a Masterchef-type voiceover playing in my head the entire time ('You have FIVE minutes!').

The theme of my meal is a summer Sunday lunch and I have chosen to cook:

Entree

Fried courgette flowers stuffed with Irish goat's cheese and basil pesto, served with tomato sauce

Main course

Poached wild Irish salmon with hollandaise, served with a side of marsh samphire

Dessert

Three-tiered almond meringue with fresh strawberries and cream

I have made all of my dishes before (although admittedly only once, and some of them weeks ago), and if all goes to plan my final menu will look a little something like this:

I will not have access to the internet again until the exams are over, so the next time I write I shall be a cooking school graduate (fingers crossed). Wish me luck! Or better still, wish me lunch!