Judgement Day: Original Gateau "The Hangover"

My Mosaic Hangover

Once more and for the last time, it's the moment of truth: our final Kitchen Assessment. Fresh from the nuclear meltdown / white goo disaster of catastrophic proportions, adjustments were made today to hopefully secure success for my gateau. I speak of coz, of my kirsch mousse.

So what changed, you ask? Well I followed the recipe for a start!

Instead of portioning 300g of pâte à bombe for the mousse in my first attempt, I mistakenly dumped the whole 750g lot into the whipped cream and gelatine mix, resulting in a heavy and under-gelatinized mess. Heck even Jello-from-a-box was more attractive than my pool of slop. Lesson well learnt, my portion-controlled mousse came out much better today, holding its shape while yielding a creamy consistency when sliced into.

Another variance was a vanilla bean added to the pâte à bombe; the black speckled seeds not only brought life to the otherwise anemic-looking mousse, it added a subtly sweet perfume which I think makes any dessert more comforting to eat. Taste, touch, sight and smell, we feast with all our senses, don't we?

Hangover In Small Doses

While the mousse had sufficient gelatine-coverage, I reduced the gelatine in the strawberry jelly to avoid the same rubbery chew toy I made the last time, while into the jaconde soaking syrup I added lemon juice to liven things up. Who doesn't love a kirsch-lemon cocktail, aye? Bongo Cola, Burgundy Punch, Florida, KGB, Unsung Hero...

 

Right-o, Happy Hour aside, I surrounded the gateau with a strip of tulip paste-stenciled jaconde for a neater finish and to hide any spillage from the many layers that went into my creation.

Gateau Lined Up For The Judging Panel

Today's gateau was much better than my first go, but not my best work. On 20/20 hindsight, I should have added some lemon juice and zest to the mousse for zing, or crumbled a layer of white chocolate shortcake in the middle for crunch.

That said, I've done my best, now we play the waiting game.

The Long Wait

What of the result? Believe it or not folks, I passed! This Assessment was no mean feat and the marking criteria was equally tough, which goes to show how creativity - key to excelling in this industry - is not a skill one readily possesses; for some (and I harshly mean me) it'll take years of practice before one can truly understand the different flavors and textures of pastries and how to match them for the best results.

Here's a look at what some of my amazingly creative pals came up with. Behold!

Song & Erica's Creations

Smital & Margarita's Gateaus

Matin & Mystery Chef's Masterpieces

Lucy & Mystery Chef's Works Of Art

Lining Up The Troops

After the assessment we were herded into the demo kitchen for an individual critique and feedback session, gladly welcomed by us all. What better way to improve than by learning what worked and what failed, both of your own and that of your peers?

Say Cheese!

This being the last week of the last term of our pastry journey at LCB, a photo session was in order and Chef Keith and Chef Luigi gaming-ly moonlighted as our photographers. 

Finally, A Pic With Chef Keith :)