At the Culinary Arts Studio in Plettenberg Bay, there is never a dull moment. Claire updates us on her Pastry Assessment.

There’s nothing more terrifying than knowing you’re going to have to complete a practical assessment…except of course if it’s a 2 day Pastry Assessment – bring it on!

We recently had the awesome task of baking for a practical pastry assessment that we had to complete as part of our practical component for our course work. Because some of the dough for the pastries needed to stand and prove, the assessment was split over two days. This was slightly stressful as there were some things that I was not very confident in making, but after some hard work and motivation from our principal and lecturer Tim Woodford, I managed to complete all the recipes that we were given.

The satisfaction of completing a daunting task combined with and overcoming sensitivities about making mistakes just felt fantastic. One of the most difficult pastries to make were the croissants, but they turned out beautifully and tasted fabulous. Let’s just say… getting to taste your baking is a perk of the culinary course.

This was truly one of the best assessments that I have completed and it was a huge learning curve in terms of managing my time within the required parameters.  There were a few challenges and nervous moments for myself and others, but the lessons learned and the character building through these moments was worth the stress, or at least I thought so. It’s amazing what you can do with a little effort and enthusiasm at a wonderful culinary cooking school.

It reminded me of why I am here, so far from home, but doing what I love and living the dream here at the Plett Campus where it is beautiful to be a chef.