The Final Four

Still running off a wedding cake high we were all reminded that the final four days were upon us. The Final exam is four days long and consists of a 2 hour written exam and 3 days of practical exam. We are all given one large and small tart or cake, one large and small vienoiserie item, one dozen petits fours, and one dozen chocolates that we need to make plus a showpiece demonstrating our favorite thing about NYC to hold it all. Mine were Dacquoise cake, Challah bread, Dark chocolate caramel bonbons, and petits fours glacee. And my showpiece was a tribute to Strawberry Fields.

Day one went well with the written portion in the morning and I was pretty confident that I got a good grade on that. Then the practical started and we were off. All of us following our own personal schedules and trying to get as much work done as quickly as possible. The four days flew by as we all tried to balance our time between making pastries and creating a beautiful showpiece.

We then had the frightening task of carrying our showpieces all the way down the hall and placing all of our pastries on them without them breaking. I was glad that it went mostly smoothly with minimal damage and nothing that couldn't easily be fixed. I blushed as people awed my chocolate painting of John Lennon as echos of the song Imagine played in my head.

We all were very nervous as we waited to be called in by the judges who were top industry professionals that had never seen our work before. Judging went well and she complimented my artistry and said what had set me apart was that just from looking at my work she could really tell that I cared. Phew it was all done... almost!