Starting Training....

A very good friend of mine gifted me a book on Cake Decorating Techniques (you will find it on my list on the left). Unlikely all my other culinary training books, this is not so easy to read tout court since it is very nicely arranged in lessons. Actually I really like this feature, feels like being in classroom. I felt compelled to start practising.
Sunday I woke up quite early (by chance actually) so I made a batch of Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing and today finally I start piping!
This is what I got….








Not exciting but I cannot complain ;) For being the first time some of my shells had a nice volume. Not so satisfied of the rosettes, too much like a whirlpool than a flower. The star flowers even had an empty centre! Didn’t have much icing left on my paper cones to experiment on reverse shells, just one try….
What do you think?

There is always a first time…

It was few days ago when I had the pleasure to try what I would like to be my future job; but let’s start from the beginning.
Some time ago a friend of mine told me about the birthday of a friend of his, nothing peculiar so far; the nice part came when he told me that he was thinking of gifting him a dinner. Nice idea, no? You get to sit with your friends, drink good wine, chitchat, listen to good music and eat a meal especially prepared for you. The bottom line is that he wanted me to prepare that meal.
Pointless to say that I was very happy of this opportunity; my first dinner as a cook! I, in the kitchen cooking, plating and so on; them enjoying the results in the living room.
It was a very nice experience indeed. The kitchen was quite well equipped in tools and space but a cook’s knives are irreplaceable, don’t you think so too? Thankfully I already learned to travel with some of my equipments whenever I have to cook at a friend’s place.
It took me a couple of days to figure out the menu to prepare. I opted for a combination of traditional, regional and seasonal elements.
It’s asparagus time and Germany is quite a good producer of them (especially the white ones but I prefer the green). Strawberries are another hit of the season. The specimens coming from Bornheim are a nice orange read, roundish and of a wonderful smell; so aromatic, they are amazingly good!