Week 1 done: Chef Layla now in the MIX!

So it is official! Week one is done. I am now a Pastry School student at the coolest school I have ever attended by far. The Notter Pastry School of Arts is professional, creative, state of the art, high end and down right fun!

Waking up at 5:30 every day and starting class at 7 am was something that I was very nervous of doing. I have to drive a good 35 to 40 min down to the Fl. Mall on OBT. Not the prettiest drive but well worth it! I am in class from 7:00-2:30 every day. And our classes are in a kitchen that is 65 degrees. It's FREEZING to little old me. I have the most comfortable kitchen shoes, the chefs coat, the hat and all the other little items that make up a CHEF's get up. I look professional but feel so weird in these clothes. They will grow on me I'm sure. In week one we learned about baking sciences and nutrition and sanitation laws. I took a ton of notes and have spent about 4 hours retyping them already not to mention taking photos to document all of the cool baking "experiments" we have done.

We have made biscuits with varying ingredients to see why certain chemicals do what they do, we made cookies, brownies, ganache, and various breads already. I have also learned so many good and BAD things about how people store foods, how many bacterias it takes to make you deathly ill and then some even more gross stuff the public should never know about food production.(McDonald's have a sign on their fries machine that states their fries contain chemicals that may cause cancer)!!!!! Let's just say EAT NATURAL foods people! The people that I have learned from already are world renowned pastry artists and I can't believe on day one we started learning from one the greatest chocolatiers the country has ever seen.

I have a great class mixed of different ages, backgrounds and from all over the country. We work in groups of two for now but will be working in teams. I think this is by far the funnest and best form of education I have received yet. It is so wonderful too to have people around me all day that are just sooo into baking and pastry as much as I am. They get that excitement in their eyes and can talk about it all day. When I talk about it with friends and family they say "that's cool". I know everyone cares. But they don't have that same level of love and passion for it as i do. I no longer feel like a fish out of water because I have met other pastry nerds like me. ;o)

I am looking forward to the next two weeks. It is our first real baking course of "breads" I think. We will learn three new breads a day, take notes, take pictures and then have a production test on making a certain type of bread as well as keep a notebook on the breads.

I am so thankful I took the risk. I made the right choice and can not be happier about what is ahead for me. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive and patient with me. You will reap the benefits when I bring alllll of the yummy things I have made in class home every day!

It is so important to live your dream.... it makes this journey of life so much more fun and worth while! Stay in touch everyone! Hugs.. Chef Layla