Monday, January 2, 2012

Julia Child - Buche de Noel

When I finished with Final exams about two weeks ago, I was exhausted. Nights of staying up late studying by myself and with friends had finally overtaken me. Ok, well, it was mostly studying. Some friends had organized "breaks" in which we did things like walk in the rain, watch old movies, head to the gym, and In need of something to help me stay awake while I packed up for Winter Break, I did a Google search for Julia Child's classic French Christmas dessert: Buche de Noel. Thrilled to find the total episode on Youtube, I was glued to the screen when I should have been packing up clothes or washing mugs or putting away textbooks... It was a treat and if you have a half hour to spare, enjoy this French classic... looks so good!

The Four Seasons - Part II

 Happy New Year! 

Here is the second and final part of the Four Seasons tour from last week. Seeing the pictures reminds me of all the hard work and dedication that it takes be successful not only at being a chef, but in any career. Although I am seriously considering pursuing the culinary arts at this point, the tour was a special treat to get an inside peek into the hotel and restaurant industry. 

Many thanks to Chef Gonzalez and my mom for a wonderful birthday event!


The Pastry Kitchen. Chef Gonzalez said that the hotel will serve gluten free desserts and pastries upon request.

One of the chefs preparing stacked cakes as a special gift for guests who are celebrating a birthday or anniversary.
The delicious details! Each was covered on the sides with tiny chocolate bits... something fun to try at home frosting cakes!

Foreground: fresh strawberries for a cheesecake dessert. The large bins in the background are for their dry ingredients, cornmeal, flour, sugar, etc.
Separating eggs... not sure what was going on here! So many options with egg whites!

Sous Chef Peter who runs the kitchens in the mornings. Chef Peter is cutting out dough to make saltines for lunch.

At the end of our tour... Chef Gonzalez is a very gracious and knowledgeable man, it was a pleasure to meet him!

One of the beautiful dining areas at the Four Seasons Hotel.


All photographs taken by Alison Linton.