Swiss Pastry Chefs and Bee stings

Today was my first day back at school after a month off for the Christmas holidays. It was a nice slap in the face, actually. We have seemingly amazing Swiss pastry chef as our instructor for the next 5 weeks while we do our patisserie practicals. The slap in the face came when I was expecting to feel rejuvenated as soon as I stepped on the school property, but as I was about to step out of the lift I saw a few of the Indian guys in my class and it call came rushing back: the incessant talking in foreign languages while the instructor is speaking, the talking on mobiles in class, my barely containable desire to swear at everyone and thrash about the kitchen in a fit of rage.

On the plus side, I had the pleasure of tasting Bienenstich (Bee sting) cake for the first time -- the yummiest Swiss dessert ever to come into contact with my taste buds. I had at least 3 portions. I'm not a big fan of nuts in my desserts, but the almond brittle on top of the cake was complete bliss. We had a demo today, so we only watched the instructor make things: Bienenstich, Quiche Lorraine and Gugelhopf. Like I said, the Bee sting cake was the best.

Writing a letter to my mother and watching a few recaps of America's Top Chef series has reminded me why I chose this career path to begin with. It's funny how easily one can forget one's dreams when...life gets in the way.