Leiths: Intermediate Term, Week 10

The last week of our second term! After this Easter break only 10 more weeks stand in between me and the end of Leiths, a scary thought. It was difficult to concentrate this week with thoughts of impending exams on everybody’s minds, but still the cooking continued…With Easter rapidly approaching, it was only appropriate that our last baking task of the term was the classic hot cross buns. Or in my case, some hot cross and some hot stripy buns as I ran out of the paste mixture for the crosses halfway through, resulting in some slightly sad buns that were not photo worthy! Nevertheless they were fun to make and even more delicious to eat than normal, knowing the work that went into them.Our very last cooking session was spent cooking a Thai buffet in groups, hence the pile of som tam (papaya) salad above and roasted, marinaded salmon below. We proved just how much being a cookery school student has affected our appetite as we happily sat down to eat this full meal (which also included gyozas and a curry) at 3:30 in the afternoon. It was a really nice way to end the term – a relaxed cooking session and then getting to properly enjoy the meal afterwards, rather than everyone rushing off. The only downside was the extra washing up…but it was worth it!Boning a chicken, ice creams, sorbet, 3 types of soufflés, bavarois (I need a long break from bavarois’), turning vegetables, tunnel boning lamb, 4 new types of pastry, enriched breads, espagnole sauce, pasta from scratch, crème patissiere – these are just a few of the things I’ve learnt this term that I had no idea how to do 10 weeks ago. Two more weeks of Easter holidays to go, then back to the craziness of the cookery school bubble – bring on the Advanced term!