Wine Revision

What a day! I’m tucked in for the night, going to do a bit more revision for tomorrow morning’s wine exam, and then nod off at a decent hour. Had a really good day in the morning, made Jalousie – a puff pastry treat that is a bit like a strudel, which was filled with an almond and candied peel filling, it was so delicious. I also made lobster in cream with herbs, random name, and a slightly retro dish, but so, so delicious. I was done early, and enjoyed some time to relax before demo. Rachel did the demo which was all about duck again today, but some of the best duck dishes that we have tasted. She also made croissants, so of course I had to make croissant dough tonight… Mary and I headed into the kitchen right after demo and started the process. We had a couple of bags of O’Donnells for dinner, along with a glass or two of wine (all for revision purposes with the wine exam coming up tomorrow, of course!). We were finished revising (for real), and with our croissant dough just before 9.

We have to be at the school for 7:40 tomorrow, the exam starts at 7:45, and then it is straight into the kitchen after that. We will cook until lunch as usual, I am hoping we aren’t too delayed in the kitchen after the exam. Denise is also headed to Amsterdam for the weekend, and Hannah back to London. Denise has kindly offered to drive us to the airport, we will leave here at 1:45. I am looking so forward to this weekend and seeing Mary, Sarah, Fergus and the kiddos. It will be such a lovely long weekend. Next week is already jam packed with excitement and it is our last full week, although we have Monday off for St. Patrick’s Day, so we only cook three days. We have another school outing, headed to Ballymaloe House Wednesday for afternoon tea, and to see the wine cellar.

I say it all the time, I can’t explain the Ballymaloe experience… I still after ten weeks of being here, walk through the courtyard and notice something new, the fruit garden which I pass every morning is full of colour and it’s only the middle of March, the veg growing in the green house has started to change from when we arrived, the weather is changing, the days are longer of course, there are chicks, piglets and a calf… It’s the perfect time to do the course in a lot of ways, spring is such an exciting time. The teachers, and of course Darina, Rory and Rachel make you feel like you can conquer the world with food. I know that sounds funny, but it’s true. What they do here inspires me and blows my mind at the same time. Next week is going to be a great week, and I am going to enjoy every second of it!

As I said yesterday, we handed in our menus this morning, I’m quite excited about my meal. Before demo we found out when we will be cooking for our practical exam. I am thrilled that I am on Wednesday, and one of the first into the kitchen, I will start at 8:30.

Okay, time for last minute revision and then some sleep.

“The wine exam is best approached almost like a final wine class with the purpose to remind you of how far you’ve come.” – Colm