Thursday, June 25

We are sad to leave the friends we have made during our cookery course but are excited to continue our journey. Today was mainly a travel day as we made our way by train to Amboise, France. Amboise is on the Loire River and is home to Chateau d'Amboise, a 15th century royal residence. Much of the old town center is clustered around the chateau and is filled with bistros, sidewalk cafes, chocolatiers, and quaint little shops. We tasted our first crepes, visited Church of St. Dennis, and explored the streets of this quaint little town.

Wednesday
Today we started out learning several napkin folding techniques and finished by folding white fans for our dinner.
Meal planning is a primary element in a successful meal, every element must be well thought out prior to beginning the actual preparation. We then started designing our own course for the evening meal, now known as "the last supper"! Our last evening here.
We were in charge of a starter and the main coarse. Designing and preparing these dishes was a culmination of skills learned throughout the week.
Walnut Grove Cookery school exceeded our expectations.  Maynard, Benedict, and Freya were exceptional hosts!  We felt welcome and right at home from the moment we arrived!  The information and skills we will take home is invaluable for us as teachers and for our students!

Thank you so much for an amazing journey!
Cathy and Lori

Tuesday
We started off the morning in the kitchen learning chocolate and sugar work!  Then we worked in groups to do the preparation for our evening meal. Our group was responsible for a starter and the main course. We had lots of practice on our knife skills and exercised our palates by learning more about seasoning! We also prepared a banana and coffee ice cream that would be served following lunch! The learning is endless and outstanding!  We couldn't have imagined learning so much in such a small amount of time!  This experience is invaluable!

We could not complete our writing about this adventure without mentioning the wonderful people that have been here with us for the week. We have had such a great time working and playing with them! Thank you so much, Jackie, Robert, Leslie, Teelou, and Jo!  God Bless!

Rolling croissants!

Sugar and decorative work!

Knife skills!

Our 

amazing lunch! Cold meats, cheese, salad and bread! Yum!

Banana and coffee ice cream with chocolate drizzles! 

Making macaroons with an amazing French Patisserie, Anthony!

Croissants ready for proofing! 

Dessert! Amazing!

The main coarse, monkfish with a cream sauce, vegetables and scallops. Oh my !

An apple sorbet to cleanse the pallet. 

Chicken Liver Parfait

Crispy bread!

Smoked salmon with guacamole 

Sugar work! What fun! 

Practicing chocolate work! 

Monday
Today is PASTA!  We made fresh pasta to perfection! When working with these two wonderful chefs, we are held to very high standards! Close to perfection, every pasta noodle is exactly the same size!
We made tagliatelle, tortellini, and ravioli!  We then divided into our groups to practice skills by making a lemon tart with a sweet pastry and a lime parfait in a honey wafer basket.
We spent time in the afternoon visiting a buckwheat mill that has been a family operation for 12 generations! This is our first evening to prepare and plate the meal. Plating is quite a new experience, also done to perfection!

Pasta making techniques

Lunch of tagliatelle, fresh bread and salad, followed by cheese and biscuits.

                                     

 

Dessert course preparation

Excursion to 19th century windmill producing buckwheat in traditional method.

Finishing dinner preparation

Evening meal

Ending the evening with fun and games!