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| First things 1st! |
Oh, where should we begin? One week spent in the
glorious Napa Valley in the quaint Spanish Villa Inn, a short scenic drive away
from the legendary CIA, the Culinary Institute of America, attending a
professional chocolate making course.
Of course we rarely got a chance to
experience the 2.2 mile scenic road to and from our enchanting B&B in the
broad daylight because we sneaked out in our chef's attire in the pitch dark of
the early dawn, tiptoeing our way out so we wouldn't miss our abundant breakfast
freshly prepared by the CIA students in their, how-should-we-say? grand, action
packed, state of the art, blow-your-mind-aromas-infused culinary masterpiece of
a kitchen before the start of each class.
So we regretfully missed our quiet
innkeeper Roy's daily home-made breakfast served in the inn's period dining
room, set ahead of time with fancy china and flatware. We did enjoy the lovely
balcony where we created a home ambiance with candles we found in the inn's
foyer and fresh flowers we picked from Roy's garden, placed in a made-up vase.
Our late-night let's-call-it-snack-in-bed after each day of culinary adventure
in some renown Napa Valley restaurant included -depending on the digestive
needs dictated by that night's dinner menu - Earl Gray tea prepared using the
tea kettle fetched from Roy's kitchen at the wee hours of the night, served in
Roy's best china with assortment of chocolates made by our fellow students or a
large glass of port wine poured from Roy's crystal decanter and generously made
available to the inn's guest (other guests didn't seem to show any interest).
On
occasional nights when the 6-course lunch provided by the CIA after each day of
class wasn't enough, we would indulge our senses with a bottle of local wine,
decadent figs picked from Roy's lovely fig tree growing in his manicured
courtyard right next to our car (illuminated by the aid of a flashlight app on
Lili's i-phone) and assortment of cheeses and a fresh baguette bought from a
local market to bring our sugar level down.
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| Bouchon Bistro, Yountville |
Speaking of sugar, to keep it at
bay we gravitated towards salty and savory foods such as 1st course: oysters
and champaign followed by 2nd course: mussels with fries and, oh, more
champaign at the Bouchon Bistro in Yountville; the plat' d'jour baked trout
stuffed with fingerling potatoes and side order of fried jalapeno peppers at
the Cook restaurant on Main street, St. Helena; and eggplant fries and fried
baby artichoke hearts with fig and gorgonzola pizza topped with walnuts and
arugula at the Brassica of St. Helena. In one week we consumed about a barrel
of red wine, a ton of dark chocolate, Roy's carafe of port wine, and gourmet
meals with just about every ingredient imaginable, collectively gaining 10 lbs
of weight. In other words we practiced incessant chewing during our waking
hours for which we paid a hefty price upon return.
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| Bouchon Bistro, Yountville |
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| Cooks, St. Helena |
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| Brassica, St. Helena |
Our PPP
(patient, pleasant and personable - due to genetics or regular chocolate
consumption?) instructor, Chef John DiFilippo divided us into 4 groups of two,
with each group following a different recipe using the day's technique in the
every-woman's-dream all stainless steel kitchen, the kind equipped with every
imaginable tool and gadget, endless supply of fresh ingredients, and All-Clad
pots and pans of all sizes, the kind of kitchen where all the used stuff gets
magically cleaned, all the towels tossed in a dirty pile washed and sterilized,
where the CIA visitors peek in from the adjacent gift store window in absolute
awe and envy watching all 8 of us in our white torques, coats and aprons
covered in chocolate work our magic, transferring melted chocolate into
mouth-watering truffles of all shapes and forms, filled with freshly made
ganache in assorted flavors or creating all sorts of confections from
marshmallows and candies to nougats and pate de fruit. The rejects and scraps
were thrown on a "snack" table so we could sample each other's work.
At the end of each day a full box of sweets went home with us to be added to
our daily calories washed down with the wine of the day, Roy's endless supply
of port not coveted by the other guests, and a pot of hot tea. Yes, it took a
variety of liquids, often consumed in conjunction to cleanse our palates from
the day's doze of sugar. Thank God the hotel bathrooms are built just steps away
from the bed.
On the
last day all the week's work was carefully arranged on a huge mirrored display
and carefully carried two flights of stairs to the CIA kitchen by the most
daring students and placed on the dessert table next to the fancy cakes and
desserts produced by the students of the Pastry class. But no matter how
beautiful and impressive were the various cakes with their fancy decorations,
pedestals, and hand crafted sugar sculptures professionally prepared by the
would-be Pastry Chefs, our dainty jewel-like truffles in assorted colors and
shapes immediately brought smile to everyone's faces. It's true that no matter
how full one gets from all the food consumed, there's always room for one small
truffle. We proudly posed by our display, then went back to our chocolate
kitchen to pack boxes and boxes full of chocolates to take with us home. What a
memorable week it had been!
- Elizabeth
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| Chef John DiFilippo |
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| Truffles collectively made by the team. |
As 2012 ends
we'd like to reflect on this year's exhilarating journey and recount all the
wonderful moments of joy, excitement, laughter, discovery, hard work and yes,
aches and pains, as well as frustrations we've experienced together that shaped
our experience as artisan chocolatiers.
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