Invited by Mr. Guo from Jiafuxun, I wrote an article about my experiences and thoughts about learning Western pastry. The moment I agreed to her, I suddenly felt a lot of pressure, as if I was back in my student days. At every parent-teacher meeting, the teacher always asked me to speak on behalf of the whole class and share my learning experience and thoughts...
To me, being a pastry chef is like an unattainable dream. Like a church wedding, it has captured my imagination countless times and made me feel holy and beautiful.
I no longer dream about church weddings, but my dream of becoming a pastry chef has miraculously come true! Maybe life is so wonderful, just as Forrest Gump's mother said in "Forrest Gump" - "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what the next one will taste like."
Thanks Government, thank you to Jiafu News, and thank you to my dear teachers. It is you who have allowed me to finally get out of the house and return to the classroom after living at home for many years, starting a wonderful journey of realizing my dream. Thank you!
When did this dream take root in my heart?
Looking back now, the first time I came into contact with Western pastries was probably when I was eleven or twelve years old.
In June of that year, it was my grandfather’s sixtieth birthday, and all the relatives gathered together to celebrate his birthday. At the banquet, the adults put three large tables together, and the tables were filled with various delicacies. When the meal was about to begin, the aunts placed a magical object in the center of the table. A group of brothers and sisters and I quickly stopped playing and crowded around the table, looking at this magical object curiously.
"What is this?"
"There are peaches, are they real peaches?"
"What are those white flowers made of? It’s so beautiful!”
“It’s so delicious, can you eat it?”
…
After a long wait, I finally got a piece called “ "Birthday cake" thing, not to mention how happy I am! It was the first time in my life that I had birthday cake and it was so delicious! So for the rest of my life, I attended countless banquets and ate countless birthday cakes, but I always felt that the cake on that day was the most delicious.
For a child who grew up in the countryside, a birthday cake seems like a distant dream.
I waited for many years until my 22nd birthday when a friend came from afar and brought me a birthday cake and a bouquet of flowers. I didn't have a mobile phone at that time, so he couldn't find where I lived, so he could only wander in the park downstairs. When the lights came on, I went downstairs to look for food. Amidst the fireworks all over the city, I saw his At that moment, my heart was filled with joy.
I ran back to the dormitory and called Xiaohui and Xiaofan. In a restaurant, I finally had a birthday with a birthday cake. Later, he became my husband... Now, he no longer remembers these past events, only I still think of them from time to time.
I once bought several books on pastry making at the Guangzhou Book Center and sent them to my sister. I also encouraged her many times to become an apprentice in a cake shop, hoping to help her realize her dream of becoming a pastry chef. dream. However, dreams are one thing, reality is another. Poverty and labor are always the background of our lives, and dreams are always out of reach.
However, the God of fate favored me. When Sister Liang invited me to learn Western pastry with her, I was stunned for a moment! Is it true? Can I really study? Will I be laughed at if I am clumsy?
With an uneasy mood, I walked into the Western pastry class offered by Jiafuxun. On the afternoon of the first class, when I found that Teacher Fan, who taught our Western pastry class, was more nervous than me, I finally endured it. Can't help but laugh!
I have to say that I met a good teacher who is serious and patient, and I also met a group of cute and interesting classmates. Thank you! It's you who made me regain my childhood dream. When that unattainable dream was right in front of me, I was at a loss.
I listened carefully to the teacher's lectures, watched his operations carefully, and took notes very hard, for fear of missing something or missing something. Despite this, I still found many minor errors in my notes during subsequent operations, and I sincerely apologize for this.
We officially started the practical practice on the second day, and learned how to make chiffon cake that day. Prepare the ingredients first, and then watch the teacher's step-by-step operation, beat the eggs, separate the egg whites and egg yolks, weigh the flour, sift the flour, stir, whip, stir again into batter, put it into the baking pan, put it in the oven, bake it, take it out and let it cool. Squeeze some salad dressing, spread some meat floss, roll it into a roll, wrap it with a layer of seaweed, cut it into pieces, and put it on a plate...
It seems like a complicated process, but the teacher makes it as simple as it is. It flows as smoothly as clouds and water. One minute on stage, ten years of hard work off stage. I know that if you want to be as good as the teacher, you need to practice repeatedly for a long time.
On the third day, based on the chiffon cake, we learned how to make birthday cakes, how to whip cream, how to apply cream and decorate flowers. Apart from the wonderful skills of making flowers, I can no longer describe my mood in words. But I believe that in the near future, I will be able to make a beautiful birthday cake as a gift for my family and friends.
The fourth day of learning is about bread making, which I think is the easiest to learn. Because I have made bread at home several times following online videos. Although the bread I made is not as nice and soft as the ones sold in bakeries, I am still quite familiar with the operation process.
On the fifth and sixth days, we will learn about egg yolk puff pastry, moon cakes, puffs and cranberry cookies. These are the things that the students most want to learn, and everyone said that making these is much simpler than making bread. It does not require fermentation, and it is very convenient to make and easy to use. Therefore, the students were very enthusiastic and busy these two days. , the ovens also baked batch after batch non-stop...
On the seventh day, learn about coconut cookies and brown sugar cookies. With the previous five days as preparation, this day should be our most relaxing day. I was not in a good state that day. My child had a cold and fever, and I had not had a good rest for several days. I brought my child to class. In addition to taking care of the child, I also had to take notes and take photos, which was a bit overwhelming.
Thank you, Teacher Guo and Teacher Li from Jiafuxun, for allowing me to continue taking classes with my children in the next two days. I have learned the most in these two days, including peach cakes, egg tarts, donuts, caterpillar bread, cheesecake, croissants, and snowflakes. These are all very popular with everyone and are also what children like to eat. . Every time the finished product comes out, all the work is done in the blink of an eye. After class, I took the peach cakes I was assigned to the table tennis hall where Dabao taught. There, I received affirmation and praise from teachers, parents and friends, and gained confidence and joy.
Happiness is always short-lived, especially when studying. On the morning of the tenth day, the teacher taught us how to make wife cakes. I never like to eat food that is too sweet. The method of making wife cake is similar to that of egg yolk cake, which happens to be what I like to eat. It’s so good!
The teacher said that he taught us everything he could teach us. As parting was approaching, I felt a lot of gratitude and emotion in my heart. Thousands of words turned into one sentence - Teacher Fan, thank you!
On the afternoon of the tenth day, it was our happy hour, where we studied questions, prepared for exams, and took group photos.
We have come along the way, chasing the wind and the moon, time flies, and the years are gray. But I want you to know that what is old is only the appearance, but what remains unchanged is the heart of chasing dreams.
May we all be dreamers, and may our dreams come true.