Monday, August 21, 2006

While you were sleeping...

mini schnecken



Friday night was one of the best nights I have had all year! No I didn’t eat out somewhere new and exciting nor did I go to the pub with friends and come rolling home drunk and I didn’t see a great band in concert. I had the extreme good fortune of spending the night at a particular bakery that supplies several top notch restaurants and establishments in Sydney. From 8pm till just before 6am I egg washed, glazed, cut, assembled and filled many of the yummy creations produced by the pastry team.

I had gone along in the hope I could stand by and watch the night of a pastry chef unfold…….but before I knew it I was being kitted out in black and white pants, a white top and a spiffy navy blue apron. Within minutes of the pastry team starting their shift I was handed a tub of eggy mixture and a brush and given a 2 minute crash course in the art of washing…..except I think I took the art bit too literally and proceeded to paint each croissant like it was a delicate canvas……I was politely ushered to speed up my pace and explained of the imminent oven schedule…..

By about 2am it dawned on me that I had entered another world…..a place where people were wide awake at this hour creating and being productive…….any notion of day or night no longer really existed for these people…… as they were shifting into full swing I was starting to fade and at about 3am I had hit a wall……this must have been noticeable because I was swiftly handed a slice of rich moist chocolate brownie and a hot cup of tea…… and suddenly I was a new woman…..with my second gust of energy I decided to expel all thoughts from my mind about what time it was and avoided looking at the clock……and as a result my mind was open to the workings of this strange world……I ate portugese custard tarts still warm from the oven at 4am…..Oh and the friands…so fresh, so crumbly on the outside and soft and warm on the inside….who cared if it was 5am, it was only 5am to those that were sleeping…..I realised how relative time was…


mini danishes



I received tips on how to do things the best way and was shown the inner workings of baking at such a scale. I was in my element, I didn’t want to leave no matter how exhausted I may have become, I was functioning off excitement……and perhaps off a sugar high from the tarts and brownies…….as the clock approached 6am and everything was winding up I was given one warning…..make sure you get to sleep before you see the sun………so declining an offer to head off for a meal with the team I drove home with the feeling that if I didn’t make it under my doona before the sun knocked on my door I would perhaps turn into something else….it was like I had entered another world and if I didn’t obey this one warning I may be stuck in the night for all eternity…..

I was in bed by 6.30am, however sleeping was not easy and I found myself giving into the daylight and got up at 11.30am……....at least I was assured that I was still a day creature and not gobbled up by the night….



palmier

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The food looks amazing - what a talented pastry chef!! I admire your dedication in staying awake for 24hours, lets hope you can replicate these master pieces for your friends to enjoy (at a more reasonable hour)... mmmm.

3:13 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did you manage to create any Russian delicacies???

3:18 pm  

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