Week #3

Never thought drowning in pastries would be a BAD thing...

Feb 01, 2021

Hey fellow Francophiles! Another week for the books and another weekly dose of all things French landing in your inbox

Food waste in a Covid world

Like I said last week, it’s a funny time to be a culinary student. With all of the great articles out there on Covid’s effects on the restaurant industry/how people eat, I wanted to shed some light on one of the more unexpected drawbacks of the pandemic: food waste (and PASTRY waste at that).

At the end of each practical class, my peers and I form a line along the marble counter, gold cake boards in hand, to present to the chef what we have made. In another time, only about a year ago, the head honcho would dip his fork into every single iteration of the dessert at hand - grading us equally on presentation and taste. To replace the latter, the school’s instituted a new “waste” category AKA how much of a mess you make and how much money in ingredients you blow through. Rather ironic, considering that every single pastry made in our demonstrations and practicals must be thrown away for health precautions or consumed at your own risk.

Yes, I am now a walking display case of classic French pastries.

This creates a moral dilemma. Can you share food in a pandemic? Is it irresponsible of me to want to gift my cakes and cookies to the neighbor down below, the dishwashers at school, or the church across the street? Even if the kitchen I prepare it all in is better sanitized than any boulangerie on the block?

My roommate’s friends sampling this week’s bounty

The #1 rule of pastry is not poisoning your customers. More important now than ever. So for now, I’m sticking to peers, my roommate, and myself. But it absolutely crushes my soul to say goodbye to these perfectly edible (and delicious if I might add) desserts every week when the absolute BEST part of cooking is sharing all of these desserts and recipes with those around me.