The course I am currently following at the INBP leads to exams for two different qualifications:
- the national Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP) which legally allows you to open a patisserie
- the Institution's own diploma which is significantly harder to achieve
Both qualifications include written exams on the theory of patisserie, related science and relevant economics/law.
All this to say that although we had a few days of exams the week before last, these were for the INBP diploma which is scored on a rolling basis. Now we are doing a practice for the 7 hour CAP practical we will sit in June at the end of the course.
During the 7 hours (which amounts to 6 + cleaning) you have to make a batch of viennoiseries (a leavened product which might be croissants, pains au chocolat or brioches), a batch either of choux pastry or puff pastry turned into classic products, a fruit tart and a decorated entremets.
We don't choose what we make - that is provided on the exam sheet.
This week, we are taking it in turns to do a dry run using a past paper. We have to make a brioche Nanterre, a brioche Parisienne, 8 pains au lait, 8 chocolate eclairs, 8 salambos, an apricot tart and the entremets, a mango charlotte (with suitable decor for a 6-year-old's birthday).
No mean feat in 6 hours. Of the first group that had a run at this, only one person finished the products on time. And he failed.
The French for mock exam is examen blanc. Our examen blanc is tomorrow but today we had a practice at all the products except the tart (the easiest bit) which makes it a mock, mock exam. Whiter than white.
I am not looking forward to tomorrow, it's going to be very pressured.
The practice, practice brioche Nanterre.
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