Plated desserts for the restaurant

So our first big project for this last term was to create our own dessert menu, cost the menu, and plate all the desserts.  One of the desserts from each person was actually going to be served to the restaurant one night in the place of our usual desserts.  Stress-city for me!  :)  I got really worked up trying to get it all worked out and planned, but it all went well in the end!  As soon as it was over, things were just so much more relaxed for me.  We have another big project after that (the one I am currently working on), but for some reason after this one it didn't seem nearly as stressful to me, yay!

So Tuesday, March 24th was my group's day to serve our dessert in the restaurant.  I was so nervous it wouldn't come out right!  I had gone in the weekend before to make puff pastry dough, so I could roll it out on Monday, our prep day, and cut out the shapes for my peach dish that would actually go out to the restaurant.  This is a picture of my peaches being covered in a lattice puff pastry out in the lounge so I could have some extra room.  I had halved a peach and filled the pit whole with a ball of marzipan, then placed it on a circle of puff pastry with a little cinnamon on it.  I then covered the peach with puff pastry that had a lattice pattern cut into it, egg washed the puff pastry, and baked it.

At 6:30pm, we got to go down to the service kitchen and start plating our first two desserts - one that had to be the one for the restaurant.  This is my "Peach in Puff Pastry" plate with a caramel sauce swirl and three raspberries.  

Later I had to change my three raspberries to one, with two blueberries as well since I was running out of raspberries, but that is okay.

My second dessert that I plated at 6:30pm was my "Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding".  On Sunday I had made up cinnamon rolls made with sweet dough and filled as Grandma always did.  I did like the flavor that I got from it, very cinnamon-y!  I plated it with caramel sauce, though the dots on the left ran a bit.

At 7:00pm, my third dessert was due, and it was the "Triple Chocolate Tower".  It was made with a dark, milk, and white chocolate mousse layer and topped with a cap of ganache with piped white chocolate decoration on top.  It was plated with a tempered chocolate garnish and chocolate filigree.

My final dessert at 7:15pm was my "Fresh Fruit Stack".  It had lemon mousse (super yummy!), fresh raspberries, fresh blue berries, and fresh mango sandwiched between tuile triangles.  It was plated with raspberry sauce and creme fraiche and a whipped cream rosette.

This is Chef Hall, my main instructor.  I have take a couple of pictures of him before, though for some reason they never actually took.  Ood.  I dunno.  But this one turned out of him!

This is Felicia, one of my group members this term.  She is stylishly wearing a beautiful caramel garnish to accessorize her hair net since she forgot her hat that day.  :)

Overall, the plated desserts were not so bad to do.  I thought the ordering process and working out the costing really put the whole idea of making a "menu" into perspective.  Looking back, I really enjoyed the project.