My big dream was to get into a real pastry school.
me in pastry school
The best schools are in Spain and France. Training in them runs from 3 months to 6 months. Then my daughter was only a year old and I could not afford to leave home for such a long period. And I could only wait until my baby grows up and I can leave. And then I saw that the pastry-chef Maria Selyanina from Russia, I had visited her master class in Moscow early, opened a pastry school "House Pastry Lab. by Maria Selyanina" in Barcelona! And she has weekly courses with chefs from different countries. This was my chance!
When I opened the school schedule I saw a course for beginners, which is conducted by the French chef Javier Guillen. He worked in greatest chocolate house "Valrhona". Now he has several pastry shops in Brazil. He has an incredible feel, his deserts have their own unique style, which goes from collection to collection. I will forever remember his cake, which was called "the view of Rio de Janeiro from the plane's window". This was his first job, which I saw. This cake conquered me and I realized that I crazily want to meet him and learn from him.
I sent an application to the school's mail, the administrator said me to send them photos of my works and if chef likes them, then they are waiting for me on the course! I sent the photos. They did not answer me for a week! This week lasted forever for me! Every day I checked the mail 10 times. And finally, they sent me an invitation! I was happy. I sent out an advance payment, bought tickets for the plane and waited for the trip!:)
dawn in Barcelona
I came to Barcelona. It was warm and sunny there! The school is located in the suburbs of Barcelona. I lived right at the school, it was very convenient.
We got up at 6 am and every day we met the dawn. I looked at the sky and did not believe that this was happening to me! At 7:30 we had breakfast straight in the pastry room, we ate fresh warm croissants and immediately started to work. On the first day we were divided into three groups. I was in the third group, with two Russian girls. We are so friendly that we still communicate!
my group
Each group had its own tasks, we worked very hard together with the boss, he explained everything and helped! He has very deep knowledge!
In the afternoon we went up to the dining room for dinner. The cook of this confectionery school was amazingly preparing Mediterranean cuisine! I fell in love with it forever!
Then we again worked, and only at 18:00 we had free time. Twice we went to Barcelona with girls from our group, took a walk, saw the city, drank wine and ate octopus. But it was much more pleasant to stay in school and communicate with Maria, her husband and Javier. They told us about Spain, how people live here, treated to gin. Every day we ate cakes cooked in the same school! They were perfect!
We had a competition for the best chocolate figure and we made Javier's motorcycle out of chocolate and became winners!
It was a terrific experience! Javier gave us an unreal amount of knowledge, taught the basics. He was strict with us and demanding, but at the same time we laughed a lot and enjoyed ourselves!
me, Maria&Javier
On the day of the presentation, we laid a stunning table, got certificates, ate mango ice cream, that we cooked earlier. We were happy.
all group
presentation table
In the last evening in Barcelona Maria, her husband, daughter, su-chef and we went to a very unusual restaurant, it was called Cheese bar. There everything is made of cheese, most of all I remember cheese sweets!
A year later, when I came back to Barcelona, I came back to this restaurante to it these cheese sweets:)
It's time to part! We were very sad to leave.
I did not expect such a warm welcome from the hosts, such a charismatic atmosphere! I will always remember this wonderful time!
Many thanks to Maria and her husband for having created such a project! You give the opportunity to pastry-lovers from all over the world to learn, communicate and be inspired! You share your knowledge and energy with us! It is very important!
THANK YOU♡
Now Maria and her husband have also opened their own confectionery "Pastry Shop Le Sucre Coeur BCN by Maria Selyanina" and now everyone who comes to Barcelona can try her desserts. Highly recommend!
P.S.: I apologize for the quality of photos! They were made 3 years ago, then I did not have a good camera :)
But these memories are very important for me, so I decided to share these photos with you♡
I hope this story will inspire you! You will believe in your dream and follow it! After all, all good dreams should come true!:)
Many kisses to you♡