Chapter 26 chapter Five

After a while, the people above allowed me to enter and leave the chocolate workshop. Finally, I got a job helping to make bonbons. Honing the skill of making chocolate is the biggest purpose of my coming to "Iwata", because I want to learn the master chef's craft that is more sophisticated and persistent than making cakes. The room temperature in the chocolate workshop is relatively low, because when the room temperature reaches 24 degrees Celsius, the surface of the chocolate will start to melt, so the room temperature control in the workshop is stricter than that of ordinary kitchens.The best temperature for storing chocolate is 18 degrees Celsius. In order to prevent the chocolate from melting during the production process, you must keep an eye on the situation and adjust the room temperature.

Because they have been working in such a place for decades, many senior chocolatiers suffer from the coldness of their bodies.Until the chocolate is formed and hard to melt, the palm temperature must be kept low. Although it is convenient for homework, if you go home with a pair of cold hands, especially if there are children at home, it will definitely deteriorate the parent-child relationship. When I concentrated on scooping up the sandwich chocolates from the transfer plate, my mind and mood instantly became very calm. The chocolate workshop of "Iwata" is quite spacious, and there are large machines specially used for making chocolate.It is a machine that pours melted chocolate into a container, and it will automatically pour on the surface of sugar balls to make various sandwich chocolates.My first job was to use a fork to draw lines on the surface of the sugar balls, and then scooped individual pralines from the transfer plate with the design and logo printed on it.

The chocolates used in the store are not only from the brand of "Vavna", but also from other brands, some of which I have never heard of. "Iwata" chocolate combines the flavors of several brands to create a unique flavor. The taste and aroma of cocoa beans vary depending on the place of origin, type, and production farm.Bitterness, sourness, fruit and tree aroma, or nutty aroma, flower-like sweetness, etc., by mixing different brands, chocolatiers can make chocolates with different tastes.Of course, at my level, I still can't touch the preparation ratio that only chefs and top chefs know.

While I was concentrating on my homework, Chef Iwata suddenly called me.I hurriedly followed him out of the workshop and into the corridor.Chef Iwata asked me if I wanted to be on TV. "On TV? Could it be..." "A gourmet program on Rifeng TV." The food program refers to "Food Show".I looked at him in surprise. "They seem to want to do a young chef special," Chef Iwata said. "Second chef Yokoo will lead the show, and Nagamine and Kakuda will also be on stage. This time the theme is chocolate, and the seniors will be in charge of cakes and sundaes. You are in charge." Chocolate art cake."

Because guests will be invited to taste the work after it is finished, I can’t leave it to me to handle the taste preparation. I am responsible for how to attract the audience’s attention with the shape. Last time Chef Iwata and Mr. Yoko were on stage. This time, Mr. Yoko was led by experienced Mr. Nagamine, Mr. Tsunoda and me were selected after considering qualifications and skill proficiency. Artisan cakes are large artisanal desserts known for their delicate sugar flowers.Although it is made with chocolate this time, sophistication is also a criterion for judging. Even if chocolate is used, it is not just a monotonous brown thing, but food coloring can be sprayed with an airbrush, so the color matching can also be done gorgeously.If the sugar flower shows the translucent beauty like glass, then what I want to do is to make a delicate product combined with low-key but weighty parts.Chocolate is a material that is very easy to shape. Whether it is a plant or an everyday object, as long as you make a mold with silicone resin and pour the chocolate into it to solidify, you can make a part that looks like the real thing. This is the most powerful part of chocolate.There are various molds on the market. As long as the style of the work is established, any interesting shape can be made. This is somewhat different from the sugar flowers that must be kneaded for each hot candy by hand.

The size ranges from the size used to decorate the dining table to the huge size like a modern sculpture, but it is as easy to damage as sugar flowers, so when the parts are made in the kitchen and then brought to the site for assembly, damage often occurs during transportation. . Therefore, it is necessary to have the skill of being able to change the design randomly, and quickly patch it. "Am I really qualified?" Although he was very happy, he hesitated: "There are other more suitable candidates..." "You mean Umezaki?" "No, I just think there should be a more suitable candidate among the seniors."

"There's still work to do in the store, and it's going to be a headache if the good guys aren't there! So it's a good idea to have you on the set, or do you not like facing the camera?" "It won't." "Although you are relatively low-key, your work ability is really good, so you don't have to care about Umezaki." Chef Iwata added this last sentence.I agreed to be in the show, and I asked one more thing along the way: "That...it's about Umezaki...when will he be back in the kitchen?" "Wait until he doesn't complain about the work in the store! That kid wants to open a restaurant. The hospitality of a restaurant is higher than that of a dessert store. He must know how to adapt to the situation, so there is absolutely no loss in learning more. Since you want to be a boss, There is never enough to learn.”

It seems that Chef Iwata already knew what Umezaki was planning.Maybe it was because he asked a lot of questions during the interview, or it was Umezaki himself who was elated and talking about his ambitions. That's why he told me not to care.I followed Chef Iwata back to the chocolate workshop. When I got back to work, no one asked me why I was called out. I probably thought that the chef just reminded me of some things that must be paid attention to at work. Anyway, this place is too busy to take care of others. I thought to myself with a wry smile as I sprinkled the gold leaf and pistachio pieces on top of the chocolate: what an irony!

I, who was not at all interested in being on TV, was called out by name, but Umezaki, who was so eager, was blocked from the door.How would Umezaki react if he knew?I'm afraid it's either making me angry, or crying and begging me to give him the chance. I decided that no matter how much he begged, I would never agree, because this was a task assigned by Chef Iwata himself, and as a member of "Iwata", I should fight it with all my strength. The protagonists are the chocolate cakes and sundaes made by Yoko-san, so the chocolate art cakes I am in charge of cannot be too gorgeous and steal their style.The problem is that the size of the artistically shaped cake is relatively large, and it cannot be made petty. It still needs to have a gorgeous sense of TV effect.

After the work at hand came to an end, Mr. Yoko came over to discuss the show with me, and I also asked questions about how to design the cake and sundae. They plan to use chocolate mousse to form the surface of the cake, topped with golden sugar flowers and bright red currants, showing a luxurious style.The interlayer is chocolate cream with nuts and a sponge cake with raspberry mousse. The sundae is a combination of fruit, two types of chocolate ice cream, and sparkling champagne. Half-moon-shaped citrus slices are inserted on the edge of the container as a key decoration. This cocktail style comes from Mr. Nagamine's idea.

I'm going to come up with an art form cake design to match the style of these two desserts. I first made a draft at home, and finally decided to adopt the orthodox botanical style, that is, to design a work called "Chocolate Flower Art" with orchids as the keynote. I drew several drafts of flower arrangements in which I imagined replacing vases with water trays, and I plan to discuss them with Yoko-san the next day. Mr. Changfeng chose the one he thought was the best, and gave me a lot of advice on styling and material selection.His knowledge of chocolate is far beyond my imagination, and he is also very good at designing, which really surprised me.Although I don't know how he usually works, I feel that one day he will become an expert in chocolate.It's not an expert, it's already so good, and it's conceivable that those people in the workshop are even more amazing.Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shiver.