While in Copenhagen; Miss 12, Uncle Travel Bee and I enrolled ourselves on a Danish pastry cooking class on a rainy winter’s morning. Having read some reviews on Tripadvisor I selected Terrible Pastry School. One could easily be deterred by the name, but this would be a mistake! This school is anything but terrible. Named after its French owner and pastry chef Frédéric Terrible, the course was three and a half hours of pure joy, as were the pastries we produced!
Greeted with a strong cup of coffee, Frédéric split participants into pairs and introduced himself with a quick rundown on his career as a pastry chef and teacher. Given we were a group of three, this meant Uncle Travel Bee was paired with a fellow would-be pastry chef from Italy. One of my favourite things about participating in this kind of class is meeting other travellers and this was no exception. Allessio turned out to be an interesting and light-hearted fellow who worked for the UN.
In a clever play on time, we were given pre-made pastry (by Frédéric) and instructed on how to measure, cut, fold and roll four different pastries. Miss 12 was in her element and took control of our table while Allessio poked fun at us for being the ‘model’ students. While these were proving, we doubled back and learnt how to make the pastry. Frédéric was relaxed, entertaining and fun as he expertly guided us. It was obvious he was highly skilled and we were all in awe as he whipped up the vanilla custard for our filling while chatting away to us (if only it was that easy).
After making our pastry, it was time for our pastries to hit the oven and within minutes there was a rich, delicious smell filling the kitchen. We were instructed to make ourselves another coffee or tea and then wait for the buzzer. You could feel the excited anticipation as we awaited our final product. They did not disappoint. When the ovens opened and the trays hit the bench, every single participant looked so proud and amazed at what they had produced with their own hand.
These pastries were mouth-watering, delectable, flaky parcels of deliciousness. Even after being pre-warned by Frédéric that the vanilla custard would be hot and not to burn your mouth, both Miss 12 and I could not wait and sure enough, scolded ourselves. But, in Miss 12’s words………… Mum that burn was worth it. Best pastry EVER tasted if we do say so ourselves!
And then we took the rest home!!
You can imagine with limited time, it is difficult to make the most of two boxes of pastries. We ate as much as we could but in the end a box went to our favourite hotel receptionist and we treated a homeless man on the street (of which there are very few in Copenhagen).
TTB
The Travel Bee 