Restaurant Pastry Mise En Place

Today I had a day off again, after a very busy week alone on the pastry section in the restaurant. So today I will share some of my responsibilities on this section. I have a few things I must do every day – which is scoop out enough bowls of sorbet (I choose a different flavor everyday) for tonight’s diners and keep them in the pastry service freezer. I have to bake one tray of fananciers and one tray of cannelles for the petit fours, then I have to put them on a big tray with the other petit fours – enough for two per person. So I cut up the marshmallow, nougat, and ganache into squares and place them along with homemade lollipops into little paper wrappers on the tray. Then there are the bread rolls, which I make in large batches – minimum of two per head, and three different flavors. I also have to make the special cranberry bread for the starter section. Other daily tasks include the usual cleaning, labelling, and organizing, setting up station for service and cleaning down afterwards, ordering ingredients, and occasionally making up fruit platters for the spa as requested.

There are six different desserts that can be ordered, along with basics such as ice cream, sorbet, and fruit salad; and once in a while there are wedding tastings, like yesterday's, to prep the bread, petit fours, sorbets, and several desserts for. The six main desserts are Banana tarte tatin, Vanilla and lime crème brulée, Mojito of lime confit, Hot chocolate mousse soufflé, Dark chocolate and passionfruit delice, and Cheese plate. Each one has many different components to prep for and all the mise en place must be ready, enough prepped for service in the evening. I know how many diners will be in, but I never know how many of each dessert will be ordered. Is it possible all forty diners could order the banana tarte? Yes. Is it likely? Not at all. So I make estimates, and am usually fairly correct, but it changes from day to day – one day I sold a lot of crème brulées, the next day, only two. Here is a list of misen en palce I must have done/ready every day.

Banana Tarte Tatins made in large batches

Banana Tart Tatin: banana tartes baked, caramel sauce made, coconut ice cream ready.
Vanilla and Lime Crème Brulée: brulée baked and cut, fruit flowers cut and assembled, exotic fruit pearls made, passionfruit cut, mint leaves picked, brown sugar for bruléeing.
Mojito of Lime Confit: lime confit made, mint and lime white chocolate ganache in piping bags, dark rum crumble made and blitzed, lemon sorbet ready, mint sugar made, lime foam made, crisp mint made, chocolate slice made and cut.
Hot Chocolate Mousse Soufflé: mousse mixture in piping bags, vanilla ice cream ready.
Dark Chocolate and Passionfruit Delice: passionfruit emulsion made, biscuit baked and sliced, chocolate mousse made, chocolate toffee made and sliced, caramel made, passionfruit roll and cream made and assembled, delice assembled.
Cheese Plate: golden raisin chutney, pickled celery, plum compote, croutons sliced and baked, blue cheese parfait made and sliced, spice bread made and toasted, cheddar and gubbeen cheese sliced, goat cheese torte made and baked, brie cut and wrapped.

So some desserts have many more components than others, but some components take longer to do than others. The bottom line is, all must be ready. It is fairly quick and easy to whip up a batch of chocolate mousse for the soufflé every day, but banana tartes takes quite a while to make and are done less often. Things such as chocolate slice, passionfruit emulsion, and lime confit are five minute jobs, but take time when you have a lot to do. Simple tasks such as picking meat, slicing fruit, slicing cheese, and cutting croutons can be done during service, especially during the start or on quieter days. 

In addition I have to make sure all my tools are ready – doilies, blow torch, caramel pin, ice cream scoop, spatulas, spoons, trays, etc. I also have to make the petit fours when I run out, so usually about once a week I make a big tray of marshmallow, nogi, and ganache, all of which are long and tricky tasks.