Thursday, July 17

We started at a leisurely 10 AM. Once we arrived, four bakers whipped out the croissants in no time. The doughnuts were filled with pastry cream, and the cake and mousse were made and assembled into desserts. I focussed on making chocolate decorations in the cake shop, which is separate from the rest of the kitchen. Wearing of face masks is obligatory so people don't breathe their germs onto the surface of cakes. This is a level of sanitation not often seen in the U.S.

The products were all prepped and moved to the banquet room, which overlooked the river.

Here is a picture of the table and the products displayed.











Here are pictures of individual products...





Croissant










White Pan Bread









Berliner Doughnuts









Apple Pie with Streusel Topping









Charlotte Russe









Cardamom Ginger Truffles









Green Tea Leaves










Kevin Latner, Director of the Agricultural Trade Office, spoke for 5 minutes at the midway point in the presentation.




After the talk, we ate lunch in the hotel's restaurant. Quite a spread.



This was a "Hedgehog of the Sea" custard. AKA Uni Custard. Really excellent flavor. Cooked uni isn't nearly as good texturewise as raw, however.


Oxtail Soup. Always excellent. The broth is so flavorful, especially with shiitake mushrooms.

After lunch, we went to the airport and flew back to Shanghai. Nothing special happened that evening.