Our talented Chef Bridges and Chef Strother worked with CTC Culinary Arts students to create some interesting treats not normally crafted a the CTC in previous years. It was definitely outside-of-the-box teaching for our chefs and students. Chef Bridges and his students created Tanghulu. Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese cand made from Hawthorn berries coated in candy sugar. Similar to a cross between a candy apple and a lollipop. However, Chef Bridges' students crafted theirs with grapes and other fruits.
Chef Strother's students created a beautiful Chocolate Mousse. Chocolate mousse, as well as being delicious, also has a fascinating history. It was first described as "mayonnaise de chocolat" - and, more interesting, was invented by the French post-Impressionist painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, in the late 19th century. Toulouse-Lautrec also was an experiment cook who loved to create signature dishes. This one was a singular success. It’s thought the first documented recipe for chocolate mousse was by Menon, in 1750, appearing in the book La Science du Maître d’Hôtel Confiseur for pastry chefs but chocolate mousse didn’t start becoming popular in France until the late 1800s. It took a royal wedding between France and Spain in 1615 when Princess Anne of Austria was betrothed to Louis Xlll, before Spain shared the discovery, and as part of the wedding celebrations the king's chefs developed a method to create a rich light foam or mousse flavored with chocolate. Chocolate mousse has now become a true classic, traditional but still versatile, and can be served in many different ways.(https://www.coeurdexocolat.com... , 2015)
For more information on the Culinary Arts program, please visit: Culinary Arts Program
