This is Greystone, the converted Christian Brothers winery that serves as our campus building. It holds all teaching kitchens, lecture halls, classrooms, and even the student store and CIA restaurant. It's gorgeous right now because they've recently put up the Christmas decorations.
This is beautiful St. Helena, home to hundreds of wineries. The vineyard in the forefront belongs to the Beringer estate, which is located on the same street as my dorm.
Vineyard Lodge II is the name of my dorm. You can see my window in this picture - it's the second from left on the top floor. We're located about a mile off campus, so a shuttle comes bright and early every morning to take us to breakfast.
The pastry kitchen, called the Bakeshop, is where we have been working this week to make our breads. You can see the mixers against the far wall, the ingredient scaling station off to the right, and the giant hearth ovens over by the windows.
I made this gorgeous French bread in class today. Chef Isaac taught us to mix and knead the dough, all by hand, to get the best possible results. A lot of love went into this bread - hand kneading, shaping, proofing, scoring, and baking. And yes, it is as delicious as it looks :)
This is the pastry tool kit that we received on our third day here. This backpack is full of over 100 tools and pieces of equipment hidden in the various pockets, and it is my new favorite possession. I am obsessed with these shiny new toys.
Meet some of my new classmates! My roommate Natalie is the one closest to the camera on the left, and behind her are Emily, Jodi (from La Cañada!), and Shandell. On the other side are Melinda, Katry, and Clarissa. I took this photo during break this morning as we waited for our bread to finish baking.
We're a cute little group :)
Such cute pictures! It looks like a beautiful area. Also, seems like a great bunch of kids to spend your time baking with. :)
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