Last day of classes before winter break and all we did was clean. Every surface in our kitchen had to be scrubbed. Major deep cleaning... pots, pans, floors, walk in fridge, sinks, drains, plates, stools, counters... and so on!
The good news is that we learned that 20 student chefs and one chef instructor with a power-washer can clean an entire kitchen in about 90 minutes!
I'll be back in the New Year with more tales of life in the pretty kitchens!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Guest Chef!
Today was a slightly unusual day. Instead of a full day of production we did about 3 hours of work in the morning and then we took a "field trip." Instead of spending the whole day in the kitchen working on stocks and sauces we headed to the auditorium (which is beautiful) to hear a guest chef give a fantastic lecture and watch him prepare some items on his menu. Our lecturer today was Christopher Hastings, the chef and owner of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama. His lecture and demo were awesome, listening him talk about his craft and watching him prepare these dishes that looked beautiful, smelled amazing, and tasted out of this world!
After the visiting chef lecture and presentation we returned to our classroom and finished up the bacon, cheddar and potato soup and a few little odds and ends before we headed out for the day.
On a fantastic note when I got home today there was a large white envelope waiting for my in my mailbox. The single sheet of paper in the envelope informed me that I passed my WSET Intermediate level wine exam!
After the visiting chef lecture and presentation we returned to our classroom and finished up the bacon, cheddar and potato soup and a few little odds and ends before we headed out for the day.
On a fantastic note when I got home today there was a large white envelope waiting for my in my mailbox. The single sheet of paper in the envelope informed me that I passed my WSET Intermediate level wine exam!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Back in the Kitchen Again...
It was so nice to go to classes today and be back up on the 3rd floor. At Johnson & Wales the school is divided by floors, the 2nd floor houses all the baking and pastry classrooms and the 3rd floor houses all of the culinary classrooms.
Today started Soups, Stocks and Sauces... this class is a major foundation class for the ones that follow, especially Classical French (that I get to take this spring!) This segment of classes will be a bit different from the other ones because winter break is scheduled in the midst of it. We will have 2 days of class and 1 day of deep cleaning before the break and then finish out the final 6 days in 2010!
Today we made clarified butter, chicken broth, and a variety of chicken stocks. Or I should say we started chicken stocks, we left them in the kettles to cook and the evening classes will take them off the heat and let them cool so we can work with them tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be hectic with a presentation in the middle of class time, but the chefs that the school brings in are always very interesting to listen to!
Today started Soups, Stocks and Sauces... this class is a major foundation class for the ones that follow, especially Classical French (that I get to take this spring!) This segment of classes will be a bit different from the other ones because winter break is scheduled in the midst of it. We will have 2 days of class and 1 day of deep cleaning before the break and then finish out the final 6 days in 2010!
Today we made clarified butter, chicken broth, and a variety of chicken stocks. Or I should say we started chicken stocks, we left them in the kettles to cook and the evening classes will take them off the heat and let them cool so we can work with them tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be hectic with a presentation in the middle of class time, but the chefs that the school brings in are always very interesting to listen to!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Practically Speaking
Day 9... the last day of this class, final exam day, and the day we have the second part of our practical.
Today started with the written exam... I'm honestly not sure how well I did at all. I studied and knew what I needed to know, but once again got tripped up by how Chef asks the questions. I shall have to wait and see to find out what my grade is.
For the second half of our practical we had to make three things... all things that we have made in the past. Challah bread, a 4 strand low braid and a 5 strand high braid, as well as a bit of pastry cream.
The measuring went well except in a fit of lunacy I managed to scale the flour to the weight that the water should be and leave the water out of the dough. Thankfully my tablemate noticed and we were able to fix it very quickly and without any damage to the dough. Braiding the dough ended up being far easier that it was when we did it in class. I don't know if it was because I wasn't over thinking every step or because my practice with string all weekend had paid off!
After tucking the bread in the proofing box I used my spare time to tidy my workstation (a key part of working in a kitchen) and make my pastry cream. I remembered the instructions that Chef had given me when I made the cream for the chocolate pie, and tried not to make the same mistakes again.
My challah bread went from the proof box to the oven with a minimum of fuss and all that was left was to stand by the door of the oven and peek in the window and watch to make sure that the bread only turned a medium golden brown and didn't over brown. Whipping the bread out that the right moment is all in the looks... one second the bread is a pale dough color and the next it is a dark dark brown. Sadly the color needed is a pretty medium golden brown with shine from the egg wash.
With my bread out and the right color all that was left was to gather the two loaves and the pastry cream and place it on a tray to take to Chef for his critique. This is always a tense time, he is looking for perfection and I did know that there were a few flaws, but nothing that I could correct in the moment. His comments were that the bread was correct and could be sold, but that there were itty bitty lumps of starch in my pastry cream. That said I did pass my practical!
Next up... Soups, Stocks, and Sauces!
Today started with the written exam... I'm honestly not sure how well I did at all. I studied and knew what I needed to know, but once again got tripped up by how Chef asks the questions. I shall have to wait and see to find out what my grade is.
For the second half of our practical we had to make three things... all things that we have made in the past. Challah bread, a 4 strand low braid and a 5 strand high braid, as well as a bit of pastry cream.
The measuring went well except in a fit of lunacy I managed to scale the flour to the weight that the water should be and leave the water out of the dough. Thankfully my tablemate noticed and we were able to fix it very quickly and without any damage to the dough. Braiding the dough ended up being far easier that it was when we did it in class. I don't know if it was because I wasn't over thinking every step or because my practice with string all weekend had paid off!
After tucking the bread in the proofing box I used my spare time to tidy my workstation (a key part of working in a kitchen) and make my pastry cream. I remembered the instructions that Chef had given me when I made the cream for the chocolate pie, and tried not to make the same mistakes again.
My challah bread went from the proof box to the oven with a minimum of fuss and all that was left was to stand by the door of the oven and peek in the window and watch to make sure that the bread only turned a medium golden brown and didn't over brown. Whipping the bread out that the right moment is all in the looks... one second the bread is a pale dough color and the next it is a dark dark brown. Sadly the color needed is a pretty medium golden brown with shine from the egg wash.
With my bread out and the right color all that was left was to gather the two loaves and the pastry cream and place it on a tray to take to Chef for his critique. This is always a tense time, he is looking for perfection and I did know that there were a few flaws, but nothing that I could correct in the moment. His comments were that the bread was correct and could be sold, but that there were itty bitty lumps of starch in my pastry cream. That said I did pass my practical!
Next up... Soups, Stocks, and Sauces!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Just Like An Airplane Landing...
...and taking off again from the center.
That is how you are to move your knife to get the icing of the cake to form a perfect 90 degree angle where the top and sides meet. How do I know this... well the first part of our practical exam was today and we had to ice a cake (made the same day we had a substitute chef) using the Italian buttercream we made yesterday. It might sound like a simple task but sides and top of the cakes needed to be smooth as glass! This is possible, but try as I might I couldn't get the whole thing totally smooth. I could get most of it right, but most isn't really good enough for Chef (or me.) It did get to the point that I realized I was doing more damage to the cake in re-icing and trying again and again, so I decided that it might be wise to let it go.
We also had to make soft dough rolls in the shape of croissants, I still need to work on my rolling technique, but out of the 12 I made I found 5 that I liked enough to present to him. All in all I didn't do as well as I would have liked to have done, but it is only a small portion of my grade!
We have the final exam and the second half of our practical exam on Monday. I have no clue what we will be making, but according to Chef it is "something we've made before."
That is how you are to move your knife to get the icing of the cake to form a perfect 90 degree angle where the top and sides meet. How do I know this... well the first part of our practical exam was today and we had to ice a cake (made the same day we had a substitute chef) using the Italian buttercream we made yesterday. It might sound like a simple task but sides and top of the cakes needed to be smooth as glass! This is possible, but try as I might I couldn't get the whole thing totally smooth. I could get most of it right, but most isn't really good enough for Chef (or me.) It did get to the point that I realized I was doing more damage to the cake in re-icing and trying again and again, so I decided that it might be wise to let it go.
We also had to make soft dough rolls in the shape of croissants, I still need to work on my rolling technique, but out of the 12 I made I found 5 that I liked enough to present to him. All in all I didn't do as well as I would have liked to have done, but it is only a small portion of my grade!
We have the final exam and the second half of our practical exam on Monday. I have no clue what we will be making, but according to Chef it is "something we've made before."
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Pizza and Frosting
Really these two things go together. Just not on the same plate!
Today we made an Italian Buttercream that we will use to ice our cakes tomorrow (eek... a practical test!) It was an adventure in testing my patience. It took two tries to get it done, but I have learned what sugar looks and feels like when it reaches 250 degrees.
Before you get worried, I'm not burned, well not all that burned. Actually the best way to check the temp of the sugar is to let a bubble pop just under your finger and then stretch and roll the little bit into a ball. I did manage to get a little bitty burn on my finger, no larger that a pin prick so I wouldn't call it much of a burn at all!
The reason for the two tries today wasn't so much that the sugar wasn't correct, but a realization that when you are stuck with a group of people sometimes you have to almost walk them through the steps, even if they just sat through the same lecture you did! There is no way to know if they took notes or paid attention...
As a fun treat we made pizza from scratch. The crust was amazing! I shall have to talk to chef about how the recipe can be reduced and still maintain the overall integrity of the dough. Chef was entertained by my inability to make a circle out of the dough, I can make rectangles, ovals, eggs, lopsided circles, I probably could have made a star or a triangle if I'd tried, but a circle... nope. Chef muttered something about needing to go to geometry class and I laughed. Geometry and I don't get along at all!
We had tons of pizza left over so we loaded it on to pans and took off through the culinary floor handing out slices as we made the rounds. One of things I've learned about culinary students is that food, any food... especially food that they haven't had to cook or clean up after is appreciated!
Today we made an Italian Buttercream that we will use to ice our cakes tomorrow (eek... a practical test!) It was an adventure in testing my patience. It took two tries to get it done, but I have learned what sugar looks and feels like when it reaches 250 degrees.
Before you get worried, I'm not burned, well not all that burned. Actually the best way to check the temp of the sugar is to let a bubble pop just under your finger and then stretch and roll the little bit into a ball. I did manage to get a little bitty burn on my finger, no larger that a pin prick so I wouldn't call it much of a burn at all!
The reason for the two tries today wasn't so much that the sugar wasn't correct, but a realization that when you are stuck with a group of people sometimes you have to almost walk them through the steps, even if they just sat through the same lecture you did! There is no way to know if they took notes or paid attention...
As a fun treat we made pizza from scratch. The crust was amazing! I shall have to talk to chef about how the recipe can be reduced and still maintain the overall integrity of the dough. Chef was entertained by my inability to make a circle out of the dough, I can make rectangles, ovals, eggs, lopsided circles, I probably could have made a star or a triangle if I'd tried, but a circle... nope. Chef muttered something about needing to go to geometry class and I laughed. Geometry and I don't get along at all!
We had tons of pizza left over so we loaded it on to pans and took off through the culinary floor handing out slices as we made the rounds. One of things I've learned about culinary students is that food, any food... especially food that they haven't had to cook or clean up after is appreciated!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
I Think I Have Chantilly Cream In My Hair!
Today was a ball... we had a fantastic substitute chef! It was interesting having a different perspective on the same information. We finished up our cream puffs and eclairs from yesterday... by finishing I mean filling with a mix of pastry and chantilly cream and dipping in chocolate ganache! And then there was the tasting, we have to taste everything so that we know it is good.
I'd love to say more about today, but there is a paper on disaccharides that needs to be pulled together.
Cheers!
I'd love to say more about today, but there is a paper on disaccharides that needs to be pulled together.
Cheers!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Puff The Magic Pastry Beast
Monday.
Do I have to say any more?
We had a short lecture, but a rather heavy production schedule! There was Challah Bread, Pate au Choux, Chocolate Cream Pie, and Pastry Cream. All these treats to make and once again my work trio was a duo, meaning that we would have to work even harder... and smarter than usual.
The first item we got going was the Challah bread since it needs to proof for ages and we could get all sorts of other things done while it was doing that. Braiding the bread was great fun, and although it looks like just three strands of dough in a traditional braid, it isn't. You can do a 4 strand flat braid or a 'high' braid with at least 5 strands of dough. The high braid is appropriately named since it puffs up rather high when proofing and baking.
After the bread was tucked away and proofing it was time to tackle the pate au choux. Pate au choux is the pastry for cream puffs and eclaires. The batter is insanely easy to make, my problems come with getting it from a blob in the piping bag to a properly twirled shape on the baking sheet. I couldn't get the technique... no amount of trial and error or chef holding my hands and doing it for me while I went along for the ride turned out the proper shape of dough. I tried my hand at a few more blobs before turning the pastry bag over to the other member of my duo and heading off to work on the chocolate cream pie.
Chocolate and I get along, we always have! The cookie crusts for the pies came together in the blink of an eye and the filling worked out reasonalby well, it was a little lumpy due to my inability to whisk at high speed and pour at the same time (I have trouble patting my head and rubbing my stomach at the same time too!)
The pastry cream was delightfully easy as well, a similar recipe to the filling for the chocolate cream pie. Once made the cream got put into a container and will be used tomorrow for filling eclaires and cream puffs!
In honor of the chocolate we worked with today I shall share my Chocolate Martini recipe!
You will need...
a cocktail shaker
ice
a martini glass
vodka (skyy is one of my favorites)
chocolate liqueur (godiva is always good)
grand marnier (optional but tastes yummy)
cocoa powder (unsweetened is best)
orange slice
Run the orange slice around the rim of the glass then dip the glass in the cocoa powder to coat it.
In the cocktail shaker filled with ice add 1 1/2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce chocolate liqueur and 1/2 ounce grand marnier, then shake!
Strain the drink into the glass, serve and enjoy!
If you're not a fan of chocolate and orange you can use a different liqueur... there are tons of flavors out there that work well with chocolate!
Cheers!
Do I have to say any more?
We had a short lecture, but a rather heavy production schedule! There was Challah Bread, Pate au Choux, Chocolate Cream Pie, and Pastry Cream. All these treats to make and once again my work trio was a duo, meaning that we would have to work even harder... and smarter than usual.
The first item we got going was the Challah bread since it needs to proof for ages and we could get all sorts of other things done while it was doing that. Braiding the bread was great fun, and although it looks like just three strands of dough in a traditional braid, it isn't. You can do a 4 strand flat braid or a 'high' braid with at least 5 strands of dough. The high braid is appropriately named since it puffs up rather high when proofing and baking.
After the bread was tucked away and proofing it was time to tackle the pate au choux. Pate au choux is the pastry for cream puffs and eclaires. The batter is insanely easy to make, my problems come with getting it from a blob in the piping bag to a properly twirled shape on the baking sheet. I couldn't get the technique... no amount of trial and error or chef holding my hands and doing it for me while I went along for the ride turned out the proper shape of dough. I tried my hand at a few more blobs before turning the pastry bag over to the other member of my duo and heading off to work on the chocolate cream pie.
Chocolate and I get along, we always have! The cookie crusts for the pies came together in the blink of an eye and the filling worked out reasonalby well, it was a little lumpy due to my inability to whisk at high speed and pour at the same time (I have trouble patting my head and rubbing my stomach at the same time too!)
The pastry cream was delightfully easy as well, a similar recipe to the filling for the chocolate cream pie. Once made the cream got put into a container and will be used tomorrow for filling eclaires and cream puffs!
In honor of the chocolate we worked with today I shall share my Chocolate Martini recipe!
You will need...
a cocktail shaker
ice
a martini glass
vodka (skyy is one of my favorites)
chocolate liqueur (godiva is always good)
grand marnier (optional but tastes yummy)
cocoa powder (unsweetened is best)
orange slice
Run the orange slice around the rim of the glass then dip the glass in the cocoa powder to coat it.
In the cocktail shaker filled with ice add 1 1/2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce chocolate liqueur and 1/2 ounce grand marnier, then shake!
Strain the drink into the glass, serve and enjoy!
If you're not a fan of chocolate and orange you can use a different liqueur... there are tons of flavors out there that work well with chocolate!
Cheers!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Raisns are uncooperative grapes
Friday we had classes... this happens two or three times a term and they are a pain. And they wipe me out so you all are getting this blog a day late.
Today we had a mountain of things to produce and our usual 6 hours... more like 4 hours after lecture to produce them. Remember the dough we made yesterday and left in the fridge... well using that dough we made quiche! Each member of the class was to create their own filling and produce their own quiche. I went with bacon, mushrooms, onion and cheddar cheese. In cooking the bacon I found out where the school puts the stoves that are less than stellar... they go to baking and pastry, which kind of made me giggle because of all the trouble we had with the ovens upstarts in one of my culinary labs! Let me just say that the ovens in the baking and pastry labs are awesome!
After quiche came Dutch apple pie! I cannot stand apple pie... something about the texture of cooked apples... As I was mixing the filling for the pie (apples, cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg) Chef came over and asked if I was putting anything in the filling, maybe raisins. I feel the need to confess here that I cannot stand raisins. I have also realized that Chef has a sense of humor, so I smiled and sweetly said, "Nope, raisins are uncooperative grapes and I'm not a fan of them." He raised an eyebrow at me and I continued, "the good grapes turn into wine, and that I adore." Watching him try not to bust out laughing was a pleasure. He smiled as if my explanation made total sense.
Muffins round out the list of things that we had to produce for the day! These might have been the most difficult item of the day only because we had to create their dough from scratch and weren't pulling it out of the fridge like we did with the dough for the quiche and apple pie crusts. Chef seems to be fond of letting the groups of students personalize their products, I find this fantastic and it allowed us to turn basic muffins into chocolate chip ones!
In a rare treat, we were permitted to take our quiches home, since time did not allow us to taste them in class. I must say that I rather enjoyed the slice I had yesterday and enjoyed the slice I had while writing this today even more! I paired it with a glass of viogner. While I'm not a huge fan of white wines I do know that they taste far better with eggs than the big reds that I adore!
Today we had a mountain of things to produce and our usual 6 hours... more like 4 hours after lecture to produce them. Remember the dough we made yesterday and left in the fridge... well using that dough we made quiche! Each member of the class was to create their own filling and produce their own quiche. I went with bacon, mushrooms, onion and cheddar cheese. In cooking the bacon I found out where the school puts the stoves that are less than stellar... they go to baking and pastry, which kind of made me giggle because of all the trouble we had with the ovens upstarts in one of my culinary labs! Let me just say that the ovens in the baking and pastry labs are awesome!
After quiche came Dutch apple pie! I cannot stand apple pie... something about the texture of cooked apples... As I was mixing the filling for the pie (apples, cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg) Chef came over and asked if I was putting anything in the filling, maybe raisins. I feel the need to confess here that I cannot stand raisins. I have also realized that Chef has a sense of humor, so I smiled and sweetly said, "Nope, raisins are uncooperative grapes and I'm not a fan of them." He raised an eyebrow at me and I continued, "the good grapes turn into wine, and that I adore." Watching him try not to bust out laughing was a pleasure. He smiled as if my explanation made total sense.
Muffins round out the list of things that we had to produce for the day! These might have been the most difficult item of the day only because we had to create their dough from scratch and weren't pulling it out of the fridge like we did with the dough for the quiche and apple pie crusts. Chef seems to be fond of letting the groups of students personalize their products, I find this fantastic and it allowed us to turn basic muffins into chocolate chip ones!
In a rare treat, we were permitted to take our quiches home, since time did not allow us to taste them in class. I must say that I rather enjoyed the slice I had yesterday and enjoyed the slice I had while writing this today even more! I paired it with a glass of viogner. While I'm not a huge fan of white wines I do know that they taste far better with eggs than the big reds that I adore!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Butter, Butter, and More Butter...
After a morning lecture about fats and baking I can say that I have now learned that butter... good cold... AA... 80%fat... unsalted butter is the best stuff for baking with. Unless you can get your hands on some European Butter which is 82% fat and even better for baking with. We put the butter is good theory into practice today with the making of
1. Croissants... buttery flaky croissants. And there is a fun little method of rolling them to get their pretty shape!
2. Danishes... filled, not filled, coated in cinnamon sugar, mmm they were all fantastic! We turned this simple dough into windmills, twisty circles, and windowpanes.
The smells of these items baking in our kitchen were amazing. I left the room for a moment at one point and I could smell the pastries baking halfway down the hall!
I am getting to know our Chef and he is amazing! His background is in sugar and chocolate. I've seen examples of what he can produce with chocolate and would love to see his sugar work; sadly we won't cover it in this class.
1. Croissants... buttery flaky croissants. And there is a fun little method of rolling them to get their pretty shape!
2. Danishes... filled, not filled, coated in cinnamon sugar, mmm they were all fantastic! We turned this simple dough into windmills, twisty circles, and windowpanes.
The smells of these items baking in our kitchen were amazing. I left the room for a moment at one point and I could smell the pastries baking halfway down the hall!
I am getting to know our Chef and he is amazing! His background is in sugar and chocolate. I've seen examples of what he can produce with chocolate and would love to see his sugar work; sadly we won't cover it in this class.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Flinging Flour!
I feel as if I'm covered in flour when I leave the kitchen. We spend more time flinging flour to prevent sticking that just about anything else... we fling it on the work table, we fling it on the dough, we fling it at each other, we might even fling some on the floor just for the sake of doing it!
We made Baguettes, and they were far easier than I ever imagined they would be and we made the dough for Croissants. Croissants involve lots of rolling flat, folding, and letting sit so that the butter chills again. Tomorrow we can prepare and bake them. Did you know that a croissant has 135 layers!
We made Baguettes, and they were far easier than I ever imagined they would be and we made the dough for Croissants. Croissants involve lots of rolling flat, folding, and letting sit so that the butter chills again. Tomorrow we can prepare and bake them. Did you know that a croissant has 135 layers!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Bakers Scale
Today is the first day of my second trimester and Johnson & Wales University. Hopefully I'll do better keeping this blog this term.
At 7am I reported to room 255 for my first day of "Introduction to Baking & Pastry." There are some familiar faces from last term and quite a few new ones; it should be interesting to see how we mesh as a group. Chef Gronert is incredibly well versed in the subject at hand and I am looking forward to learning from him. Today we made whole wheat rolls, it was actually interesting to see how you manipulate the dough to get all sorts of shapes of product. Once we were elbow deep in dough the day flew by!
A quick break left me just enough time to grab a text book for my next class and a quick drink.
My afternoon was spent in "Introduction to Nutrition." This class will run two days a week for the whole trimester and is considered an academic class, which means we sit at desks and don't get the fun of playing in a kitchen.
All in all... it wasn't too bad for the first day of the new term.
I'm feeling rather old school and somewhat festive today so I think that the drink of the day shall be the ever so hip Champagne Cocktail!!
You will need:
champagne flutes
muddler, spoon (something to crush the cube with)
sugar cubes (one for each flute)
bitters (angostura bitters are my brand of choice)
bubbly of your choice (champagne, cava, prosecco, as long as it bubbles it will work!)
How to:
drop the sugar cube into the glass and splash a few (3 or 4) drops of bitters on top of it
crush the cube and the bitters together
add champagne
drink!
At 7am I reported to room 255 for my first day of "Introduction to Baking & Pastry." There are some familiar faces from last term and quite a few new ones; it should be interesting to see how we mesh as a group. Chef Gronert is incredibly well versed in the subject at hand and I am looking forward to learning from him. Today we made whole wheat rolls, it was actually interesting to see how you manipulate the dough to get all sorts of shapes of product. Once we were elbow deep in dough the day flew by!
A quick break left me just enough time to grab a text book for my next class and a quick drink.
My afternoon was spent in "Introduction to Nutrition." This class will run two days a week for the whole trimester and is considered an academic class, which means we sit at desks and don't get the fun of playing in a kitchen.
All in all... it wasn't too bad for the first day of the new term.
I'm feeling rather old school and somewhat festive today so I think that the drink of the day shall be the ever so hip Champagne Cocktail!!
You will need:
champagne flutes
muddler, spoon (something to crush the cube with)
sugar cubes (one for each flute)
bitters (angostura bitters are my brand of choice)
bubbly of your choice (champagne, cava, prosecco, as long as it bubbles it will work!)
How to:
drop the sugar cube into the glass and splash a few (3 or 4) drops of bitters on top of it
crush the cube and the bitters together
add champagne
drink!
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