September - December 2010 Class Schedule:

Chef Hitz has given us his class description - it's posted below!

We are very fortunate to have two new instructors visiting Stone Turtle:

Pies and Tarts Instructor - Melissa Hodroff:

Melissa Bilyeu-Hodroff obtained her culinary schooling in Iowa.  Afterwards she spent time working in Minneapolis as executive pastry chef refining her skills.  In 2004 she moved to Portland, Maine.  She worked as the pastry chef at Uffa (now the Frog and Turtle in Westbrook, ME) and more recently at the acclaimed Five Fifty-Five restaurant.  Her desserts have been featured in The Washington Post. 

Melissa has focused her culinary career on pastries and desserts and is well known for her tarts and specialty cheesecakes.  She enjoys traveling to refine her techniques and skills from chefs abroad. 

More recently she has started Cravings by Melissa, a dessert and pastry catering service in Portland, Maine.  She also volunteers her time at the non-profit center, The Root Cellar, where she teaches baking classes to children.

  Melissa's description of the Pies and Tarts Class is: (8/29/10 - this class is full)

A great pie or tart starts with a great crust.   Learn the art of creating the perfect crust for tarts and pies for the holidays or your next dinner party.  This class will focus on preparing three different types of doughs and discussing which dough works best for the specific recipes.  Different techniques of mixing methods, rolling and fillings will also be discussed and demonstrated.  Each participant will be creating their own pies and tarts from scratch such as Pear Frangipane Tart, Rustic Apple Galette and Tart a la Moutarde.

Breakfast Breads and Pastries Instructor - Chef Ciril Hitz:

Chef Ciril Hitz is the department chair of the International Baking & Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.  Ciril received his artistic education at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Industrial Design.  Upon graduating, he completed a 3-year Pastry/Chocolate apprenticeship in his native Switzerland.

He competed at the 2004 National Bread and Pastry Team Championship in Atlantic City where his two-person team won 1st place overall and he captured all three of the individual bread awards.  In 2002 he represented the USA as a member of the Bread Bakers Guild Team and competed at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, Paris, France, where the team took home the Silver Medal.

 Chef Hitz's description of the Breakfast Breads and Pastries Class is:

Even if you're not a morning person, we guarantee you'll enjoy this hands-on breakfast breads and pastries class with Chef Ciril Hitz.  Enriched doughs are the foundation for most breakfast breads and you'll start by learning the key techniques for properly mixing these types of doughs.  Armed with this knowledge, the class will dive into brioche of all kinds, from the classic Brioche à Tête to more exotic variations such as Pumpkin and Rum Raisin.  Other products will include Cinnamon Buns, Pecan Sticky Buns, Russian Braid, Butter Kuchen, Bostock, Gibassier, and Pumpkin Muffins.

 In 2010 the NEAFCS Eastern Region is hosting a nation-wide conference and Stone Turtle is pleased to be a part of it.  On September 23rd we will host NEAFCS members to two In-Depth sessions (1 - 3 PM and 3:30 - 5:30 PM).

We will present a brief pizza demonstration and give participants two pizza formulas that can be used in their own Extension Service sessions; present an opportunity to use our le Panyol wood-fired hearth oven; and also to discuss our business model and our relationship with the Maine Department of Agriculture in getting our school approved as a commercial food preparation facility.