Clauss’s apprentices.” I asked him how he knew, and he just smiled again and walked away Then another judge came by and asked, “Are you an apprentice of Jean Clauss?” “Yes, how did you know?” “Because you have a black eye.” The night before, Jean Clauss, in one of his typical alcoholic rages, had hit me It had come from out of nowhere, while I was practicing lining tart shells The other apprentice I worked with had angered him and had been sent away, leaving me alone with the unpredictable master Did Jean Clauss routinely send his apprentices to their exams with black eyes as well as impeccable skills? The judges asked me to do a number of pastry items, including pie dough They told me to mix up the dough and let it rest overnight The next day they asked me to bring the dough and the ring and line the tart shell in front of them There were four or five judges standing there with clipboards, and I was terrified But I managed to focus and do my thing: I rolled out the dough and lined the ring, making sure that I left no space at the bottom of the ring and that the dough was an even thickness all the way around I was then going to put the lined ring on a sheet pan to make a tart But before I could put it on the sheet pan the judges ripped the ring from my hands and rolled it, like a wheel, down the length of the 8-foot table If the ring had not been properly lined, the dough would have collapsed inward Nobody had warned me about this test; but my dough held I passed my CAP with one of the highest grades in Alsace ... items, including pie dough They told me to mix up the dough and let it rest overnight The next day they asked me to bring the dough and the ring and line the tart shell in front of them There were four... ring and that the dough was an even thickness all the way around I was then going to put the lined ring on a sheet pan to make a tart But before I could put it on the sheet pan the judges ripped the ring from... or five judges standing there with clipboards, and I was terrified But I managed to focus and do my thing: I rolled out the dough and lined the ring, making sure that I left no space at the bottom of the ring and that the dough