A lot has happened since my last post. I am now an official Californian! The moving process went fairly smooth, other than the fact the UPS demolished my KitchenAid Mixer and refuses to pay for a new one. Tom and I are all settled into the house on the vineyard (yup, that's right, a vineyard) but unfortunately we have to move soon. We are attempting to find a place that is within our price range in the bay area/peninsula but that is turning out to be a lot harder than finding a place in NYC was.
Drive out to CA in my Chefs hat
View from my front yard
After my little stint (worst internship ever) in the dungeons of the Jean-Georges pastry kitchen, I honestly thought this is how all pastry kitchens would be. The environment at JG was icy cold to say the least. No one was friendly; I worked (for free) the most ridiculous hours and the whole experience truly made me wonder if my love of baking should have stayed a hobby rather than a career. Then I got an amazing job! I absolutely lvoe it. I am working at Mayfield Bakery in Palo Alto. I've been here for about 2 1/2 months now and have enjoyed nearly every single day (I'm not a huge fan on Cleaning Mondays). I would have to say the only negative right now would be the pay, which is fairly minuscule.
Things I've learned: The sheeting machine makes laminating croissants/puff pastry the easiest thing ever. You don't need pectin if you have apricot seeds. And I can proudly say that I can now frost 6 cakes in 20 mins!
I've been attempting to start up my own little baked goods business, but haven't really been actively pursuing it. The only thing I have right now is business cards, but that's better than nothing right? I made a little potty training cake topper for my little cousin, which didn't quite survive the shipping down to L.A. These past few weeks have been cake mania! Birthday cake after birthday cake, wedding cakes and anniversary cakes. Tom finally got his dream birthday cake: Choc Devils Food cake with Moose Tracks Ice Cream and a whipped cream frosting. And I got my first commissioned cake as a Pastry Chef: a Vegan Lemon Cake and a Vegan Rhubarb Pie! I've only made a few attempts at vegan baking and generally the lack of butter and eggs doesn't satisfy me, but this cake turned out great. I'm putting the funds of this little project towards my "buy a new KitchenAid fund".
In the next couple of weeks I am making another birthday cake, an anniversary cake and my cousins wedding cake. I am not getting paid for these ones, but the pics will add to my portfolio!
I'll keep you posted and add pics once the cakes are done!
Tom's Ridiculous Birthday Cake
Potty Training Cake Topper
Vegan Lemon Cake
Vegan Rhubarb Pie
