Introduction

Let me introduce myself. My name is Nik, I am nearing 27 years old, living in Chicago with my partner, Scott. I grew up in Salt Lake City, UT - I only say this because anyone from there or have visited there will know the mind-frame of the culture. I'm almost timid to say that mediocrity is common and finding people who pursue their dreams and goals are rare. My dream was to open my own wedding cake business and I figured the best way to do that was to get credential at a culinary school. I went to Le Cordon Bleu in Las Vegas studying general culinary arts, got my degree and moved back to Utah gaining experience in various places well-known in the Utah Valley. Life, as it always tends to, took me on a different course. I met the love of my life and moved to Illinois, not only to be with him as he went to graduate school, but to hopefully pursue my passion more fully. After a rocky start in Chicago, due to a number of factors, I am happy to say that I have the career of my dreams.
It's strange to me how many people are awed by the fact that I can say that truthfully and without reserve. I have been at my dream job for nearly 9 months and have had plenty of experiences to refine my skills, as well as create wedding cakes on a regular basis.
But this job has something that every other job has lacked for me. I've never had to create menus from start to finish; profile flavors and being aware of seasonal items, local ingredients and organic options; consulting with clients; food-costing and taking labor into constant consideration; keeping accuracy and speed at the same level of importance; organizing time incredibly effectively; continually keeping myself in a state of mind of improvement - what is good for the shop now will need to be improved on later.
It's been humbling but at the same time, completely exhilarating. I have so much to learn and so much to improve on - and that is the purpose of this blog. To track myself as I take this journey of self-improvement. I plan on focusing on creating seasonal menu items - seeing what works and what doesn't, profiling chefs and restaurants, experimenting with different flavor combinations - essentially breaking out of the mental mediocrity I grew up with and challenging myself daily. Not only because it's expected of me at work, but because I expect it of myself. And with that, I start my pastry melioration. Enjoy.