Update! New Pics! So Much Fun!!

It's been nagging at me to post something for a while, but you know how it goes. There was always great intentions, but I got swept up in school, the holiday season at work (which has only recently slowed down), and planning for my wedding in June. Same ol' excuse, right? Truth be told, I've been wanting to write for a while because I've been realizing more and more recently how much I love what I do. For a number of years, my passion for baking and pastry was quenched because of the working environment I was involved in. I thought that pursuing a different branch in studying nutrition would provide that satisfaction I had lost. Alas, after working for Four Seasons for over a year now (!), I have rediscovered that passion that I had lost. I love what I do. I mean, I really love it. So, while I still am in school (drowning in Chemistry and scientific concepts I had no idea even existed), I am pushing my career full-throttle and looking at moving forward in the career I currently have.

At any rate, I thought I would welcome myself (and you!) back with recent pictures of things I have worked on. (Grab a snack and a drink of some sort, because there was a lot of fun that happened over the past few months.)

Banquet Events: I've been more involved with prepping and plating the banquet desserts, which I love (I mentioned this previously). Seriously, there is something about hundreds of elaborate desserts, looking the exact same, and being prepared and picked up on a set schedule that makes me a little giddy. It requires planning, precision, patience and accuracy. Here are some highlights:

Cakes: I've been trusted more with cakes and conveniently enough, the orders have picked up for them, so I am able to get more practice. I have also been experimenting more with texture in decoration - using combing effects in different ways or using piping tips that I normally wouldn't use. It has been pretty interesting and creates a new perspective for the cake. Here are some highlights:

(These last two cakes, I was able to do at home for a friend - I actually did all the piping work with paper cones instead of piping tips to see if I would like it. Turns out that I had easier control and could be more intricate with my work... I will definitely use that method again in the future.)

Restaurant: These pics include the plated desserts, as well as the special requests (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) Of all the places in the shop, the restaurant is my least favorite. I appreciate structure and like having goals in mind for what I want to accomplish for the day, however, working the line for the restaurant can throw an entire evening off with the amount of tickets and the 'special requests' that all-too-often appear. That all being said, it does give me a chance to let my creativity run free. Here are some highlights:

Odds and Ends: The hotel likes to create special amenities for guests, some being more elaborate than others. I'll explain a few of these so they make more sense...

This one was a Bears amenity for guests who were attending one of the last games of the season. I carved the Bears logo out of chocolate and made the trim with colored cocoa butter and white chocolate. 

This one was a giant muffin for an employee at the hotel. It doesn't look that large but it was actually a three tiered muffin that was baked in 9" cake pans. I put a regular size muffin next to it to compare, but the picture still doesn't do it justice. I also tried to replicate the paper cups we usually use and painted the sides with gold luster dust to give it the same look. 

This was an amenity for a young brother and sister who loved dinosaurs, unicorns, and cupcakes. A few toys were delivered and a little landscape was created for these little creatures. 

(And yes, the raptor is biting the cupcake.)

Cotton Candy for a banquet event garnish. There were 6 giant bags (about the size of a large garbage bag) when all was said and done... I was standing at that cotton candy machine for 2 1/2 hours. (They don't teach you this in culinary school, folks.)

I've been working more with chocolate tempering and making garnishes (if you look at the plated desserts, there are some examples of garnishes that I've done). I haven't had much experience with chocolate in my previous jobs, so working with it more lately has been a great (albeit, sometimes frustrating) experience. (Once I become more proficient, I will talk more about tempering chocolate in a later blog.) 

 These buttercream roses were for a Valentines Day amenity and I ended up making about 130 of them. What makes these different (for me, anyway) is that I used Italian buttercream which was lighter and easier to handle/pipe. I also flavored the buttercream with rose water, so all of these little guys actually tasted like roses.

That is it for now - honestly, every week holds a new project or a new experience that makes me love what I do even more. Once I get my head above schoolwork again, I'll update (hopefully before the wedding!). 

Until then!