Hello, and welcome. Thanks for joining in on the conversation. Allow me to introduce myself and why I am keeping a blog.  My name is Anna and I am a trained red seal pastry chef with over 16 years of industry experience.

Beside making and consuming desserts, my hobbies include reading, writing (in case that wasn’t obvious) cycling (during one summer I cycled 2000km) walking, and anything that challenges me creatively. You would describe me as passionate, stubborn, driven and outgoing. 

I am also loyal, compassionate, cheeky, honest and trustworthy. My sense of humor tends to be dry and sarcastic, but I’m not hurtful. I do however have a low thresh hold for bullshit and I can pick up on it pretty damn quick (Just so you know). I am happily married to a great guy named Colin and we have a cat named Finn. We live in Brandon, Manitoba and share the house with my parents.

I decided to join the legion of blog writer’s because, well frankly, I love dessert.  I love making dessert, I love consuming dessert, I love the ingredients that are used and I love being a pastry chef. I will not pretend to have all the answers on the topics that I will introduce, and I ‘ll be the first to admit I don’t know everything there is to know about desserts.

First off, I think some clarification is in order. When people ask what I do for a living I tell them that I am a pastry chef. They somehow get it confused and start referring me as a baker. Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t think there is anything wrong with being a baker. However a baker is someone who’s main focus is producing bread. A pastry chefs focus is making desserts. 

I’ll admit, the difference is subtle, especially when both professions work with a lot of the same ingredients and unless you work in a large kitchen that has a separate bakery and pastry shop, the titles are treated as one and the same.

To make matters more confusing, I possess a Bakers Red Seal.  Let me explain.  When I wrote the red seal exam in 2001, there was no red seal for a pastry chef (why I don’t know) The closest I could get to what I did was a Bakers Red Seal.  It was an important step to take because if I wanted to advance within the kitchen hierarchy, I needed a journeyman’s ticket.  It also made more sense to challenge the Bakers Red Seal as opposed to a Plumbers Red Seal (I’m just sayin’) The exam consisted of 100 multiple choice questions, 50 on baking (breads/terminology) and 50 on pastry(dessert theory/production) So although I have a Bakers Red Seal, my training has focused on desserts, you know, what a pastry chef does.

This is what I do: I create dessert menu’s for restaurants, banquets and any other special occasions (Christmas, New Years Eve, Easter, wine pairings etc).  I oversee the pastry department production. I plan both the employee and work production schedules.  I’m responsible for ordering supplies, and meeting with clients to discuss their desserts which could include a wedding cake, chocolate work (individual chocolates or a show piece) or a sugar showpiece.

I train new pastry staff as well as oversee ongoing training for existing staff.  I conduct employee evaluations, interview possible pastry department candidates and yes, sometimes I have to fire someone who isn’t meeting the standards. I train any students/apprentices that are present.  I also conduct dessert demos/sessions for interested parties. Oh and if there is time, I myself have to actually make some of the desserts. 

I am expected to have people skills, pastry skills, artistic skills, HR skills and management skills. I am trained to be an organizer, multi-tasker, motivator and miracle worker. Ah yes, mid-management.

I will end today’s blog here. I hope you have enjoyed what you have read so far and will keep coming back. Stay tuned to the next topic: desserts that are overrated and get waaaay too much attention.