A lot has happened since I last wrote. We moved from Manitoba back to Alberta after a seven year absence. We both started new jobs (new for me, a transfer for Colin and a bad road trip for Finn the cat) Most importantly though, we moved into a brighter future with new and exciting opportunities with a fresh yet wiser attitude. Welcome to the rest of our lives… (Drama alert!)

Right away, I have noticed some major differences between Alberta and Manitoba. They are as follows:

1) In Alberta, this is a land of money, and lot’s of it. With money comes opportunity.

2) The highways here, although not paved in gold, are well maintained and are looked after on a continually basis.

3) In the not too far off distance are the Canadian Rockies, not the thunder clouds of the Prairies.

4) The shopping and selection of eating out is amazing. Wanna Porsche? Done! Wanna a Tiffany diamond ring? Done! Wanna choose between Thai, Tapas or Middle Eastern cuisine? Done!

5) This is a city of some of the longest traffic lights I have ever encountered.

6) This is also a city where you can drive and drive and still be in the city.

7) And of course, in Alberta there is only one set of tax. No PST, RST or HST.

I started my new job early August. I am now officially a pastry and baking instructor at SAIT Polytechnic. SAIT stands for Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (for those that are unaware).

On my first day and the following 8 days, I was in a course that taught the basics on how to instruct adult learners, specifically SAIT learners. Since my hiring, I finally understand the world of SAIT. For the first time in months, I fell like I was in the right place, at the right time, doing what I am meant to do. A feeling I didn’t realize I had lost over the past 2 years. Not until I stood in Heritage Hall and the feeling of complete and utter awe washed over me did I think “I’ve arrived”

I have to say, even running the risk of sounding a little Pollyanna here, that I have met some incredible people. From the second I first walked into SAIT, everyone I have encountered have been very kind and generous with their time. I don’t think I have started a new job where I have felt so welcome. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve liked everywhere I’ve worked, and I know that no job is perfect even this one, but everyone has been bending over backwards to help me feel comfortable. The talent pool is extraordinary and I am in awe once again by the intelligence and skill level of everyone I have met.

I work in the School of Hospitality and Tourism. There are about 100 of us all together. The student body alone in this area is about 1200 give or take. This particular department is 1 of 8 schools within SAIT. The numbers blow me away every time I think about it.

In the middle of this month, the grand opening of the new Trade and Technology buildings are going to be unveiled to the public. I’ve had the chance to walk around them and the terms “visionary” and “futuristic” come to mind. I now know what $400 million dollars looks like.

The campus is big and there are 4 others, including the Culinary Campus which will be ready to accept students in the next 2 weeks or so. Everywhere I look, it’s like they have thought of everything. My classroom(s) and kitchen lab(s) that I will be using are equipped like a showroom exhibit. There is even a market place where the products the students make go in order to be sold. The money that’s generated goes back into the program to help fund future student growth. You get the sense that there is a lot of thought and effort put into everything to always help grow the student. It’s truly remarkable.

My life in not all perfect though. I miss my home, my family and my friends terribly. I am way out of my comfort zone and I’m scared most of the time. I’d rather be paying a mortgage then rent. I miss the short drive to anywhere in the city. I miss having Rocker, Rusty and Alie around (the dogs in my life) I miss having someone here when I get home from work (Colin’s on the road through the week).

I fight homesickness most days, but I don’t like to feel sorry for myself. After all, I wanted this job so badly and was ready to shake small town dust off my kitchen clogs so to speak. I wish this moment I’m currently in where I feel out of sorts, knowing I have to face my first class at SAIT and feeling petrified, and getting through the general awkward and growing pains of a new experience were behind me. I guess I’m just impatient with wanting to get on with my life and for a sense of normalcy.

With all of this aside, I have no regrets about moving back to Calgary and accepting the job at SAIT. To have the chance to be some kind of mentor to the next generation of chefs is humbling and exciting at the same time. I’m aware that I have to prove myself and the job won’t always be a cake walk; but I know deep down that I can do it because I wouldn’t have gone for the job if I didn’t think I could. I’m too stubborn and too much of a perfectionist to have it any other way. So SAIT, bring it!

I thought I would take a break from packing up my house for the move to Calgary to write one more post from good ole’ Manitoba. This post is all about the best desserts I ever had and an honorable mention to some of my favorite foods that I think are just great.

If you have been following my blog, you would know I wrote a post a while back about some desserts I can do without (Deep fried cheesecake, peanut butter marshmallow square and chocolate fountain) I haven’t changed my mind about disliking the peanut butter marshmallow square, but I do like marshmallows, especially toasted and I love peanut butter. But just so we’re clear, not any peanut butter will do. I only like Kraft Extra Creamy. I have tried other brands including all natural and/or organic and frankly they just don’t measure up to my beloved extra creamy.

Moving on. Going back a few years, I was lucky enough to stay in a pretty swishy hotel in Calgary. I wanted to indulge so I ordered room service including dessert. The dessert in question was actually a chocolate plate. It was the first time I ever saw anything like that on a dessert menu and because it was different, it of course peaked my interest.

Much to my amazement, when it arrived I was blown away by the presentation. The dessert was served on a piece of marble. The chocolate cake was cut into a wedge and placed so it was standing up on it’s end and as part of the garnish, there was a chocolate cowboy hat. Quite clever as Calgary is known for cowboy culture. Needless to say, it made a lasting impression. The dessert tasted as good as it looked including the cowboy hat.

Growing up, our household wasn’t too big on desserts. Shocking I know. But every Thursday night, we’d march over to my grandparents and have a family supper. Not only was the food always great, but we always had dessert. My grandfather had a huge sweet tooth and expected nothing less. When we did have dessert at home, my mom was pretty good at it. I especially liked her Apple Betty. Fresh sweet/sour apples with cinnamon sugar and a brown sugar/flour/butter crust with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on top. To this day, it’s one of my favorite desserts and certainly a comfort food.

Not to far from where I grew up, there was a ice cream shop called The Velvet Dip. It started as a family business, was seasonal and has since passed through other owners. To me, they have always been known for their soft, real-cream ice cream. When I was a kid, my friends and I would call it the VD, not knowing what “VD” potentially stood for. Imagine my mother’s horror when I’d shout to her I was going to the VD! as I raced down the street on my bike. Anyways, though I’m not a huge ice cream connoisseur, their ice cream is some the best I’ve ever had. They have kept up with the times as one can purchase a Salty Dog which is ice cream with caramel and sea salt. So before I head off to Calgary, I must get down there one last time and give it a lick.

Before Hurricane Katrina, Colin and I married and headed to New Orleans. As a wedding present, Colin’s aunt bought us a gift card to eat at a restaurant owned by Emeril Lagasse called Nola’s. It’s an understatement to say the food was outstanding including their dessert menu.

But I do have a couple regrets. 1) I should have ordered the steak tartar because it’s not something you often see on a menu and 2) I should have ordered more them 1 dessert so that I could honestly say I tried things and was able to see more of their plate presentations. We ordered a bottle of red wine to go with dinner and I remember being embarrassed that the wine was a screw top. Here I thought I knew something about wine, but the waiter went on to explain that more winery’s were going to screw tops, and she was right. We also toured a plantation and they were selling fresh mint juleps. I passed on having one, and I wish I didn’t.

Knowing that I should have tried more then one dessert at Nola’s, one day I took my pastry team out to 3 different restaurants and we did nothing but sample the entire dessert menu and dessert wines at each restaurant. I’m sure the staff there must have thought we were nuts but it was great fun. We learned a few things that night and I would have no problem doing it again.

As I have become more aware of my likes and dislikes with food, I can be pretty particular about it. Some of my all time favorite foods include: fresh cherries (I once got busted for stuffing a bunch in my mouth, stems and all by the Executive Chef. Thankfully he was laughing more then I was), peanut butter and banana sandwiches (Anna banana just a coincidence), fresh nectarines, fried egg sandwiches, chocolate, pizza (pepperoni, mushroom and bacon please), steak (I’m a meatatarin. It’s a personal choice), cinnamon buns, hold the raisins and cream cheese frosting ‘tho and as a guilty pleasure salt and vinegar potato chips.

I also really enjoy a moist, gooey piece of chocolate cake. Speaking of which, a shout-out to our friend Thomas. We had another Aluminum Cook evening (Please see past post IRON CHEF…Or something like that) at his place and he made a molten chocolate cake with a mango coulis. Holy cow! I can still remember how it tasted. His girlfriend Carolyn made a stew with moose meat and it was the 1st time I ever had moose. Delicious indeed.

I like my steak medium, spaghetti sauce with lots of meat, bread with lots of grains and my desserts to be fresh, not overly sweet and different. And if I order a piece of coconut cream pie, it better taste like coconut cream pie and not like gelatin.

I have also learned that I like white wine over red, although I won’t pass up a glass of Pinot Noir, and my martini’s on the tart side. I like reading about food, I like to experiment with food and I like to share my meal with family and friends. I consider myself very lucky indeed that I live in a country where the grocery stores are stocked full with healthy food choices, although I must confess, when I pass by the raisins, I give them a hearty scowl and keep walking.

P.s For those that are curious, since I last wrote about the Aluminum Cook evenings; we’ve had 3 more. We featured vanilla, any food that starts with the letter “M” hence the moose stew and a BBQ on Canada Day that featured foods only from Canada.

I’m happy to report a great time was had by all!

Going back to my love of reading, I recently read an article in Oprah Magazine (I think it was either the March or April issue) and it proposed the idea of self-reflection and asked the question “If you could go back to your younger self, what would you say?” I found the entire magazine fascinating and I read it from cover to cover…twice.

So I ask again; If you could go back, what would you say to your younger self?

This has been floating around in my brain ever since and I wanted to write about it. So I’m going to share some of my mistakes I made while I was making my way up the Pastry Chef ladder. I’ll be the first to admit that although I can laugh at myself, I am famous for beating myself up mercilessly when things don’t work out. My attempt here is to add a bit of humour, and though we all make mistakes, it’s what we do with them afterwards that’s important.

Humiliation #1: Early in my training, I was working for a big, fancy hotel that catered to very large banquets including Kosher events. Kosher, for those that are unaware simply means blessed by a rabbi and/or adhering to the food rules in the Torah. (According to Ask.com) It was a 900 guest wedding and the dessert was Baked Alaska…

BEWARE Educational Alert: Baked Alaska is a layer of cake, under a layer of ice cream, followed by a piped layer of meringue. Traditionally, to give the dessert the “baked look”, it would go into a VERY hot oven for a few seconds before the server takes it out to the guest. Nowadays, the dessert has either tiny cups of flaming Brandy perched on top or the meringue is “baked” by a blowtorch before it goes out to the guest.

…It took me all friggin’ day to mask those portions of Baked Alaska as I was still very new at the pastry game and my piping skills were not very fast. After a 10 hr work day, I stumbled into the change room completely exhausted and covered in meringue gooyness when I overheard one of my coworkers talking about the 900 guest Kosher function. No big deal until I had a moment of clarity and realized that I only did enough Baked Alaska for 400 instead of the 900 that were expected.

I quickly threw on my day old chef whites and ran back to the kitchen to speak to the Pastry Chef. I had to tell him the truth and admit my mistake in miscounting the dessert. He kept his cool and told me to get back to work. Afterwords, my supervisor spoke to me about the incident and although he never lost his temper, his utter calmness and disappointment with me for not being more focused and not asking questions when I was unsure was a real blow to the pride.

What I would tell my younger self: To do a job properly, take the time to understand the details. They say the devil is in the details, well they’re right, because if you don’t get the facts straight, it can bite you in the #*((.

Humiliation #2: At this point, I had completed 3 years of industry training, and 1 year of formal training. I was working at a resort hotel (again big and fancy). It was during the quiet season and the kitchen was being run by a small kitchen brigade. This also meant that if you weren’t busy, you would be sent home. I needed to work because I had bills to pay and those don’t change when your hours get cut, so I admit, I was feeling a little frustrated.

It was a quiet evening and one of the kitchen supervisors came over and started grilling us about what work we were doing. If it wasn’t up to snuff, she was sending people home. When it was my turn, my frustration came out and I might have shown a bit of attitude. Well she didn’t like it. (It may have something to do with the fact that she was pregnant and may have been moody, although I will admit I should have kept my mouth shut)

Anyways, I told her not to be concerned about what I was doing because I was working and not slacking. Again she didn’t like that so the next thing I knew, she called me into the office, gave me a VERY STRONG lecture and then gave me what they called a peek-half. Basically it’s a negative mark on your work record. I apologized to her but I refused to sign-off on the peek-half because a) She was partly to blame for it and admitted it as much and b) what a STUPID name for a disciplinary action. So I refused on principal. Hey I’m a Leo, and stupidity does on occasion get my back up.

What I would tell my younger self: Show your supervisor some empathy. They are human and sometimes they have to make the tough, unpopular decisions. Learn to pick your battles because that one time when you really need your supervisors support, they will come through and help you out. Oh and ah, don’t take on a pregnant woman.

Humiliation #3: Different hotel and a few more years into my training. We had a banquet for 400 guests and the dessert was New York Cheese Cake…

Another Educational Alert: New York Cheesecake differs from plain or vanilla cheesecake by it’s density. This is a result of more cream cheese being in a recipe for New York cheesecake.

…and we’re back…The day before the event, my job was to make and bake the cheesecake, which I did, or so I thought. The day of the banquet, I received a call at home from the pastry chef, who I gotta say, was a little grumpy. It turned out that when she started portioning the cheesecake for the function, the centre of 2 out of the 4 sheets of cheesecake were under-baked. Not by a little, but a lot.

Let me tell you, this is not a phone call you want to get at anytime. I rushed into work, and knowing I was going to be facing the pastry chefs anger, my heart was pounding and my stomach was in a free fall. As I walked into the kitchen, it got really quiet and no one would look at me. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to make up 2 more sheets of cheesecake and I’d better be quick about it. How did I let this happen? It was a lack of focus. The day before the event, it was insanely busy and I felt I had to be superwoman and tried to do too many things at once.

What I would tell my younger self: Take the time to prioritize your work load. It’s worth it in the end to spend a few more minutes on the most important tasks. Stay focused. Oh and it helps if you leave the cheesecake in the oven a little bit longer.

Humiliation #4: This time, I’m the business owner, I’m the boss. At this point, I had both 14 years of industry experience and my Red Seal. I had a wedding couple who wanted a 5 tier wedding cake with each tier being separated my pillars. No big deal as I’ve done quite a few of them at this point. A week before the wedding, I met with the couple and they were a bit concerned about the cake collapsing because of the pillars. I was surprised they brought it up and I assured them that everything will be fine and besides, I’m a trained professional.

Well, we jinxed ourselves. From the start of constructing the wedding cake, I had nothing but problems. The cake itself didn’t bake properly, the butter cream split on me twice, the dowels were cut to short and there wasn’t enough of them, the cake boards were too small and on and on. I soldiered on and was able to get the cake to the hall and set-up in time for the wedding reception. As I left the venue, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

About an hour later, I received a call from the event coordinator. Turns out that this cursed wedding cake was about to collapse and I had to come back and fix it. Of course, I rushed back to the event, and when I walked into the room, I had the focus of 200 pairs of eyes looking directly and hostility at me. I had to fix this disaster of a wedding cake in front of a live studio audience. Even though I was able to get it back into shape, it still didn’t look like it should have. In the end, the bride was really cool about it. Her brand new husband on the other had…not so much. (Like he really cared. All he wanted was chocolate)

What I would tell my younger self: Follow, follow, follow your instincts. What I should have done is really listened to the concerns of the wedding couple and together we could have made changes to the cake. As for the angry groom, I heard he was fired from his job and is now facing a divorce. Karma!

We have all made mistakes and we may even have a regret or two. At times, it seems something doesn’t sink in until we make a mess of it and then all of a sudden, the light turns on. I think it’s important to keep a perspective on things and to remember that this awkward moment will pass. I think growing from your mistakes keeps you humble and as you develop in your profession, it makes you wiser. It also teaches you to be more empathetic when someone else makes an oops.

I think as one gets older, one will never stop making mistakes but because they have experience on their side, they are able to put the brakes on the mistake before it gets out of hand, or at least fix it before anybody notices. Try to be patient with yourself and others, learn, learn, learn from your mistakes, and move on. Oh and if some couple approaches you about a 3 foot mermaid cake, just say no.

We have a anniversary coming up. The anniversary of the closing of our business, Anna’s Indulgence Dessert Bar. Our last day was June 11, 2011.

The two weeks leading up to the closure were some of the most difficult weeks I have ever faced. Ironically, deciding to close the business was an easier decision to make then others. One of the hardest parts though, was knowing that we were going to be disappointing some loyal customers who were not only good to Anna’s Indulgence, but who we enjoyed interacting with and would truly miss.

The time has arrived where I feel I can close this chapter and move onto the next. This will be the last post with regards to opening up my private thoughts on Anna’s Indulgence. So I better make it good.

Hard to believe the year has gone so fast and what a year it has been. Some may wonder why did I close? No really, why did I? Some wonder “What is she up to now?” Some may even wonder “Is she going to open up Anna’s Indulgence elsewhere?” It was a year filled with relief, regret, guilt, happiness, determination, frustration, learning more about who I am, revelations and higher education. You know, this thing we call life.

When the decision was made to close the business, I knew 3 things for sure:

1) I didn’t want to be a business owner anymore. It never felt right to push myself on someone to make that sale. Pushy people can be irritating and I didn’t want to be known for being overbearing. I have learned that this may have been one of my downfalls as a business owner but to this day, I’m still not liking the idea of being overly aggressive and doing whatever it takes to have the customer buy the product.

2) I loved being a pastry chef

3) I enjoyed my two previous experiences as an instructor within culinary arts that I knew that it is where I wanted to spend my time. Two years before closing, I taught Pastry Arts and Intro to Culinary Arts. While doing so, I enrolled at Red River College in Winnipeg, into the Technical Vocational Teacher Education Diploma program.

No I have no desire to open Anna’s Indulgence in another location, city or province and on the last question allow me to speak on why I closed, no really why.

There is a misconception that businesses close because either nobody was buying the product therefor no money was coming in or that the product for sale was no good. I never set out to win every person over so I always knew there would be some people who didn’t like what we did nor understand what we where trying to accomplish. I was okay with that. If one tries to have everyone like them, they are guaranteed to fail before they begin.

As for closing because of financial reasons, in our case the answer is no. We did not close because people weren’t buying our product. We closed by our own choice and for many different reasons. So the point here is that for every closing of a business, it’s never just about one thing. The reasons are as many as there is business owners.

In the last year, I’ve had many people comment to me that we would have been better off in a different location. True, if we opened in a bigger city there would have been a larger income pool to go after. People forget that a bigger city for business also means higher operating costs.

In Brandon, the one location more people suggested over others was in an area where the rent would have been 5x more then what we were already paying. This meant the prices we charged for our items would have been higher then what they already were.

Interesting, as this area so many people liked is located in a flood zone and I’m not sure if you knew or not, but last spring, Brandon was fighting the worst flooding in 300 years. That whole section of the city was shut down and evacuated which included homes and businesses for about 3 weeks. Being shut down for that long would have ruined any small business. Small businesses don’t have a corporate head office to report to, and are truly on their own. Needless to say, I’m still not convinced that this area would be a good location for Anna’s Indulgence. Lesson here, the grass IS NOT ALWAYS greener on the other side.

While in business, one will hear A LOT, “It’s business” or “It’s nothing personal, it’s business. What did you expect?” Any business owner will tell you that after spending countless hours creating something, spending scary amounts of money to keep the business growing and sacrificing everything you have, including your sanity, that yeah, you can’t help but to have a personal investment in things and yeah, it is personal.

You will learn very quickly that sometimes in order to survive you have to put up with rude customers and inconsiderate business associates. You have to be comfortable with giving away both your time and product in the hopes of that future sale. This can be a bitter pill to swallow and to be honest, I was never comfortable with it.

Once you are a business owner, from day one you are expected to be an expert on everything. You have to be an expert on marketing, book keeping, web design, sales, cash flow procedures, customer service, human resources, plumbing and electrical, safe work practices, taxation, and costing. Oh and don’t forget, you better know something about whatever you opened your business for.

A lot of owners try to save money by doing things themselves. They don’t see the value in hiring a professional and only see an expensive bill. They forget that their time is valuable and better spent elsewhere. My advice? Hire a professional whether it’s an accountant who can track your financials or a lawyer who will look out for your best interest. True, it’s good to understand book keeping principals, and business law, but unless you went to school for this, don’t do it yourself. It will be worth it in the end to hire someone. The same goes for a electrician, or a contractor etc. You get the idea.

Be very choosy who your work associates are and who you do business with. I respect those that work hard, do what they say and respect you enough to honour your business relationship. Be positive, and give people the benefit of the doubt. Do what you say, and mean what you say. Those who don’t are not worth your time. They show a lack of credibility and integrity and I can’t help wondering if they are trying to cover up any weakness either within their business or within themselves. If you act with honour and respect, then you have nothing to hide and you don’t have to worry about karma. Enough said.

A business will always have competition and I believe competition is healthy. It keeps you on your toes, drives you to push the envelope and keeps you from getting complacent. Competition is not to be feared or to back away from. It’s better to be the trail blazer then one who follows everyone else, at least in my eyes. Be aware though, it may bring out the nasty in other businesses as they may feel threatened.

The one thing I focused on was what my competition was not doing. For example, until we opened, there was no one doing any diabetic or gluten free baking. These are huge markets and it blew my mind that nobody was tapping into them. Once we started, all of a sudden others were doing it. Another untapped market was wedding cakes. Nobody was doing anything that was trendy or modern. That is until Anna’s Indulgence opened it’s doors.

We learned that there was quite a profitable underground economy in Brandon. One of these economies was the making and selling of wedding cakes, actually, all types of baking. People were baking out of their home kitchens, kitchens that were not inspected by a health inspector, and it’s all cash under the table. How is a legitimate business suppose to compete with that?

There was this attitude that because one could bake some cookies or have taken a cake decorating class, it made them an expert. That they were qualified the same as a Red Seal trained Pastry Chef. No. They weren’t.

We also learned that some of these people who were doing home baking for profit were placing their items on recycled Styrofoam meat trays. Coming from a chefs point of view, I was horrified when I learned of this. As a result, I stay away from bake sales. This is what leads to food poisoning.

The first three months after we closed, I went into seclusion mode and didn’t venture too far from home. I was feeling ashamed because for so long I talked about having a business, spent so much time talking up my business, then I go and close the business. I needed time to lick my wounds and to heal.

Because I was coming off of 5 years were my average work week was 60 hours and dealing with enormous amounts of stress, I spent the summer reading on the patio, learning to relax again and planning what my next step would be. Maybe I am guilty of reviewing my business experience with a little too much depth and insight. But what can I say? It was a game changer.

The one thing I can say is this past year it’s been one hell of a journey. I was reminded once again that for every person who cheers when you fail, there are two people who cheer you on. I have learned to let go of regret and guilt as they are unproductive and what’s done is done.

I have learned there were more people who were saddened by Anna’s Indulgence closing then I first realized. In fact, I had customers track me down over Christmas wanting me do do their Christmas baking.

I don’t look at Anna’s Indulgence as a failure. I look at the whole experience as one giant learning curve and the realization of a goal met. I have also learned it is better to try then to not try at all.

As I close this chapter, a new one is starting. I have achieved another goal and as of August 7th, I will begin employment at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology aka SAIT as a Pastry and Baking Arts instructor. Back to Calgary we go. I feel like I have come full circle as I will be teaching alongside the first pastry chef I trained under and one of my other pastry chefs I worked under also taught there. Things do have a funny way of working out don’t they?

At what point in one’s cooking career can one assume the mantle of Chef?

Is it the years of industry experience and formal training at a prestigious cooking school? Is it the result of grinding your way through many kitchens gaining as much kitchen skills as you can? Maybe it’s a little bit of everything. A bit of industry experience, a bit of schooling, a bit of life experience and a bit of passing on the skill.

Is there a defining moment where one day you are a cook and the next you have the title of chef?

I’ve had this conversation with many chefs over the years. I have worked with chefs from all types of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets. What we agree on is that in order to rightfully call yourself a chef, you need lots of industry training and it carries a lot of weight if you hold a Red Seal.

Where does that leave the chef that has oodles of experience, but are self taught? In other words, they became a chef before attaining a Red Seal was the expected standard. The generations of chefs that have come up through the ranks have proven that in some cases, it is possible. They get what some call “grandfathered in” It wouldn’t be fair to ignore their vast knowledge and experience just because they don’t have a piece of paper in the form of a diploma or a degree.

Nowadays, it would be pretty difficult to climb the kitchen hierarchy without the combination of formal training, industry training and of course the beloved Red Seal. At least in a place that’s viewed with any credibility by the industry. Most places where there are possibilities for career advancement, insist on wellroundness or they won’t even consider you. There are many companies that are even seeking those who have a culinary degree on top of a Red Seal. A Red Seal isn’t enough anymore. We’re talking about a degree that wasn’t even heard of 15 years ago, but is now starting to make waves.

I think the idea of a culinary degree is interesting and it certainly helps elevate one’s career choice of cooking to a more academic level, but I myself do not know any chefs who have one. Like any degree, it requires the finances, takes 4 years to gain, and must be completed at a recognized school that offers the program. In order to pursue the degree, most schools want you to already possess a Red Seal. In order to get that, you need industry experience. In other words, you still need to gain the practical skills as well as the theory to be able to qualify to write the Red Seal exam. It always comes back to the Red Seal.

There has been many advances within the culinary industry over the last few decades. Some of the biggest leaps are evident in the respect a chef receives from Joe Public. People seem to be in awe of the chef and everybody wants to meet the chef.

Another thought; how does one put a price on a learned skill? For instance, a plumber or an electrician has to go through the same training and learning structure as a chef does (apprenticeship, journeymen exams etc) Yet these trades notoriously receive more pay per hour then chefs do. Why is that? A chef is just as trained in their own skill set and health and safety standards are just as tough. Chefs have to be aware of bacteria and other issues which can led to food borne illnesses. Food, not prepared properly can not only make people very sick, but can also kill.

Is it fair to call someone who has just finished cooking school and building industry experience a chef? Does it matter where they work, whether they have worked internationally, how large the establishment, what their job responsibilities are or how many people they supervise? What if they have spent the majority of they’re career teaching students how to cook? Where do all these people fit within the kitchen order?

I’m of the opinion that in order to rightfully call yourself a chef, you must posses a Red Seal or have the industry experience to walk the talk. You must have both formal and on the job training, show that you are able to advance in the form of job promotions and are constantly seeking new, innovative and creative ways of developing your skills.

One must understand and accept that to be a chef it doesn’t happen over night nor that a sense of entitlement will make you gain the title faster. You have to prove to your supervisor(s) that you are worthy of the position and of the pay raise.

It takes year’s of practice, and working long hours on your feet over weekends and holidays when everybody else is off. Once you earn that title, I like to think of it as “earning your bones” A throw back from the golden era of the mob of the 1920’s. A person fresh out of culinary school does not qualify them as a chef no matter what one’s title is at their current cooking job.

I also don’t consider one to be a chef just because they decided to open a food establishment of some kind with no previous cooking experience. It’s a harsh opinion but any chef worth their salt will tell you the same thing. The title of chef, or pastry chef or baker has to be worked for, it’s as simple as that.

It took me years after passing the exam for a Bakers Red Seal to feel comfortable with the title of Pastry Chef. And I like to think that I earned the title by working my way up through the kitchen ranks first as an apprentice, then as a 2nd cook, 1st cook, Pastry Chef de Partie, and then Pastry Chef Business Owner. All in all, 17 years in the making. I don’t know everything about my trade, but I do know a lot and I can prove that I walk the talk, that I’ve earned my bones.

No matter how you slice it (pun intended) in order to become a chef it takes an immense amount of practice and hard, sweaty work. There is no substitute. Look at it this way: Can one call themselves a nurse because they can apply a band-aid to a cut? Do they consider themselves a lawyer because they can debate an issue? Do they consider themselves an accountant because they can add some numbers?

The one thing I have learned about being a chef is, the longer you are in the field, the more the field chooses you, instead of you choosing it. It’s a game of survival. You have to be strong, enjoy a challenge, have the yearn for knowledge and not be afraid of change or to take a chance.

One does not practice “cheffing” as I’ve heard some people call it. You are practicing the art of cooking or the art of pastry. Heck, call yourself an artist if you so desire. But you have to earn it.

So if you’ve been following my posts or if you know a little bit about me, you would know that I love to read. This post may not have to do with my love of desserts or being a pastry chef, but it needs to be told as reading and the yearn for knowledge has a lot to do with me.

I can happily say that I come by reading honestly as everyone in my family loves to read and we have all amassed a somewhat large collection of books. Because of this gift that has been passed down to me and one that I grasped tightly while making my way through school, it has opened up worlds to me that I would otherwise not have known.

Because of my love of reading, I have taught myself many things to do with my craft as a pastry chef (I have over 70 pastry related books and tons of pastry magazines) learned how to prepare myself for the sometimes harsh realities of life lessons and it has driven my quest for endless knowledge.

Recently, I had the chance to go through my grandfather’s library that he left behind. When he passed, my grandmother told the family to go through the library, take what we wanted with the remainder to be donated at some point. Well that point came as of last week. I had a bee in my bonnet (also maybe I shouldn’t have read all those magazine articles about organizing your home) and decided 14 years was long enough to have these books hanging around.

With a motley collection of boxes, a black marker and sheer determination I began the huge task of going through and getting rid of my grandpa’s beloved library of books. Why, you may ask did it take 14 years to get to this? Mostly it was the sheer size of the collection that made procrastination possible. I didn’t count the books, but conservatively I think there was close to 2000 of them. That doesn’t include the magazines or the encyclopedia’s. And the stamps, oh the stamps.

Here are some things I learned about my grandpa while sorting through the dusty tomes:

1) I completely underestimated my grandfather’s love for England. I had the pleasure of accompanying him twice to that beautiful country. However he was obsessed with it.

2) He possessed every book ever published on World War 2.

3) He knew the proper method of shorthand and had many books on the subject.

4) If my grandpa didn’t have a bookmark close at hand, he would use a candy wrapper. I’m positive that the brown smudges I found on a few pages were the mark of a chocolate thump print. (And ‘Gramps if you are reading this, Grandma always knew when you snuck chocolate and that you hid them in your book shelves.)

5) My grandpa had a huge collection of stamps and I found lots of them in tucked away in between pages of the books or among magazine issues. That doesn’t include the stamp albums.

6) He left behind 18 magazine subscriptions including National Geographic from the early 1960’s and magazine’s that one could only buy in England. I told you he loved that country.

Every book had to be thumbed through in case he left behind a vast fortune and forgot to tell someone about it. Believe me, if you knew him, you wouldn’t be surprised at that. There wasn’t a book in his library that I didn’t touch. I didn’t find money (please see the above mentioned loose stamps I came across) but if you need a bookmark, I’m your gal. I found hundreds of them.

In every book, my grandpa left a label with his name on it, and in most cases if 1 label wasn’t enough, 2 was even better. Have you ever tried to remove a label that has been applied to something eon’s ago? No small task. Hence the black marker. I used it to colour over his name as the majority of books were to be donated.

To rid of the books, I made countless trips to book donation bins through the city. Because there was so many books to get rid of, I took to going to different bins wearing a cloak, hat and Jackie O sunglasses in case anybody recognized me as the bin filling bandit. It felt like a very mixed up version of spy vs spy with me sneaking around in broad daylight. Sheesh. I felt a tad self-conscious when people were starring at the amount of boxes I was shuffling towards the book bins. Geez, haven’t people seen books before?

I hate to say it, but there were some books that didn’t end up anywhere other then the recycling bin. Those included were outdated encyclopedia’s, damaged books and magazine after magazine. And before you ask, yes I’m sure there was things that could have been sold on Ebay. But I don’t have the interest or time to list and sell. My selling days are done. However, I do have a couple boxes set aside filled with some interesting books for my mother-in-law, Val as she does Ebay. Sorry Pat, but it’s true. I couldn’t help myself.

All in all, it took me a good week, about 7 solid hours a day to go through what was left of my grandpa’s collection. I packed and moved close to 40 boxes of books with about 20 books per box. I also made 6 trips to the book bins, 2 to Value Village and 2 to the recycling depots.

The books were in the basement of my grandparents house so I carried the boxes of books up 15 very steep stairs to get them out to the car. There are still over half of the magazine subscriptions sitting there waiting for a home, and I imagine, they’ll go like the others did to the recycling bin.

It was a lot of fun to go through the library and I learned a lot about the man who visited countless book sales and lovingly built his library book by book. It was quite a feat when you think about all the times my grandparents moved around the country and these books were packed and moved off to the next destination.

Although I didn’t share his taste in books (there’s few who did) I do share his love of a great story, okay and maybe a candy or too.

Ah, how I miss living in a big city. At least I feel the longing for a big city when I’m craving some interesting food choices. Allow me to fill you in.

I live in a city that on a good day has the population of 49 000 souls. Not only is Brandon the 2nd largest city in Manitoba but it is an exact 2 hour drive from Winnipeg, the largest and capital city of Manitoba. To get out of Brandon in any direction, one has to drive past limitless fields of grain or pastures filled with cows. Yes exciting stuff. As beautiful as the rural setting can be, the area is not known for being daring or fast paced. When it comes to shopping and dining in Brandon, in most cases Walmart and chain restaurants rule with a steady influence.

I don’t have any issues with chain stores or restaurants, or at least not most of them. There are pockets of individuality here and there where the small local shop or restaurant has been able to carve out a spot and survive in among the chain giants. But sadly they are few and far between.

As a result, my husband and I have gotten together with some friends and hatched a cunning plan to help satisfy our cravings for food adventure and to explore our kitchen creativity outside the box so to speak. We have dubbed ourselves “The Aluminum Cooks” and we are a group of foodies where our vice is to create and consume interesting food creations and to try out different ingredients.

The name of our group was born out of the idea that we all aspire to be as talented as the chefs from Iron Chef, the TV series on the Food Network. Our inaugural Aluminum Cook was over the Canada Day weekend, 3 years ago. What could be more Canadian then featuring an entire 7 course menu on nothing but bacon? Yes even the dessert had bacon in it (apple Betty with maple smoked bacon ice cream. And yes, it was delish.)

Since then we have featured entire menu’s on tomatoes (I made rice pudding with candied tomatoes), squash, ginger, whiskey (I made the stickiest ribs), cheese, BBQ anything, chocolate, corn, coffee, beer and oranges. I’m sure I’m forgetting an ingredient or two. We originally started with 6 members and from a time or two, it has grown up to 30 members. With every person being responsible for bringing a dish, that translates to A LOT OF FOOD and perhaps a fair share of booze.

The only rules we insist upon are: everybody is responsible for making an item with the feature ingredient being the main ingredient, one can include a boozy drink for the masses if they so desire, and we vote at the end of the gorge-fest. The food/drink item that receives the most votes, wins and the “aluminum cook” walks away with a snappy chefs hat with pictures and dates of the previous winning entries.

Because of the revolving membership from dinner to dinner, it has also led us to adjust the rules somewhat. I mean people don’t regularly sit down and eat a 7 course meal. We make it a point to eat over 3 to 4 hours with each dish being recognized and appreciated. The key is to pace yourself and take small portions of things. For most of us, we are out of our food comfort zone and the effort it takes to create needs to be respected. Although I am a pastry chef, I don’t automatically create the desserts for the aluminum cook evenings. I can cook other things and I usually do. (Just in case you were wondering.)

Our cooking events take place at one of the members house. The last two Canada Day Aluminum Cook’s took place at our house, out on the patio. Once the dishes are cleaned up, and the extra food is put away, we decide when and where the next one will be and also which ingredient to use next.

The original idea was to do this once a month. So far, we haven’t had the problem with repeating an ingredient as I’m sure you can understand why. We have been careful though to stay away from obvious ingredients such as potatoes, sugar and rice. Until it is revealed at the shindig, nobody knows what you will be making. So sometimes we can have 3 soups, or 5 desserts or 7 entrees with no vegetable in sight. That’s the fun part.

Our membership does not require a fee, nor that you speak about the many characteristics of the latest bottle of wine or that you have to be the most successful person at your job. (Are we even members?)

All we ask is for you to show up with a dish that you created, can handle a good dose of sarcasm (okay a large does of sarcasm) and are ready to share a drink or two. We don’t even care if you don’t know how to cook. Just try.

If you are a friend of a friend or a relative of a friend, you are most welcome. We are just a group of friends with all sorts of different backgrounds who really enjoy each-others company, great tasting food and frankly are bored to tears with what’s offered in the local restaurants (Not that some of them don’t try. But does every single restaurant really need to put spinach dip on their menu? Really?) So we have taken it upon ourselves to do something about it and while we are sitting around the table pigging out, we also solve the world’s problems.

I’m always amazed with what I see members come up with. And I’m happy to say I have enjoyed every dish. The Aluminum Cook evenings are just for fun but everybody does put a lot of effort into their dish. It’s a great way to pass the time and another outlet for creativity and learning new things for me. We are in the process of planning our next Aluminum Cook and I can only guess what the ingredient will be as we need to finalize things.

Who knows, you may just be invited. Just remember to bring the tums.

Happy New Year!  After some thought I have come up with a topic that is one of my all time biggest irritants. Nothing gets under my skin more than when I encounter a lack of professionalism in any profession. 

I’m by no means perfect and have certainly made a few blunders. I have high expectations when it comes to being and acting like a professional and I’m guilty of assuming those around me do as well.  I will also admit that I have low tolerance for those who don’t. This comes down to how I was raised, the training I received while on the job and the expectations that were placed on me as an employee, a supervisor, a business owner and now as an instructor.

Let me paint you a picture.

How many times have you been in a situation where you are expected to network. You approach an individual who you know and they are talking to people who you don’t know.  Instead of introducing you to the unfamiliar people they leave you hanging and don’t introduce you at all or you are forced to introduce yourself creating an awkward moment. 

Another incident I have encountered more then once is the weak hand shake. You know the one I mean, the limp-wristed-clammy-I-can’t-be-bothered-to-give-any-effort-or-enthusiasm-when-I-shake-your-hand handshake. It’s like your hand is befriending a dead fish. You want to be taken seriously in your profession? Learn to give a firm handshake and look the person in the eye while doing so.

If you have an administrative assistant working for you, are you aware how they are answering the phone on your behalf? When they greet the caller; are they introducing themselves?  Are they speaking clearly and not chomping huge wads of gum or any other food particle? Is every second word they say “like”? I’m always taken aback when I call to reach someone and I don’t get a “good morning” or “good afternoon” or the greeters name. If I don’t get a name, I ask for it.  This seems to catch the greeter off guard.  But honestly, I would like to know who I’m talking too.  I especially like when they put the phone down and it goes “CLUNK” in my ear.

In some respects, it appears that professionalism is fading.  Maybe the rules have changed. To be fair; some people just need to be taught. Call me old fashioned but saying please and thank-you, asking someone how they are, showing respect, and giving a solid handshake never gets old or goes out of style. For those who refuse to shake a person’s hand because they re afraid of germs, carry some hand sanitizer and get over it.

Maybe this is my cross to bear (along with my dislike of raisins and products I like being discontinued), and maybe I have only myself to blame, but when someone tells me that they will return my call by a certain time or day, I actually take them at their word. When I call and leave a message or send an email that requires a reply, I do expect a response in return.  I get that everybody is busy and the day can easily get away, but everybody is busy.  I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a reply. If you don’t respond to me within say 48 hrs, I will start pestering you and keep pestering until I get an answer.  I’m not going to go away so you are better off getting back to me sooner rather then later.

Here’s a story from the Anna Indulgence files:

Soon after we opened, we were approached by an owner of a company who was interested in selling us a product. We asked the owner for client references, in which the owner had trouble remembering. It was odd that the owner had no problem remembering (and insulting) the customers they approached who didn’t buy into their product, including a business who was run by a friend of ours. We were quite taken aback at the lack of restraint from the owner and due to an obvious lack of professionalism, we choose not to do business with them.

I have also been a witness to hearing colleagues insult other colleagues or supervisors in front of both subordinates or students. There is no reason you can give me that makes this okay at any time. If one can’t practice self-control then one has no business being in that position. They will achieve nothing but looking like a fool and losing the respect of others.

Currently, I am reinventing my career as a pastry chef into a chef instructor. One of the philosophies I think is important to teach is to show pride in the job and be proud of what one does. I have been known to preach “Make sure that whatever you send out, you are 100% comfortable staking your reputation on it.”  I don’t believe in half-assed attempts and I will push myself and those around me for best efforts.  If it’s not right the first time, then it goes back to be fixed. 

Often a lack of professional attitude comes down to a lack of manners, lack of pride, lack of training or all three. Sometimes people simply forget and some, as nice as they are, are just socially stupid. If one can’t bother to introduce a co-worker, shake someone’s hand properly, be mindful of those who they work with/for or fail to return a call or ignore an email, they are guilty of being rude.

I try to lead by example and instill the ideas of not getting caught up in petty emotions such as jealousy or arrogance and to rise above them. It should make no difference if your a movie star, some hot shot chef, a business person or if you pump gas. There’s something to be said for having pride in what you do for a living.

Some say the first impression counts the most. I believe it’s every impression. Actions and words can never be taken back and you just never know if your actions or words will deeply impact someone else. A little food for thought, wouldn’t you agree?

I have a confession to make….I’m a pastry chef who has just started her Christmas baking.

You may wonder how is it that I just started? Chalk it up to the luxury of having the time to do it last minute as I have few distractions at the moment. I am also participating in a bake exchange with friends so it’s time to get crackalackin’ on some baking.

Together with my Mom (yes even pastry chefs need help with baking from time to time) we planned out what we wanted to make and split the work.  Along with the traditional mince tarts, whipped shortbread, and sugar cookies, we also included butter tarts, poppycock and gingersnaps.

Here’s what I am responsible for: butter tarts (yes, I stuck with tradition and made them full to the brim with raisins. And I’ll have you know I was grossed out by the raisins the whole time) mince tarts, chocolate pecan tarts, poppycock (is it just me or is that a dirty sounding word?) cranberry lemon loaves and my version of Ferrero Rocher.

I am a firm believer in using high quality ingredients in baking and if an ingredient is going to taste that much better by taking it that extra mile and tweaking it to help bring out it’s full potential, I’m all over that too. For example:

Vanilla extract – I make my own using fresh vanilla beans. I loathe fake vanilla and I even went to the extent of making my mother pour out her fake stuff and replace it with my real stuff ( my poor mother, but honestly she had artificial vanilla and her daughter is a pastry chef. What would the neighbors say?)

Nuts – Every nut I use, I always toast.  Even coconut. Toasting helps bring out their natural oils which is what makes them more flavourful.  When a recipe calls for walnuts, I usually substitute with pecans because I like them better. When I have toasted hazelnuts, I rubbed them against each other to take off their husks. When I store nuts, I keep them in the freezer as it slows the nuts from turning rancid. I also try to buy nuts, not in bulk, but in smaller quantities, already packaged. Again, to avoid encountering rancid nuts.

Pie dough – I make pie dough using vegetable shortening and instead of ice water for the liquid, I use iced 7-up, Sprite, or Ginger-ale.  I find the carbonization in the soda helps make the pie dough extra flakey and the lemon/ginger flavour of the drink leaves a nice somewhat lemony taste behind.

Mince tarts – Not a huge fan of mince tarts, but I do enjoy one every Christmas. I also love the smell of mince baking.  The best mince filling I have found is the President Choice no suet/no alcohol version from Superstore/Loblaws. However, I do Annaify it by adding some crab apples and plum jelly.  The additions seem to add a tanginess and mellowness at the same time and makes a really good mince tart. A good friend of mine uses green tomatoes in her mince filling. That would be interesting to try.

Butter tarts – The recipe I use is one from my Grandmother.  It was further improved by my mother.  Her recipe calls for toasted coconut and soak the raisins in hot water to make them plump before adding them to the tarts shells.  Because of my heated dislike of raisins, I have further modified the recipe by adding dried cranberries instead of the raisins.  However this time, I used the raisins because it’s tradition.( I just pick out the raisins when I eat one.  It leaves me with sticky fingers though)

Chocolate pecan tarts – Along with toasting the pecans, I used a milk couverture chocolate. A couverture chocolate is a more expensive type of chocolate.  It has a smoother finish as the cocoa butter has been left in the chocolate and its been further developed.  A good way to tell quality chocolate from bad chocolate is; look for a percentage on the packaging. If your buying in bulk, it’s probably not couverture but chocolate coating. Also, the quality will be reflected in the price.  If you are able to purchase a 3 foot chocolate Santa from Walmart for $5.95, chances are, your buying bad chocolate.

Unsalted butter, and 34 to 36% cream – Pastry chefs are usually making large quantities of baked goods, so when a recipe calls for butter, we use unsalted butter, or sweet butter.  If we were to use salted butter, the end product would be way too salty.  When I bake at home, I use unsalted butter.  It’s more expensive then salted, way more then margarine or shortening, but the flavour it gives your products just can not be beat.  I can always tell with the first bite if someone has used shortening instead of butter. When a recipe calls for milk, I use cream and not the 10% coffee, but the heavy 34% or 36% cream.  When I do have to use milk, it’s always 2%.  Rarely 1% and never skim milk, unless it’s a diabetic dessert.

Maple syrup -I’m a snob when it comes to maple syrup.  Maybe it’s because my in-laws (Pat and Val) spoil us with Ontario artisan maple syrup they bring us each year from their neighbors maple trees.  The darker and more smoky the syrup is, the happier I am. It’s to the point where I don’t order anything in restaurants that would call for maple syrup because the fake stuff is truly dreadful and I’m unhappy with the results.  If I could get away with it, I’d bring my own bottle, but somehow that seems tacky.  I even have the good stuff on my Eggo’s.

Liquor – Pastry shops do have the best liquor cabinets in a commercial kitchen. On any given day we will have Grand Marnier, Baily’s , Kahlua, Rum (both dark and white) Brandy, a white wine of some sort, Kirche, Calvados, and sometimes Champagne. Yes, we use every last drop of it (and no, not all at once, although there was this one time…never mind). Rule of thumb when using liquor in baking, if a recipe calls for something with an alcohol name in the title such as rumballs, use good quality rum as the dessert will taste like it. When using wine to bake with, don’t use “cooking wine”  Get yourself a decent bottle, just remember, the alcohol will burn off if the dessert is to be baked.

With the holiday season upon us once again, anytime spent on Christmas baking is usually focused on desserts we only see this time of year. I do, however have a list of desserts that I am not making this year in which I don’t miss. They are as follows:

Gingerbread anything – This includes ginger bread men/women, gingerbread cake and gingerbread houses.

Yule logs – They were hugely popular at Anna’s Indulgence, but very messy to make, and incredibility time consuming. I also don’t miss the meringue mushrooms that are used to decorate a traditional yule log.

Candy-cane anything – I don’t like candy-canes, and I’m not a big mint flavoured anything kinda gal.

Fruit cake and steam pudding – I have never liked either and over the years, the demand for them seems to be dying. I say good riddance.

Well it’s time to end this post. Besides I think I hear a cup of coffee and a chocolate pecan tart calling my name. Have a great Christmas and may your New Years be safe and warm! Until next year!

It’s best we try no to be too hard on ourselves. We really try to be good watching what we eat. How many of us count calories, and then go through self punishment in the form of some kind of exercise to burn off those extra bits we ate in a moment of weakness?

We drink the standard 8 glasses of water a day, try to reduce our sugar intake, eat more fiber, watch our carbs, and make the effort to eat our 9th vegetable of the day. No eating after 8pm, lights out at 11, because 8 hours of sleep is good for you. We’re so proud of ourselves when we’re good and fought another daily battle against foods that are so tempting. We wake up the next day to do it all over again.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to just give in once in a while? To cut ourselves some slack and reward our good behavior with something truly decadent, something that is sooo not fat, calorie or sugar reduced? Something that is so ultimately satisfying that it has the power to brighten your day and put a smile on your face?

For me, that could be a piece of fudgy chocolate cake, still warm apple betty (using fresh apples of course) or a piece of dark chocolate with a glass of ruby port. As a pastry chef, I have certainly fallen under the dessert spell and had my own moments of weakness (freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with a fresh cup of coffee) I’m no different. Like mac n’ cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and meatloaf, dessert is my ultimate comfort food. Hell I like it so much, I owned a business where I made and sold the stuff.

I’ve had my share of blame from people who have fallen for dessert temptation. I’ve been told that I’m evil. I’ve also been questioned as to whether dessert will ever die off as a result of people eating healthier (Gawd, I hope not as my profession relies on it) And just like I tell people who ask, the answer is no and here’s why.

I’m very much aware that people are making healthier choices when it comes to what they consume.  We’re getting better with reading food labels, understanding the difference between saturated and non-saturated fat and being more open to non-dairy, non-meat, non-egg, non-sugar, non-flavour eating styles then ever before. We’re human and what is an enjoyed life if we can’t indulge from time to time? That’s where dessert fits in.

Because our standards have risen the bar on the whole outlook of food and eating, when it’s time to indulge, we want to indulge in the real thing.  Or at least, try not to feel guilty when we do indulge. We don’t want the oily substance they call cream, we want the 36% or better yet, the clotted cream.  We don’t want the fake maple glaze on our doughnuts, instead we want real Canadian maple syrup drenching our pastry, better yet, add a piece of bacon to that doughnut.  We will not be satisfied with cafe’s whose shtick is to serve huge pieces of pie (Food cost! Food cost!) that are “suppose” to taste like coconut cream but all one can taste is gelatin. And stop trying to satisfy us with hemp-oatmeal, omega 3, sesame, seaweed granola bars!  And no, they don’t taste just like chocolate chip cookies!

In other words, when we decide we want to indulge, half-assed will just not do. In for a penny, in for a pound!

I have a hard time believing anybody who tells me they don’t have a sweet tooth. I call bull#%%&amp. Everybody has a sweet tooth although I will give in and say some are bigger then others.  If you enjoy a cookie, an Oh Henry Bar, or a pint of Haagen Daz Rocky Road ice cream (mmmm Haagen Daz….) you my friend have a sweet tooth.

For those people who think they are righteous because they went up to the dessert buffet and cut a piece of dessert in half and left the other half there, I’m calling you out as a phony.  We all know that as soon as you get home, your going to down that box of Oreo’s.  I’ve got my beady eye on you.

I also find the idea of diet desserts quite humorous. There is no such thing. If you remove an ingredient, it has to be replaced with something that will act the same way as the original ingredient or the dessert won’t work or taste good. I’m not referring to those who have serious diet restrictions (diabetics, gluten intolerant or celiacs etc) This is for people who want their dessert without the calories (half the taste) In this case, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Dessert is not meant to take off pounds, but to take off years, so get over it. Take a chance!  Live a little! It’s okay to give into that craving once in a while.  It will go a long way in satisfying that need then say a calorie friendly, cardboard tasting, sawdust drying food particle that someone is trying to pass off as a dessert “that’s good for you”

Dessert is many things. It’s that late night treat stolen in the dark of your kitchen when everyone is asleep. It’s that simple pleasure halfway through your work day. It’s that satisfying accompaniment to a great cup of coffee or that chocolate cake your sharing with your friends. It can be overly complicated on a restaurant menu, or simple on a Sunday.  It’s a lot of things but boring it never is.

To help everybody get into the holiday spirit, I ask you to join me in my next segment; my adventures in Christmas baking and why pastry chefs have the best liquor cabinets!