Hello, and welcome. Thanks for joining in on the conversation. Allow me to introduce myself and why I am keeping a blog.\u00a0 My name is Anna and I am a trained red seal pastry chef with over 16 years of industry experience. <\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
I decided to join the legion of blog writer’s because, well frankly, I love dessert.\u00a0 I love making dessert,\u00a0I 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. <\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
To make matters more confusing, I possess a Bakers Red Seal.\u00a0 Let me explain.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It was an important step to take because if I wanted to advance within the kitchen hierarchy, I needed a journeyman’s ticket.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
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).\u00a0 I oversee the pastry department production. I plan both the employee and work production schedules.\u00a0 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. <\/p>\n
I train new pastry staff as well as oversee ongoing training for existing staff.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello, and welcome. Thanks for joining in on the conversation. Allow me to introduce myself and why I am keeping a blog.\u00a0 My name is Anna and I am a trained red seal pastry chef with over 16 years of … Continue reading