Macaron, Macaron

Macarons have become somewhat of an obsession lately, and I've been tasting a bunch of different macarons as well...pistachio, hazelnut, salted caramel, spicy chocolate, lavender, passion fruit.  The list goes on, but they've all been pretty straight forward and standard flavors.  This got my brain churning over ideas for my own macaron flavor combinations.  A couple ideas popped into my head instantly: spiced pear with almond or hazelnut, or a fig macaron.  I'm also a huge fan of flavors that mix bitter and sweet, like the coffee and white chocolate macaron in the video below from So Good Magazine.  Once I learn how to make macarons, I'm sure this will be one of the flavor combinations I attempt.

Leggo the Ego

Season 2 of Top Chef: Just Desserts premiered last week.  Holy egolamania!  There are a few cheftestants with some egos that need to be checked at the door!  I've always been a believer in letting your work and skills speak for themselves.  Unless you're put in a position where you feel you need to defend your work, it's probably best to keep it professional and respectful. 

It was difficult to get a sense of each chef's skill sets since the show focused so much on the center pieces that they had to create.  From the looks of it, this season may be center/show piece driven.  I really hope that's not the case.  For me, it's much more entertaining and intriguing to watch the chef's create plated desserts.  Show pieces are great and all, but if that's what I wanted to see, then I'd be watching Food Network Challenge.  I don't mind watching them put together show pieces, but I just hope that it doesn't become the focus for this season.  Below are pictures of my two favorite show pieces from the episode (the first show piece won).

Little Red Riding Hood

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

It seems that there's quite a bit of talent on this season, too.  From what I've seen, there are a few chefs that seem to be on the top tier out of the contestants.  Of course, with the little airtime that the plated desserts received, it'll be interesting to see how things play out.  So far, my favorites to win are Sally Camacho, Orlando Santos, and Chris Hanmer.  Tough to single one out as my favorite to win it all, but we shall see if this changes after watching another episode on tomorrow night!

Culinary School

I'm considering attending culinary school at the Art Institute of Seattle (AI) and enrolling in their Baking and Pastry Associates Program.  I took a tour of the campus about a month ago and I really liked what the school and program had to offer.  Without preparation, my tour turned into an interview with the admissions officer that gave me the tour.  Luckily, and surprisingly, she liked my answers to her questions and thought I would be a good fit for their program.  She even offered to help me with the application process right then and there.  I was so tempted to jump right into it, but I pulled in the reins and let her know that I still need to think things through and go over everything that she gave me.  Of course, she was very understanding of my decision, but she really wanted to make sure that I keep them at the top of my list.  She offered to RSVP a spot for me in their open house.  Unfortunately, I had to decline since the next open house they had scheduled was during a time when I would have out of town guests staying with me.  Maybe the next open house...

The program takes two years to complete and costs roughly $45k for full-time students.  For me, I'd be a part-time student since I would want to keep my current job and go to classes at night.  I'm sure I'd be pretty stretched thin on time and stress would be a huge increase, but these are things that I can adapt to.  What scares me is that after I complete the program, starting wages are roughly $10-11/hour.  Not much, right?  Well, given that starting wage, it would mean that it would take me quite some time to payoff the loans that I'd need to fund my education.  This would be a huge paycut and lifestyle change for me, but the exchange is that I'd be doing something that I truly love!  *Sigh*  Decisions, decisions...

AI is definitely at the top of my list for culinary schools.  I've also looked into Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) and the Seattle Culinary Academy (SCA).  Both of these options would definitely be cheaper than AI; however, they also have some drawbacks that I think weigh much more heavily.  For example, LCB only offers a certificate program, so it's not as comprehensive as AI.  Also, I've heard that since they are a for-profit organization, the schooling and services they provide are all aimed at increasing profits for the school...basically, they come off a bit shady.  SCA would be my second choice; however, they only offer classes during the day.  So, I would have to quit my current job and work part-time at night somewhere.

On top of all this, I'm not certain of what I would want to do after completing the program.  Work in a bakery?  A restaurant?  A catering company?  Start my own business?  I'm sure I'll get more of a sense of what I want to do as I progress through the program.  It would be my dream to own and to run my own high-end pastry shop with plated desserts, baked goods, ice cream/gelato, and coffee and tea.  The only place that I have been to that resemble what I would like to do is Sucré in New Orleans.  There is also Yigit Pura's soon-to-be-open Tout Sweet in San Francisco's Union Square.  Obviously, I haven't been to Yigit's shop yet, but based on what little tid bits of info he has released, it should be similar to what I would hope to do.

I think before I can make the decision on schooling, I should reach out to some local businesses to see if I can shadow their pastry chefs/bakers.  I hope doing this will give me a better sense of what I may want to do and what it would be like to work in this industry.

Role Model and TCJD

I must admit the tv show Top Chef: Just Desserts (TCJD) had a hand in influencing my passion for crafting all things sweet.  It boggles mind that the contestants on the show are able to consistently create the volume of dishes that they do with a high level of sophistication and in such a short amount of time.  I can only hope that someday I will be able to achieve such levels of technique and creativity.  Never before have I been exposed to so many different forms of dessert.  I'm truly grateful that Bravo has provided such a great platform to help spread the joy that is the pastry world.  Of all the contestants on the show, Yigit Pura is the type of chef that I relate to the most and aspire to be...he is my role model, I guess.  Not only do I appreciate how he composed himself on the show, but I also love the ingredients he features in his concoctions.  From passion fruit and yuzu to hazelnuts and chai tea...these are the ingredients that I yearn to work with.  I also love his plating!

Here is an example of one of his creations from the show:



Campari and Blood Orange Agar Agar w/ Citrus Vanilla Panna Cotta & Basil Ice Cream



With that said, season 2 of TCJD starts tonight, and I am uber excited!!

Why Hello There!

First off, apologies if my first few initial posts are a bit scattered.  It's been difficult for me to decide on how I should begin this blog...I've literally drafted several 'first' posts, none of which were ever complete and were deleted each time I started a new 'first' post.  This may be a bit of some rambling...hold tight  :)

My intentions with this blog are to simply journal the food in my life and it's related ventures.  I hope to include food/restaurants from my travels, local restaurants in Seattle, and my own personal attempts in the sweet world of pastries.  Yes, I'm an aspiring pastry chef with a love for spending time in my kitchen.  I've always had a passion for baking; and within the past year, or two, that passion has grown more intense as I've delved deeper into learning the art and techniques of the pastry world.