Pastry Chef for a Night Follow-up

A Peek into the Kitchen at EVOO

I want to say a big, big Thank You to Peter McCarthy and the wonderfull staff at EVOO for a fantastic experience last weekend. The kitchen at EVOO is cozy, warm and welcoming; a great reflection of the people who work there. I enjoyed planning my desserts and executing them in such a fun and energetic environment. Thank you also to my wonderful supporters who showed up that evening and ordered my desserts.

Cayenne Spiced Chocolate Pear Tart with Sweet Cinnamon Ice Cream

I wish I could say my desserts were wildly popular last Saturday, but EVOO has a pretty good regular dessert line up with which I had to compete. However there were many orders for my desserts as well as EVOO's offerings. I received many great comments, and even a 2 thumbs up from one customer. The EVOO staff eagerly gathered around my desserts to have a taste also. At the end of the evening, I sat down with a nice glass of red wine and my own serving of the Chocolate Pear Tart and was very pleased with how everything came out.

Pumpkin Pot de Creme with Toasted Hazelnut Tuiles

I apologize that my photos of the evening are not super fantastic, but I was a just a bit busy making and plating desserts.

It's funny the questions and reactions I get when I tell people I am in school, training to be a Pastry Chef. I've gained a lot of new friends, had a few marriage proposals and heard such comments as, "how do you stay skinny?" People almost always want to know what I want to do when I am finished. In the Boston area, a lot of people ask if I want to work for Finale. Ideally, some day I want to open my own small European style patisserie. Will my shop be in Boston?, Paris?, it's hard to say. I am well aware that before I can do that, I need some experience....ok lots of experience. Food establishments come and go. They have a high rate of failure within the first 5 years of operation. I want to get as much experience as I can before I venture out on my own. (I'm also going to need to either find an invester, a sugar daddy, or save a lot of money too). I want to do as much as possible to set myself up for success.

The things I am doing now, may make it seem like I'm all over the place. One day I'm working at a cafe in Paris, next month I'm making local and organic based desserts for Cuisine En Local, running a one night stint at EVOO, working my now regular job as Crema; I even do some personal pastry chef-ing here and there as needed. I'm trying to soak up as much experience as I can. I don't want to settle with just getting my feet wet, I'm trying to get completely immersed in the whole pastry/culinary experience. I'm searching for my niche. I can't remember ever in my life feeling so passionate and driven about one thing. I'm running around like mad, getting little sleep and eating way too much sugar.... but I'm loving every moment of it.