Mel

Well, life is full of surprises.  I am still working as the Pastry Chef for Russellville Park Community.  Today I finished a wedding cake for one of the resident's daughters.  They held their reception in the East building's restaurant.  It was nice to take a break from the usual routine and create art again.  I love making my pastries and desserts, but sometimes it is fun to break off and create something new.  Okay, not sometimes, it is always great for me.

My boys are 7 and 8 years old now.  They are in the 2nd and 3rd grade.  I couldn't have asked for more well adjusted and happy children.  Sure, Joseph has his tantrums every now and then, and Vincent has his emotional episodes, but everyone has their own problems they have to work through.  Vinny has become the CEO and Community Manager at Free Frag Network, well he has been for some time now.  It just has been a long time since I posted anything on here.  The last time I tried it wouldn't post and I got fed up.

Anyway, I have joined many groups on Linkedin and it is interesting to see how many home bakers network on there, as well as professionals.  I have found that I struggle with helping home bakers, because many of them want a simple solution or recipe.  I have had so much schooling now, that it requires me to ignore the science and put it in the simplest terms.  This isn't because the home baker is ignorant, but because I didn't know the stuff till I went to school.  I feel like my mind has been retrained to think completely different.

This is proven true when I can't watch a movie or concert without thinking about the event planning that went into it, while comparing venues that could work for the concert, as well.  Sometimes I curse out loud to my husband about it, but then again I find that it tickles me that I know what is going on and how it came to be. I had to take too many event management classes not to at least understand it, if not figure out what they did and how much it would take to do it.

I decided to create this blog to talk about random industry news, recipes, new ideas, and hopefully make contacts or share ideas with other people.  I plan on writing a bread book once I complete my degree in November.  It is going to take a long time to complete it, but I am hoping I can meet people from around the world to help me with the journey.

This post is just an update on my status.  I hope to write again soon.  It will be easier once I am done with school.  If anyone sees this and wishes to talk about anything, from random books to random recipes I will always be available. Talk to you all soon.

- Mel

What to do?

So, life has hit me with a lot of things lately. I have been waiting to start my externship. The place did a transition with staff and didn't get my paperwork completed for my orientation. So, had to put it off another week and now my finishing date on my Associate's is put out by three weeks. Ugh. I am, however, now enrolled for my Bachelor's.

Vinny is trying for a job with a gaming company and is getting offers elsewhere. He really wants the gaming job. It would definitely be a major change to live in Southern California. I love the NW, it has grown on me so much. The job market for a pastry chef in So Cal is excellent though.

I keep trying to think up a name for my business and just haven't figured it out. I had originally planned on Mel's Creations but I don't think I want to go with that. I need to figure something out soon though. I have the tag line, just need a good name..hmmm.

It is funny how everyone wants a cake, but I have found my energy to be tapped lately. I need to get it back lol. I need to make the Orange Dreamsicle cake and Banana Bread Cake and do my orientation. I am also in the middle of my spring cleaning right now. I just hope I can't get everything sorted through and cleaned out before anything major comes about.

At this point I am just hoping that everything will work out for the best. I want my husband to get his dream job and for my business to be a success. I suppose my wishes are as common as everyone's.

Let's just cross our fingers and hope we choose the right path.

Beginning

In May of 2008, I was gaming on World of Warcraft. Yes, I know the evil game! I was in a 25 man raid at 10 PM. We were in the middle of loot distribution, you gamers will understand, when my kids were in bed having a fit over a toy falling behind their bunk bed. I got up real quick and pulled out the bottom bed, it is a loft style, and looked behind. My youngest son sleeps on the bottom and was trying to watch every move. When my husband realized I was gone he yelled from me from the office. I knew they must be done with the loot and jumped up on the bed since it was blocking the way. My youngest son got under me and I tripped over him. To avoid hitting my oldest, who was standing between the bed and dresser, with full force I put myself into the dresser. In this process I broke my upper left arm into three pieces. Needless to say, I was stuck on the couch for the entire summer. Oh, did I mention this happened May 25th.

Since I was stuck on the couch in a mad contraption they had to design for me, unable to do anything for myself and on heavy pain medicine, I could only watch TV or play my DS Lite. So, life sucked for all of us. What we did find that got us through and actually brought us together no matter what, was the Food Network. My husband got his man crush on Alton Brown and all of his science humor. We watched it all the time. I got lots of ideas and learned a lot of new things.

As soon as my arm was in use again, in August, I started creating new recipes and trying different ones that I found. I started a website www.melkitchen.net for recipes that have been passed down to me and ones I had created over the years. My husband helped me with it, since I wasn't savvy with that sort of thing. I found that it wasn't enough, I needed to know more to do the site justice. I found myself trying things out of my comfort and succeeding fairly easily. Which made me wonder more. With my oldest in Kindergarten and the youngest just a year behind, I was soon going to have free time and really wanted more direction in my life.

It was Christmas time and I couldn't shake the thought of becoming a chef. Aviation had been my life before kids and I just knew I wouldn't have that kind of time or be able to travel like that with no outside help. So, I went with my gut and looked up the culinary schools available around Portland, OR. I found two serious ones. One was the Oregon Culinary and the other was a Le Cordon Bleu. The price difference was big, but the look and professionalism of Le Cordon Bleu won out.

I toured the school and loved what I saw. I had the same spiel and lies that yes the school was sued about, but I didn't worry about it. I figured all recruiters are the same pretty much. I started school in February. Fully excited and eager to learn all I could. Unfortunately I got pneumonia right off and had to withdrawal from my second class. So, I took the 3 weeks and spring break to recover. When I went back I was in the kitchen.

My first chef was funny and interesting. He told us a lot about himself and what it can be like on the outside. He had the horrible job of breaking in all the newbies. I don't envy him for that, but found when I reflected back on it, that he was perfect for the job. Bread class was by far the most fun I had had. I found I completed everything he asked and did well in it. I also, found that there was a market for a new kind of book. I didn't get the book idea until my last English class. I was for sure I wanted to do nothing but cakes and competitions, until I actually got into the kitchen. Laminated doughs were another story. They were alright, but I wouldn't want to do them all the time. Cakes was the class I couldn't wait for.

Now, after all the months it took to get to cakes, what has to happen. You bet, a nice sinus infection with ear infections had to attack me and force me out of the one class I couldn't wait for. I finished all of my plated desserts, International custards and advanced classes, except for my cake and sugar classes. I finally got to complete my cakes, but with different classes. I found that I was good at cakes, but wasn't sure if I wanted to do that or breads.

The time was ticking down for me to figure out where I was going to extern at. I applied at different places, but getting a paid extern is pretty difficult. I got accepted over the phone by a bakery out here for artisan bread. It was odd because during my time trying to figure out what I would be focusing on, I was just hoping something would point me in the right direction. I got texted or called by friends for bread recipes when I was debating it. It was kind of comical. My husband was really pushing the book idea and wondering what he could do to help get me started. I told him, after the 10th time of him asking, that if he wanted me to work on it, then get me a laptop. I needed a new computer anyway, as mine was dying and for my bachelor's degree, as well. My husband put himself to work on finding the best deal.

Down to the last week of school and still figuring out where I was going to extern at. One of my hopefuls couldn't hire me on right then and my coordinator, who is just a gem, helped me find all kinds of places when I finally told her how much I loved scratch baking and bread. I finally got a hold of a manager at one store and since he knew my coordinator and school well, he didn't even ask for an interview. So, here I am. Finally on spring break and looking at starting my future in bread. Though I still plan to dabble in cakes for friends and family to gain more experience.

Now, I passed over a lot of school time, but it was definitely a long, yet short journey. I am sure I will remember funny little stories or horror stories and post over time. Like the story of plated desserts. After all the planning and work, I was finally down to the day for me to create and plate 4 dishes of my choosing. I go to grab a sifter, mad because I was the first to go but people were being too selfish to care and had snagged all but one up, and of course the sifter was fresh out of the oven. I put my hand on the metal to sift the flour real quick and drop it instantly. The entire underside of my right hand was layered in blisters. I couldn't even blow the balloons I needed for the tulip cups. I have this awesome ability of deciding to do something, but to do it right no matter how good or bad it is.

I am waiting to start my externship in the next couple of weeks and start my future. I plan to post more over time. I am hoping to travel Europe eventually, and if I get lucky the rest of the world. There is so much to experience. The places I want to go the most are Italy and Spain. Here's crossing my fingers and having my dreams come true!

Aspiring Pastry Chef

My name is Melissa and I am an aspiring pastry chef. At this time, I am finishing my associate's degree from the Le Cordon Bleu, Portland, OR in Patisserie and Baking. I will start my bachelor's in July if all plans go accordingly.

I have only 3 classes left to finish and then I begin my externship in April after spring break. I am still trying to decide where I will focus my career. I have a book concept that I have found to be unique based on breads. I love to create and decorate cakes too. These are the two areas I have found I have enjoyed the most, thus far.

I am considering working in a hotel or chain of some sort to get rotated through all of the jobs offered as a pastry chef. I have lots of techniques and areas to improve, and am anxious to get more proficient. I will post some of my work on here over time and go from there.