K8memphis

I also agree with Steve. There are so many easy to obtain food service positions available--dishwashing is also a very viable heads up on what goes on in the back of the house. Y'know what though, Foodie52, umm, the Austin school in particular that we are both familiar with has as the last session, a 6-week stint in their snack bar or their restaurant, Ventana. Y'know what??? The only thing I can think of is they could have a department that feeds into the eating establishments but as an intro session, apart from the degree as a remedial class. I think that would be the only other thing that they could possibly do to up the anty. And, Chef Quinn is always available to the students for assistance. I called him twice and he was wonderful. There is a peer tutor system available for students also. In fact, Chef-boy, my kid formerly known as Chef-wanna-be, was one of the tutors. You just gotta want to. In our particular case, Chef-boy's girlfriend lives in Austin--you connecting the dots with me here on this one?? Ok, my kid was bussing at Automatic Slim's here in Memphis during high school. He got another job up the food chain and lined up a friend to do the Slim's job. The friend was a fish out of water absolutely went belly up just couldn't handle it. I mean I went down there one night & I could hardly handle being in there as a patron the place was jumping so much--wall to wall people, live music, the food, the bar--ok I was actually sitting just outside the door come to think of it. But Jonathan handled it easily. Culinary school is no place for someone who needs to figure out who they wanna be when they grow up. When all you need is a job in the industry to get the immediate understanding of what it's all about, like Steve said. Umm, that school is $o freaking expen$ive. My boy wanted to quit just because of sticker shock buyer's remorse a couple times early on. We were dying. He had to work real real real hard to convince us to let him go in the first place. He now has the equivalent of a 2 year degree with a 4.0 and perfect attendance. He did his old parents proud. sniff. He is craving more school though. Some science & stuff. Jonathan could not understand how kids could sign up for school & not show up for classes. I broke the tuition & stuff down to an hourly rate--I can't remember now--but I explained how much it was costing him to attend per hour. Was it $25 an hour?? I can't remember but it's a lot. So now, Jonathy is across the street from Slim's at The Peabody. He has benefits. He has a nice job. He's completed all his classwork, graduates in January. He has wide open advancement possibilities if he continues to work his scrawny ass off. Still has the pretty girlfriend too--kid's doing good! There's a picture of him in his sister's wedding cake demo. A rare extern who can handle the line. Go just past 3/4 down the first page--he's in the tux on the far right in the cake cutting picture. Y'all can forgive me for bragging on my kid. He kind of figures into where the discussion was going.

Oh you guys are awesome. This is a great discussion. And let me hasten to say, I am asking for my dear friend's 17 year old. Let me also hasten to say, my 21 year old boy just finished his Cordon Bleu studies in Texas with a 4.0. He is now at The Peabody. Yes, he worked line cook & other stations for several years before attending school so he knew going in what was up. It was really funny though--he worked here in Memphis cooking at a popular night spot--then in Austin he got on at a big hotel as a line cook. He's wonderfully young, idealistic and he loves Thomas Kellor. He said to me worriedly "Mom, the food the people in the dining room just stare at me when I come out." I said, "Oh, it's ok, everybody knows it's just hotel food." He said, "Oh thanks, Mom, that makes me feel sooo much better, when I came out of the kitchen in Memphis they would clap for me." So he is becoming well aware. edited to say: Foodie52, yes indeedy it's expensive!!!

I did a search & found a bunch of stuff on culinery school. In particular, though for pastry which school would you like your teen to attend & why?? Which one has the emphasis here or the emphasis there. What do you know that would benefit a young lady in the decision making process???? What did you like especially. What sucked. What would be good to avoid in your opinion. Or what did you look for. Please PC's, speak up--especially everybody, but Jennifer Garner, recent graduate and employee of a wonderful bakery, please advise--thanks!!! Neil, I shared your web page too. Jennifer, didn't you have a web page??? I couldn't find it. All advise welcome. Thanks!

Hemming ruler!!! Pure genius!! I insert & mark a dowel, remove it, clean it off so I can cut it without making a big mess. Chances are I wiped the mark off--grr--Hemming ruler--I love it! And I'm gonna find a little circular saw too, when I'm shopping for the carpet tape. plastic oogies Many many cake buddies are really digging this demo!!! I got to translate 'mucked up the fondant' for my dear Chilean friend--basically told her to substitute the m in mucked for an f--poof goes the language barrier. Fantastic demo, dude.

Sarah, you should know how you saved my life with your egg conversion chart--I make the swiss meringue buttercream and I bought a different size of egg once or twice and I was making a huge quantity and just knowing where to get the information easily was a true godsend. I have your book too--I need to try that zucchini chocolate cake! You da' bomb!!!

Oh you are awesome!!! I don't have time to read it all right now--but I'm gonna tell all my cake buddies on all my boards you've got this over here, Keith--thank you so much!!! I've actually made a coupla these cakes from your instructions that have circled the internet. This is very gracious of you. Thanks bunches!!!

Here's another idea for you. Umm, like as far as books go. Get a real good basic all around one. Like I got both my kids the original version of the Joy of Cooking so they had a foundation, a base, like a plum line type book of instruction and formulas--so that as they added to their collection of cookbooks they could check Joy of Cooking against whatever new recipes they found or ideas they wanted to try. Like when I go to bake say a cheescake, I'll go check a lot of books and kind of meld all that information into one formula I will use. But when I first started, I got one recipe and held on for dear life y'know?? Figure out those basics & start adding on. But y'know what's a good book for some basic real good user friendly baking??? The old not revised Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook--it's got an old fashioned red cover & it's still available at bookstores--but I have an old old copy from my Mom (nostalgic yes, sniff) but it gives you a heads up on how Granny used to do it y'know??!! Foundational-great reference book. But another of my all time favorites is The Complete Book of Pastry Sweet and Savory by Bernard Clayton Jr. Making strudel with your own home made phyllo dough is pure freaking magic--talk about a rush!!! Kid you not! Or if your style is more quickie hurry easy, get more modern revised versions of cookbooks. Rachel Ray is the bomb for quick easy & good!!! Then a little more upscale and user friendly all around cookbook is Le Cordon Bleu's Complete Cook Home Collection. And I have an old DoubleDay Cookbook that has been awesome--it's actually called The New Doubleday Cookbook ha! but the copyright is ahh 1975, but the original was 1929--hey maybe I should try & find the original one--too cool great idea!!! Anyways , "The New" one is not a hurry quickie easy--I mean it's not hard but it's more scratch stuff, more basics, teaches you how to cook type of book. But those Joy of Cookings I got for my kids, well I accidently got revised ones & returned them for the originals so they could have a grasp on how to do things--even if they never cooked that way--I wanted them to have it as a resource. So there is a revised Joy of Cooking that is more modern if you like that better. Come on back & ask questions too, Near Total Newbie, & you can soon change your last name from Newbie to Awesome!!!!!!

That was an excellent question!!! Many thanks for asking.

Thank you for doing this--this is awesome!!! You da bomb!!

That's cute, Anne--I like the yarn cascading/tangling down & the profusion of little random paw prints. Great topper!!

Here is a note from Rebecca; Hello, Someone sent me the link to the discussion about cake toppers on eGullet. Thanks for thinking of me. I actually do crystal monogram toppers. There's a gal in Ohio who does them, though. She used to do cakes (and was very talented), but she's also a former art teacher and has started doing the toppers instead: http://www.weddingcakes-cleveland.com/ Hope this helps. Rebecca Sutterby http://www.SugarCreations.com http://www.CrystalMonograms.com

DesertM--I agree wholeheartedly with Genny--what a wonderful beautiful creation!!! Your enjoyment, your passion is showing in that pretty pretty piece. Chefette should be so happy to be so inspiring too!!! <applause erupts from all corners of the internet> <DesertM takes a bow, Chefette takes a bow> <the crowd goes wild> Cool and very cool!!!!

My suggestion is to try something like this. It is available at Hobby Lobby, Michael's and the big craft stores. In that same area of the store you'll find helpful books and molds. Maybe something like that would be helpful. I mean you will need to add your imagination, but you can totally do this. And make several at a time--use your best ones. Good Luck!

Jennifer, wow that is a great look at your new work place. I love the way I'm sure it smells reading your words and shadowing you as you go about your day. That everlasting smell of heady, flour-y sweet, hot, rich and full that equally assaults and numbs your senses. What a wonderful place to work! Cool post!!!

Way too absolutely freakin' cool--I LOVE this thread. The planes are beyond cool <hands up in the air> just way too cool. Love the windshield. The final design is so airborn--it has so much movement. Insert clapping hands smilie face--Oh oh the tendrils coming out as a contrail--over the top!!!! On a parallel plane type note--pun intended--I did a bi-plane in royal--it was in one of the wilton encyclopedia's a million years ago--my landing gear was, well, it ruled--I was quite proud of that--I made a fluffy fluffy cloudy cake to set my masterpiece on and the fluffy fluffy cloud ate the landing gear--sunk right down like a weight--hahahayeahnotfunny hahahaha!!

Hey, OhMyGanache, So tell me, what do you do with the vanilla bean??? Do you have vanilla debris in your whipped cream??? Just being silly about calling it debris--but seriously, you scrape out the stuff & have speckled whipping cream???? You don't heat the vanilla bean in there somehow do you??? edited to say--Wait - I mean when I use vanilla beans I want to put it in a freaking hydraulic press to get every last bit of goodness out of it --I mean I like to heat them in stuff because I think I get more bang for my buck--but there's no way to do that & get cream cold again & it will still whip, right??? So then you just scrape out the caviar & have the brown specks in there right???

I just use canned pie filling but I love it with almond in it. Bu-ut, I do buy the premium stuff

Oooh oooh the triple tendrils are way cool!!!

I was real glad to see the '10x' because that's how I always write it. Sure fire way to get a request for a chuck wagon!! Pretty pretty pretty 'under the sea' cake!!!

Thanks very much!!!

In the 5th picture, the white pieces laying inside the bi-plane fuselage shaping forms are made of pastillage or is that the poster board?? In the 8th, 9th & 10th pictures, the royal blue color stuff is blue foamcore, right?? In the same set of pictures, the white board that is being used--the cut out pieces that are secured with toothpicks and tape look thick like foamcore. So the blue and the white there is foamcore right??? How long did it take to make the bi-plane model & shaping forms--even though you had a heads up because it was something very familiar. Great stuff!

First of all, your pieces are awesome and amazing! Yay!!! I'm delighted to be reading this--what a treasure! If you really go looking you can compile the wildest recipes and definitions of almost all the sugar dough substances, y'know??? And they will sweetly conflict with the other recipes and definitions, even amongst the experts. Pastillage has frankly remained a mystery to me until now. I have my elbows planted on the desk top & my chin in my hands waiting patiently for your next instalment. Yes! We are getting some recipes/formulas aren't we???? Thank You, Chefette!!! Not to mention, I love Necco wafers!!!!!!!!!

1. What about air brush color mixed with everclear or lemon extract--you don't have to keep that warm and it dries quickly. Great paint! 2. Gel or liquid food color mixed with the alcohol. 3. When Colette was 'painting' a fondant covered cake for that cake competition she was sponging the color on with something, if I remember correctly. 4. Use the dusts to enhance the colors after the paint dries. I vote for #1. I used colored cocoa butter as ink once for coloring a stamp I was using--I would to need to refine that technique before I tried it again Umm, I've used straight color before to paint with and it dried in a few hours. It would sure dry at least by overnight for me. And I didn't even use my trusty hair dryer Honest! Air dried!

When I unmold a cake, I always tap or bump the side of the pan with the side of my hand so the cake slides a little bit--y'know how the cake shrinks a little when it bakes??? Well I make sure the cake slides/moves in each direction before I unmold--run the knife around the sides first of course as has been mentioned. I'm also holding the cake pan at an angle when I make the cake slide so gravity helps me out. I too put a piece of plastic wrap on top of my cake pan before I flip the cake over and if I flip it again so that it cools upright I cover with plastic again because it is easier to handle that way--gives it a skin kinda sorta and nothing sticks. But I remove the plastic left on top so the cake can cool. I always like to have a little icing on hand just in case something does stick. I squirt a bit of icing from a parchment bag into/around the hole in the cake kind of covering the area (because using a spatula might pull up more cake) then I can slide a spatula under the remnant and slap/glue it together real quick. Hope your cake turns out great!

Oh, oh a Danish Puff???????!!!!!! I've made those!! Like this one--clicky here.