pastrygirl

Lisa, Thanks for your advice that does help. I recall that Phoenix has incredible sprawl and goes on for miles and miles in every direction. I lived in Tucson briefly in the mid-90's, same deal. Just trying to figure out if a room and car can be found for significantly less enough than the Marriott rates to make the commute worthwhile. It looks like maybe so. Were the evening seminars at extra cost?

Did you find it essential to stay at the venue? That is, what do you think you would miss out on if you stayed at cheaper lodging nearby? Were there evening seminars every night or mostly just social activities? I'm debating attending.

Anybody going? I just realized I have the free time and could probably rationalize the cost. If you've been to previous events, did you feel like you really learned how to do things in the demonstration classes, or was it all ooing and ahhing but hard to tell what was actually going on. The thread with pics from 2007 looks pretty good. Convince me that this will help me catch up on the industry after having been stuck in the Himalayas for 2 years! Seriously, I feel out of touch and need some inspiration! Will the WPF be it?

I hadn't heard about it, but maybe I will go. Thanks for the suggestion.

LorAnn does have a few natural flavors - pure oil of peppermint, lemon, orange, tangerine, grapefruit. I have used these and they are decent, have added a few drops to tempered chocolate for flavor. The rest of the product line does seem to be artificially flavored, apparently oranges are easier to get oil from than root beer or butterscotch

A pinch of nutmeg is nice with blueberries.

Alcohol and coffee both have a much higher profit margin than food, so bars and coffee shops might be a bit less risky than a more traditional restaurant.

Do you have a specific idea of what type of restaurant you are looking to invest in? I'm serious about pastry, the main thing holding me back is the intimidation factor of finding money to start up. PM me with your ideas about what you want if a chocolate/pastry shop interests you.

If you have money and are looking to invest, I could use some for a pastry shop, and my brother in law wants to open an Indian restaurant. We're in Seattle, but of course I am much more qualified and will be more successful than my BIL, so you should give me all your money. We'll do chocolates, breakfast pastry, a few sandwiches, maybe some prepared desserts. As for finding people to invest...don't know much 'bout that

In the US, it is standard to keep a resume to one page and not include references, or MAYBE a second page with references only. Elsewhere, a CV might acceptably be 2 full pages with more detail. US resumes also should not include a picture, age, or hobbies, whereas these may be expected on an international CV. You may wish to have both, depending on where you are looking for a job.

but they do require a minimum purchase...which might put the opening poster in the same situation as with u-line ← Oh, good to know. I've only bought a few things from them, both times stopping by their showroom in Seattle, they are probably a little more lenient when you are there in person paying cash or just looking for samples.

http://www.mimietcie.com/ The Revere Group packs candy boxes in groups of 25 or 50.

Plenty of websites out there with samples. Chefs resumes/CVs aren't all that different from any other industry. Don't get too cute, have someone check your spelling, and try to avoid clunky run-on sentences like your post above.

Another thing to consider is whether the chef is really emotionally attached to the specific idea of his pound cake suggestion, or if he is just looking for something family style and shareable. Chances are usually good that if you take the general idea or criteria that need to be met and make something of your own creation that is awesome, it will be all good. Look at these things as challenges. Yes, you are the pastry chef, so it is time to show off your schooling, research, creativity, lateste books, etc. and show the chef how much better a dessert you can create - that meets the parameters that he feels need to be met. Arguing is generally not good, although there are times when you have to stand up for yourself, so choose our battles wisely. In the meantime, think of a couple of shareable/family style desserts and go forth and rock your chef's world with them. You say the place is Craft-style. Would we be having this conversation if you were working for Tom Colicchio?

On the surface it sounds like they might not care much about whether you stay there. Making changes to your menu on your day off sounds pretty bad, but if they were things that had been suggested and you were resisitent...maybe you need to consider their side. On the other hand, the Chef is the Chef, and the Chef is always right. What was Hawaiian about your mocha cake? Was there an agreement when you took the position that you would have creative freedom and complete control of the menu, or was it understood that there might be some collaboration? In many of my jobs there has been one thing (generally their version of flourless chocolate cake) that I was not allowed to change, after that, the chefs did not want to have to think about pastry at all. I'd still make them a sample of anything new, maybe even make adjustments if their feedback gave me a better idea. But NOBODY touches my menu! If this is your first pastry chef job, take a step back and see that there might be things you can learn from your chef. You may have gone to school, but not everything is taught in school.

When pressed for time, 15-20 minutes in the fridge can help get crust on top of a filling, especially if you can put them under the fridge fan (if there is one). I'm not saying it's right, just that it can make it work.

Only one day a week? Don't order dessert on Friday! Can you convince them they need you at least two or three days a week so things will be fresh and for better inventory control?

Pink things are not allowed in my life. I'll wait until the black edition comes out!

Beautiful, amazing work - so much love and patience. Rivers and Tides is my favorite movie, I must have watched it literally dozens of times, and can't wait to get home and find my DVD and watch it some more! So soothing after a long day in the kitchen - when he's pinning the twigs together in a lattice and a gust of wind comes along and destroys it or the pile of beach stone collapses and he just sort of sighs and says 'this is my work', or working with the bracken 'I always associate this material with bleeding hands' - those moments so relate to cooking for me, the things you do because you are driven to do them, even though they are painful and frustrating while you are doing them, the end result is worth it.

Don't worry, all French people know English, or at least these two words: f*cking Americans. Just kidding.

I sort of agree, but also think that trying to do too much can be an ultimate downfall. If those few salads or tapas are going to be as great as the desserts, then go for it, but if they are just going to take energy away from the real focus they might not be worthwhile. I'd definitely offer a cheese plate or desserts bordering on savory. You can't be all things to all people, so you should just do what you do best. As for food cost and efficiency, baking and finishing 10 cakes does not necessarily take 2x the time as 5, maybe 1-1/2 times. There is some economy of scale to having a full mixer & oven and setting up the workstation fewer times. The times I've run food cost, I've found most of my desserts to cost between 50 cents and a dollar to make, and sold for $7 to 9. I've heard that ingredient prices have gone up in the US, but even in Bhutan, using imported Valrhona that cost $15 a pound and eggs at 25 cents each, the chocolate mousse was still only $2 per serving to make. Most restaurants shoot for a food cost of 28 to 30%, so I agree with Paul that food cost for pastry can be very low, under 20%. Yes, Matt is correct that tools and toys can be pricier, but I think you can run a very low food cost to offset higher equipment costs. It is a difficult industry no matter how you slice it.

Even if each one is only 1 or 2 bites each? Good point though, the people who just want a big gooey thing to dig into and want that comfort food experience may love dessert but not be so interested in an intellectually challenging dessert experience. Some people really would prefer one big creme brulee to 5 tiny ones, or one big molten chocolate cake to various textures and pairings. I think you'd have to have options, and offer things in different sizes, so you could have whichever end of the spectrum you prefer. There are enough successful places that have slices of cake and coffee open late, so I don't think having a dessert restaurant is so unusual, just the focusing on tasting menus.

Get that torch up close and personal with the sugar. The flame needs to touch the sugar to caramelize it. Hold the nozzle of the torch about and inch to inch and a half from the sugar, and keep it moving. The sugar is already crystallized, you need to melt it. Sugar melts at around maybe 250 to 300F (?), and a nice caramel is around 325 to 350F, so it has to get HOT - don't worry you're going to burn it, 'burnt cream' is the whole idea! Those little torches do work, just slowly.

If you're speaking of coco ltd, I believe there were much bigger problems than the concept (mainly financial management), so it is hard to say if they would have lasted. I do agree that it is a difficult concept to make work. I've been to Chikalicious in NYC, which was a great experience, had two or three things, and Keegan Gerhard's D-Bar in Denver, which was disappointing because I went for lunch and they didn't have much in the way of plated desserts during the day, didn't have time to go back in the evening. I would go if I was on vacation, or possibly after dinner at another place if I had gone for happy hour or sushi or another cuisine that didn't feature much of a dessert menu.

I use arborio too, blanch it twice before cooking slowly in lots of milk, with not much sugar.