Worked on new recipes and did an order for a birthday party and a 50th wedding anniversary. The cupcakes were very well received and we've decided to add the Salted Lime Margarita Cupcake flavour to our roster of cakes. Here's what they looked like.
Salted Lime Margarita:
These are the chocolate with rich chocolate fudgey frosting :
I enjoyed making the fudgey chocolate frosting the most and might post the recipe but at a later date. At one point when I was alone and at the stove I began musing on my past life as a Chef and realized that I am so happy in the kitchen. When I do these micro baking sessions I know how blessed I was to have the years I did in the industry.
People romanticize the food industry and professional kitchen life, that's why they open cafés and restaurants, they don't do well because all too often these people have no clue what they are doing and what it takes to run such a business. Because they are not Chefs nor did they bother to learn the horrors of the trade along with its delights, which are often covered in a mess that needs extra attention from experienced hands, they fail miserably and blame everything around them.
Believe me when I say that the reality of being a Chef is much less glamorous than the average person imagines and no, the wages are not great but very few Chefs I have known are in it for the money. Don't get me wrong, it's such a great career because you are always moving, growing, learning, fighting against the clock and gain confidence by handling the many disasters that befall all kitchens and at the most inopportune times. But it's tough, mentally, physically, and emotionally. You have to be strong, believe and trust in your talents wholeheartedly, be mentally aware and at the ready, and able to eat humble pie because you have to do whatever is required when disaster inevitably strikes. You need to be a little bit crazy and I will be the first to admit that the culinary world attracts many colourful characters that would fail miserably in normal settings but are absolutely brilliant in the craziness of professional kitchens.
Shortly before injuries and illness dictated that I had to leave, I had found myself losing my desire to be in the kitchen. I know now that it was less to do with kitchens and more to do with the loss of my bakery business which didn't make it because of circumstances outside my control that took me forever to forgive.
When the doctor told me no more Chef work ever again, I couldn't deny the reality but I couldn't accept it either. I cut everyone from kitchen life off and withdrew, to focus on healing and find a way to come to terms with the loss. For a long time I couldn't even verbalize what it was I missed. Now it's easier, still painful but doesn't sting.
The truth is, I miss the laughter and inappropriate jokes that break the tension, the strong sense of commaraderie, the rhythm that everyone falls into seamlessly when a crew has worked together long enough, the aromas, tasting, discovering new ingredients, the delight of learning new techniques from colleagues and sharing your own special tricks. The kitchen has always been a place I feel most comfortable, funnelling the days anger, sadness, stress, happiness, anything that detracts so that it becomes an aid because you use it to focus and there's no longer any room for the nonsense. The kitchen is an armed battle field and it requires all your attention or else everything you've worked so hard for can and will explode in your face. That's why you push and push on, you understand the meaning, necessity is the mother of invention, you do it all because failure is not in your repertoire of recipes nor is giving up. But mostly you do it because it's the greatest love affair you have ever had, it fills you with passion, curiosity and satisfaction in a way you must earn, every single day. It's not for everyone but for those of us who finally found the right place when we walked through those culinary doors, it's a home we love. And for those of us who have had to walk away from it all, we still cherish and hold tight to that grandiose love which drained and filled us with so much; words are just inadequate to describe it.
Salted Lime Margarita:
These are the chocolate with rich chocolate fudgey frosting :
I enjoyed making the fudgey chocolate frosting the most and might post the recipe but at a later date. At one point when I was alone and at the stove I began musing on my past life as a Chef and realized that I am so happy in the kitchen. When I do these micro baking sessions I know how blessed I was to have the years I did in the industry.
People romanticize the food industry and professional kitchen life, that's why they open cafés and restaurants, they don't do well because all too often these people have no clue what they are doing and what it takes to run such a business. Because they are not Chefs nor did they bother to learn the horrors of the trade along with its delights, which are often covered in a mess that needs extra attention from experienced hands, they fail miserably and blame everything around them.
Believe me when I say that the reality of being a Chef is much less glamorous than the average person imagines and no, the wages are not great but very few Chefs I have known are in it for the money. Don't get me wrong, it's such a great career because you are always moving, growing, learning, fighting against the clock and gain confidence by handling the many disasters that befall all kitchens and at the most inopportune times. But it's tough, mentally, physically, and emotionally. You have to be strong, believe and trust in your talents wholeheartedly, be mentally aware and at the ready, and able to eat humble pie because you have to do whatever is required when disaster inevitably strikes. You need to be a little bit crazy and I will be the first to admit that the culinary world attracts many colourful characters that would fail miserably in normal settings but are absolutely brilliant in the craziness of professional kitchens.
Shortly before injuries and illness dictated that I had to leave, I had found myself losing my desire to be in the kitchen. I know now that it was less to do with kitchens and more to do with the loss of my bakery business which didn't make it because of circumstances outside my control that took me forever to forgive.
When the doctor told me no more Chef work ever again, I couldn't deny the reality but I couldn't accept it either. I cut everyone from kitchen life off and withdrew, to focus on healing and find a way to come to terms with the loss. For a long time I couldn't even verbalize what it was I missed. Now it's easier, still painful but doesn't sting.
The truth is, I miss the laughter and inappropriate jokes that break the tension, the strong sense of commaraderie, the rhythm that everyone falls into seamlessly when a crew has worked together long enough, the aromas, tasting, discovering new ingredients, the delight of learning new techniques from colleagues and sharing your own special tricks. The kitchen has always been a place I feel most comfortable, funnelling the days anger, sadness, stress, happiness, anything that detracts so that it becomes an aid because you use it to focus and there's no longer any room for the nonsense. The kitchen is an armed battle field and it requires all your attention or else everything you've worked so hard for can and will explode in your face. That's why you push and push on, you understand the meaning, necessity is the mother of invention, you do it all because failure is not in your repertoire of recipes nor is giving up. But mostly you do it because it's the greatest love affair you have ever had, it fills you with passion, curiosity and satisfaction in a way you must earn, every single day. It's not for everyone but for those of us who finally found the right place when we walked through those culinary doors, it's a home we love. And for those of us who have had to walk away from it all, we still cherish and hold tight to that grandiose love which drained and filled us with so much; words are just inadequate to describe it.
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