My Pastry Story

I did it. I just did it. I made my first ever batch of Swiss Meringue Buttercream. And it was intense. I was intense. That's how I get when I'm baking, and especially when I'm attempting something I've never done before and am intimidated by. I get easily freaked out when I think I'm not doing something right, and I'm quick to give up, throw the mess away and fling myself onto my bed crying, Disney-princess-style.

I am supremely lucky that I have a husband who reminds me to breathe, and takes the cakes out of the oven while I'm whisking the egg whites, and gives me a hug when I didn't ruin it and he finally gets a taste.

Confession: I didn't go to pastry school. I have no formal pastry training (even though I work as a pastry chef assistant)

Nope, I went to a plain old state college (UCF, Go Knights!) and got the easiest degree I could think of (hospitality management). I started working in restaurants at 16. By the time I was ready for college,  I had come to the realization I would rather rip of my fingernails than work a boring office job ever (thanks to a foray into human resources at a hospital) and restaurants was where I had to be. Oh, sweet, naive 18-year-old Dani. Thought I'd get my degree and own my own restaurant by 23 (ha!).

I did get my degree in 3 years (as I said, easiest degree ever!) and then lo and behold discovered that the restaurant business is HARD, and not nearly as fun as it had been when I'd been a young, cute hostess at a popular restaurant where people bribed me to get a good table. Crappy hours (nights, holidays and ALWAYS weekends), bad pay, difficult guests and co-workers, endless drama (restaurants are tiny, real-life soap operas). But I loved it. I still love it. I still dream of my own restaurant, and I'm glad I didn't get one at 23, because inevitably I would've failed. And, it led me to pastry.

I started baking when I was old enough to stand on a step stool and stir cookie batter. My mom was not a big baker, and so for every holiday and birthday she passed the job to me. And while I always enjoyed it, for some reason it just never occurred to me to pursue it as a career. My second job out of college was at a cute breakfast/lunch cafe in a ritzy area. I started as a server but moved up to managing. We had a small bakery, and always had a part-time baker on staff (although they never seemed to last or do that great of a job). I think it was after we lost the 3rd or 4th one in a year that I told the owner that I always baked at home and instead of hiring yet another baker, I'd give it a shot. She agreed, and that's where my pastry story really starts.

The restaurant had a few signature pies and quiches on the menu that we always had to have, but other than that, the owner gave me free rein. I was like a kid in a candy store. I made everything I could. Cupcakes, cakes, pies, cookies, cake pops, even a gingerbread house. And most of what I made came out great, and people loved it, and it finally hit me that I could really do this. I started baking at home, reading blogs, watching youtube videos, playing with fondant...After two years at that restaurant, it was time for me to move on. As much fun as I was having baking, it was too much as I was also helping manage the restaurant, like I was working 2 jobs. I ended up applying at both Sea World and Disney World, and while I got calls from both, only Sea World interviewed me and gave me a job. However, 3 months later Disney called and asked if I was still interested. Umm...yes! I showed up to my interview and thanks to my Internet research I was able to adequately answer the technical baking questions (what is proofing? what is tempering?) and I also had a little portfolio of my work. They offered me the job, and that's how I started making desserts for 2000 people a day.

I've learned so much in the past few years but I still have a lot more things to master. Swiss meringue buttercream was one of them, and it feels great trying something new and getting it right. I'm hopeful that one day I won't be scared of frosting.