Reflections Of A Past Career

I find these quiet times, a good way to remember my past career by sharing some details in this blog.  Reflections Of A Past Career is about my culinary journey for many years of my life. It started when I was in my thirties and I was self taught with a thirst to know more; as I wanted to elevate my skills to the title of pastry chef! 

Let me share a little story about my employment and how the Cafe owner's influence motivated me to explore the field that I loved with a passion for the culinary arts.

I was a stay at home Mom who loved baking and had a brief seasonal employment with a talented dessert caterer in Fairport, NY. She knew I wanted more consistent employment and referred me to the owner of this fabulous premier cafe, that was making themselves known in the Rochester downtown area. Excitedly, I took the initative to submit my resume in the form of my favorite pastry Gateau Royale! This heavenly pastry was a deep dense chocolate cake, layered with raspberry preserves and topped with marzipan, cloaked in a dark silky Belgian chocolate glaze and garnished with an edible candied violet!

Voila! I got the position! 

  I was considered a pastry chef by the owner of this popular cafe establishment in the late 1980's. I know the 1980's date me a bit but that has given me the time to journal here now. :)

I have learned through experiences from my former bakery / business owners; that when they believe in you and the skills you possess, those encouraging, kind words they say elevates a person's own self worth. 

I won't publish my employer's name but those in the Rochester NY area will know when I tell you about her. She was and still is a dentist. She arrived from England  a mother of three or maybe four ...that part is a bit blurry. She opened a small cafe to start in South Avenue / Mt. Hope area. Then later she opened on Alexander Street in Rochester.

This cafe had notariety back in those days as the next "wow" experience of pastry, and because of the tea room setting. On weekends, the Eastman Theatre crowds would line up out the front door waiting to enter. Awaiting them were our works of art in the cooler cases as it was showtime for us all! It was exhilarating after a week long preparation of fruit tarts, tortes, Gateau Saint Honore' and more.

She opened this cafe and subsequent cafe locations because of her fresh ideas and fabulous baked goods, scones, coffee's and teas.  She would refer to me as a pastry chef even when I didn't feel like one; but it motivated me to continue on my journey and learn from other bakers, chefs and onto online courses learning about sugar flower creations and fondant work. 

 She always made me feel important and even many years later when we would run into each other she would remember and comment on my Black + White Mousse Torte and my cocoa genoise; which was a favorite at the cafe. I was impressed on how she juggled her role as a mother, business owner and always was an example of grace in her demeanor. She motivated the staff to bring new ideas into the kitchen, and would have visiting chefs in house from Switzerland to show us new skills. This very serious chef, showed me how to maximize production in a busy kitchen. Which was an invaluable lesson.

Other talented executive pastry chef's were Becci who was the Pastry Chef from the prestigious Genesee Valley Club. That title she earned says it all....she was and is still an exceptionally talented young woman. Her talents are endless and I am so honored to have known her both professionally and personally. In addition, I must admit that Becci has stayed in contact with me. Thank you Bec! We still have visits either on the phone or in person when travel allows. For that I am deeply grateful and cherish those times.

Paula was our Head Pastry Chef and ran the kitchen seamlessly. She and the front-end manager Philip were the leaders at that popular cafe we referred to as Creme. Philip was multi gifted in restaurant management and then again in the baking world. He had a thirst for knowledge and his talents were apparent.  If you are from this area, you will recognize their names (Paula and Philip) and their famed local bakery; Premier Pastry! 

As time passes quickly we sometimes lose track of special people....but we still remember them with much fondness.

 I would not have had the same experiences if those early days excluded any of those wonderful people.

Thank you Ms. E, Chef Sam, Becci, Paula and Philip!

The second inspiring woman owned a petite bakery named The Oven Door. This bakery was in Bushnell's Basin, a quaint little area of Pittsford, NY. 

I used to refer to Diane as "The Martha Stewart" of that area. She would travel from Naples NY,  with fresh vegetables, fresh flowers and anything else to incorporate into her well known delicious soups, daily. The atmosphere was that of a European cafe with excellent breads, croissant, pies, sticky cinnamon buns and more.

We always had a lunch crowd, and on Saturdays, a group of runners would gather for their weekly run. Their last early morning stop was the bakery! It was filled with much activity, good conversation that spirited us all!

 She also had a lead chef from Spain who was at the helm of the kitchen of that delightful spot by the Erie Canal. He would make the most outstanding Puff Pastry and Croissant dough for all his scrumptious creations, ie: cinnamon rolls + sticks, and peach stars, etc..

 Even though, I felt uncomfortable calling myself a pastry chef, because I lacked that degree. In hindsight, I have learned some of our most popular chefs have started the same way ie: Tom Cohliccio, Thomas Keller, Martha Stewart, Nigella Lawson. and Gordon Ramsey.  I also, acknowledge that to wear that badge of honor comes with much hard work and dedication, much more than I have delved into. Hats off to Chefs, and  Pastry Chefs. I'm in awe of you all for your dedication of time, to your craft and excellence in all of your preparations!

 In closing, you ask why didn't I open my own bakery? Well, I did twice.  Reason being, I wanted to be around our home as my children were still young and growing. So, I completed all the necessary requirements of training with the NYS Health Dept in Food Sanitation + Safety and began the process of opening Penfield Patisserie in our licensed kitchen in our home in the 1990's.

The space was an investment as we had installed, overhead flourescents, dry wall, mop sink, plumbing, electrical work, two new convection commercial ovens, vinyl flooring, Hobart 20 qt mixer on a rolling stand, a chocolate tempering machine, a triple basin SS sink, induction hot plate, rolling bakers rack, refrigeration and freezer and mixers. The space was about 1200 sq ft and all electrical was hooked up to a round the clock generator in case of outages.

We closed after 8 busy years, as I wanted to return to school to learn about Interior Design.

Ten years later, after many past clients requests, we opened another bakery in that same space, with The Incredibly Edible Cookie Company and two years later added a subdivision of the Wedding Cake Boutique specializing in sweets tables and of course wedding cakes! My, husband helped me in the kitchen and was my right handed sous chef, bottle washer and the best shortbread cookie dough roller around! His rolling-out skills far surpassed mine. He was quick, consistent and neat!  And he was the marketing, customer service, office guru and our iconic delivery person for our very healthy small business!

Over the decades we met some wonderful people in the industry ie:  florists, event planners, jewelers and photographers. ALL Fabulously talented and wonderful people in their own right! So, I guess it's safe to say...."persevere as the world is your oyster"!

A big thank you to all mentioned here but mostly to my lifelong sweetheart B.. 

With all my love to you B.....xoxo K

 Please scroll down to see more images....Thank you!