Hello everybody! In this post I will be finally (FINALLY) writing all the content in the article and be ridding myself of this burden, so what are we waiting for? Let's get into it!
While I am not a pastry chef, I still need the answers to my questions to still have structure to them, so I will be doing some additional research for this as well.
- What is your name, age, and profession? Hello, my name is Luna Kennedy, I am 36 years old, and I have the honor of being a pastry chef and managing the Moonlight Bakery!
- Why did you choose baking as a career? I know this will sound pretty cliché, but baking is engraved into my being. Ever since I was a little kid I would love to be in the kitchen when my mom baked, whether it was cakes, cookies, brownies, I wanted to see the process from start to end. Eventually she had me help out with the small things such as mixing batter or getting ingredients from the fridge. Slowly the amount of responsibility between us shifted, and before long I was running myself to the kitchen to see what I could whip up next! I am sure this goes for a million things but working extra hard towards my recipe and being able to admire and eat it was just unparalleled. Being able to add spins and surprises and pour all my thoughts into something edible was just crazy, and seeing people’s reactions to it was even crazier. I tried to pursue something in science, but it bored me to absolute death, and when I finally convinced my parents to let me try culinary school, I promised myself and them that it would turn into something unbelievable, and well… here we are now!
- What is the best part of being a pastry chef? Oooh, this is a toughie, there are so many good answers. But if I had to pick one, it would definitely have to be how much creativity and freedom I can have with my creations. I can test all kinds of unconventional flavors make desserts that sound weird but leave tasters licking the plates, I can use visual elements that can’t get people to look away from it. I can experiment and experience failures and successes, there really isn’t a cap on the kinds of things that can be done in this field, and I believe that is just incredible.
I also get to be super meticulous about what I am doing, it’s part of the reason why science was the career path I tried to pursue, it requires the most careful of calculations and the most caution in procedures. Baking is the exact same way, it doesn’t leave much room for error whether it’s through mixing, temperatures, or ingredients, the slightest mistake can compromise the dish. While that doesn’t sound very appealing, getting to work through those challenges and eventually get them wired into your brain, it makes your dishes perfect, and the results do not disappoint.
- What is the hardest/worst part of being a pastry chef? The hardest part for being a pastry chef, for me at least is when I have to work, my day starts at 4 AM and while the store closes at 5PM, big/demanding orders tend to keep us in there a lot longer. I am by no means an early bird and it actually took a huge toll on my mental and physical health at the beginning of my career. There were multiple nights where I contemplated quitting all of it and just taking a desk job at some Fortune 500. But I managed to persevere through the help of many people and while there are sometimes where the days are long and hard, I’ve managed to reach a kind of balance, not a perfect one, but one that works, and that is what matters.
- What is your favorite dish? Oh my gosh! This is a no brainer, my absolute favorite thing to make is Biscoff ice cream, and I know, I know it sounds super bland and it technically already exists, but nobody makes it like I do. First off ice-cream is one of life sweetest pleasures, and Biscoff does nothing but add onto that. It is soft, creamy, and has just the right amount of crunch inside of it. I’m sure many people were expecting some elaborate 10-day entremet, but I believe there is treasure hidden in simplicity and for that reason that is why my Biscoff ice cream is the most delectable thing ever.
It’s something my mom used to have me and all my siblings make together, completely from scratch, the hardest part about it was actually just waiting for it to get cold enough to eat. And we made it the old-fashioned way too, with ice and the big Ziploc bags. When I had started doing my own baking, I added flourishes and small tweaks and made it as perfect as can be.
- What are some important skills to have as a pastry chef? Some of the most important things to know right off the top of your head are how to temper your chocolate, how to make entremets, how to be neat AND consistent with your decorative work, knowing the cookie basics, making mousses, working with all kinds of icings, oh and definitely having an arsenal of vegan and gluten free desserts, to cater to your customers. And those are just a few things, I could go on and on about all the stuff we have drilled into our heads, but I’d be here all day.
- How is it managing an entire kitchen? It is not simple, not in the slightest, but in return you get to meet some of the coolest and most amazing people ever. Much of the work comes from organization and preparation for not only the dishes you are making, but for the ingredients and supplies you need to store. Speaking of which, knowing what you need to order is also quite important, and gauging what you need is a skill that takes time, but it gets itself known when you forget to order enough butter for the biggest order your bakery had ever seen at the time, that was a fun night.
When working in a kitchen you will need to collaborate with your peers to create menus that will appeal to your customers and with that comes with actually making those recipes, sometimes it is perfect, and sometimes it is just small tweak after small tweak, to end up with overall dislike, which is definitely a little hard to hear.
Another thing that comes with these responsibilities is working the rookies into the flow of the bakery. They will make tons of mistakes, and a lot of stupid ones, and not only will you need to help them through those blunders, but show them what the job is really about, experience is the best teacher no question. It is weird knowing that you were just like them once, but I always tell them to see their uppers skill as motivation for their improvement.
- What is some advice you would give to anyone who wants to become a pastry chef? The best advice I can give to those striving to become pastry chefs are to know what to learn from mistakes and be able to apply them next time. Mistakes without growth stunts progress and in the world of pastries that can be detrimental because people are very particular about food, especially desserts.
Another thing is to know the science behind the dish, know why certain things cause certain reactions and what the result of certain combinations will bring. This allows you to be able to create what you want, without sticking straight to a recipe, as well as experiment in ways that won’t ruin a dish.
Lastly, and most importantly is to always keep learning, you will never know everything, so intake as much as you possibly can, it keeps you fresh, up to date, and captivated in your craft, and interest in what you love is always a key factor. I hope this serves as a good source of motivation to all the aspiring pastry chefs out there, and I hope that you are full to the brim with passion, care, and creativity.
This was actually a lot of fun, which is very surprising, I suppose since I am focusing a lot more on on representing social groups rather than addressing social issues, it gives me the freedom to make these answers a lot more bubbly, than serious and slightly depressing, which probably would’ve clashed with the mood of my magazine anyways, so I guess it works out. This kept me at my desk for a minute I am not going to lie, but learning about unfamiliar topic always has its benefits. I hope “Luna’s” answers were good enough and were able to help seal the image of the brief as a whole. In my next entry I think I will be cleaning up the brief and refining it for the final submission.
See you all in the next post!
