I've been meaning to start writing for years. My purpose is not only to express my love for food but to explore and experiment with what our world has to offer.
Living in Washington State most of my life, I have to come to greatly appreciate local and organic foods. My passion for food started at a young age. I learned cooking and baking from prepackaged foods, such as tuna helper and betty crocker cake mixes. The majority of my early teenage years, I learned to cook for my dad and my two brothers, while my mother was at work until 8pm.
We always had the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. There was always sweets in the house. When it came time for me to bake, I always used the same bowls, grandma's ceramic white and green bowls. Even though, my relationship with my grandma Judy was not a positive or even a present relationship, those bowls are apart of my family and some day I will inherit them. They were just the prefect size and they were always dependable.
On a side note, my first baking experience I can remember, I was living in San Diego at the time, my Auntie Ched asked me to hold the electric mixer. I had feelings of excitement and my curiosity took over. I moved the paddles around the bowl and slowly lifted the mixer on a high speed. Batter went everywhere! I didn't know how to turn it off. Quickly, my aunt rushed over and turned it off. I giggled, not realizing the outcome. It didn't take long to learn how to use a mixer.
Throughout my young life, I denied that I wanted to be a cook. I wanted to be a teacher, a P.E. teacher, an artist, and maybe even a police officer. When I turned 16, I got my first job as a server, at a retirement home in Bellingham. The kitchen environment seemed very natural to me and I felt comfortable. Years later, I have had many jobs as a dishwasher, prep cook and as a baker. When I became a baker, I realized that was my calling. At this job, I met Renee, who has changed my life and I look up to her with great admiration. She is very positive, encouraging, self motiving and passionate. Renee went out of her way to help train me and helped ignite my passion for baking.
I made the decision to leave my job to pursue to pastry and baking at South Seattle Community College. Renee highly recommended that program, being a graduate from a few years back. I started in 2010 and graduated in the spring of 2011. Every day of school as engaging and I took everything in. I strived to learn everything and perfect every skill. Committing myself to a year and a half of school was one of the best decisions of my life. Since then, I am finally established at Ray's Boathhouse for the moment. Also, I am working with my friend Renee again, as pastry assistants. We have helped Chef Lorna turn the Pastry department around and we look forward to what the future has to offer!
I hope you enjoy my recipes, my photos and my experiences!
Here's to a start of a new chapter.
My life dedicated to the indulgence of food.
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