Good evening, friends and neighbors!

     This week has been rather a stressful and hectic one, and seeing as how my last several entries were all rather serious or somber, I thought it was high time for a little more levity in this blog. Therefore, please enjoy-

     Who doesn’t like bopping around the kitchen to the right music when they’re in the mood? This is by no means a comprehensive list, just some of my favorite tunes and why.
Feel free to send me yours, or share them in the comments! There’s always more room in my bakery playlist!

Candyman (Christina Aguilera)
Because men can cook, and be dead sexy doing it! Love the popping, vintage feel of this song.

Rodeo- Hoedown (Aaron Copland)
“Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.”

Hoochie Coochie Man (Joe K K and Zydeco Force)
I loved visiting New Orleans many years ago, and part of it (besides the food!) was the wild, earthy madness of zydeco music. Perfect song when you’re really feeling the baking mojo, and you feel more like a witch doctor than a baker.

Mambo Italiano (Renato Carosone)
Just something about this song makes you want to whirl around the kitchen, flip things in pans, and toss pizza in the air.

Fuel (Metallica)
Sometimes you want to be calm, serene, and careful. Sometimes you want to light things on fire and rock out over the stove.

Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)
Another song for when you’re feeling the groove of your work, and everything is just in the zone. You’re another Freak in the Freak Kingdom…

Captain Kelly’s Kitchen (Dropkick Murphys)
Does this even NEED explaining?

It’s Tricky (Run DMC)
Hey, it is sometimes!

Felt Good On My Lips (Tim McGraw)
There is a storied relationship between music, love, and food. Why not celebrate country-style?

Louie Louie (The Kingsmen)
Because why the hell not?!

Song of the South (Alabama) and My Front Porch Looking In (Lonestar)
A kitchen is the heart of the house- it’s where the family comes together and eats. Why not music that reminds you of being home?

I Will Play for Gumbo and Fruitcakes (Jimmy Buffett)
They say, “Write about what you know.” That’s Jimmy Buffett in a nutshell. 

A couple honorable mentions as well…

(If I Knew You Were Comin’) I’d’ve Baked A Cake (Ethel Merman)
Tell me you didn’t expect THIS one…

Fighting 17th (Hans Zimmer)
Some of you may be confused why the theme from the movie “Backdraft” is here. Those who recognize it though… 

That’s about all for right now. What are your favorite baking songs? Cooking songs? Just songs for being the kitchen? Let me know!

Stay Classy,

     Good evening, friends and neighbors!

     Today, I was telling one of my coworkers about The Splendid Table, a radio broadcast/podcast about food and cooking that I enjoy listening to. Recently, they had done a segment on designing professional kitchens and the relationship between the chef, the business, and the space itself.
     As I was talking, my coworker (herself with 30+ years in the business) and my boss started smirking and cut me off, saying “It’s so cute that you still actually like listening to that stuff! Just wait- in a few years, you’ll HATE hearing about food anytime you don’t have to.”
My boss laughed, “Yep- I’d give him six years and he’ll be looking for a new field to work in…”
My coworker: “Pfft- ONE year!”

   Obviously I was hurt, and it made me pretty damned angry. Here were my superiors in this job- charged with teaching me, training me, and guiding me- spitting on the passion and enjoyment of the food world that had brought me to this field in the first place, in an infuriatingly patronizing manner, and simultaneously DOUBTING my passion for the field.

    Folks, not every one of my posts has a take-home lesson. I really try not to be that preachy, but if there is a lesson here, it is as follows:

     No matter what you do with yourself in life, there is more to success than passion. It takes hard work. It takes the ability to adapt, to learn, and re-apply. It takes imagination, fearlessness, and conviction. 

Deep at the core, though- powering everything, sustaining you when everything else fails, and guiding you when all else is lost- is your passion.
That’s the part of you that won’t LET you quit, won’t LET you accept the unacceptable.
It’s the part of you that, rather than getting discouraged, tells you to Fail Faster.

It’s the part of you that helps you give body and shape to your dreams.

It’s the part of you that will not allow you to lay down and die.

You should absolutely listen to advice and guidance. Time does often come with experience, which frequently (though not always) comes with wisdom.
My boss and coworker are both very experienced people.

There are other experienced people I have talked to though. They’ve told me
“Don’t let yourself get old.”

“Don’t lose your passion.”

“When you want to quit, don’t forget why you started.”

It’s important to learn what you can from everyone you meet- and it’s just as important to learn to figure out when they are teaching you bull****.

There is a fire in the eyes of the passionate. Whether it’s music, food, poetry, science, architecture, or whatever- when you give someone the chance to talk about their passion and to learn more about it, it is almost as if all the lights go on in their heads and their souls seem to glow.

Do not belittle anyone else’s passion, and don’t you dare apologize for your own.
I have no intent on doing so.

Stay Classy,

     Good evening, friends and neighbors! This has been a busy last few weeks- there is a new menu on the website, and soon I will be adding a feedback page, where you can review your experiences with the Black Hat Bakery! Enjoyed a cake I made for you? Like what you read here? Soon, you’ll be able to tell me- and everyone else- easily! Keep an eye out!

    A while back, I assembled a basic booklist that every cook, culinary student, or pastry chef should have in their kitchen. You can find that list here, and I’m certain there will be more additions soon. Today, I began reading what might be the briefest, but most enlightening, entry on that list.

     So begins an essay written in 1247 by a Zen Buddhist monk named Dogen, entitled “Instructions to the Cook.” In Zen monasteries, the tenzo (cook) was not a low-level position, or one that the young and inexperienced were saddled with. The cook was one of the six administrators of the monastery, and was generally an older, accomplished monk with great clarity, serenity, and wisdom.

     As I read further into the text, I realized- what is this but mise en place? Respect for your art, for your tools, and your ingredients- common sense things that would be reiterated by such luminaries as Carême and Escoffier over 500 years later?

     In Dogen’s view, the work of the cook was vital in a way beyond the obvious need for edible food. Throughout the day, the monks may meet for prayer, or lecture, or meditation. Meal times, however, are the most absolutely primal moments when a community IS a community- and the cooks job was to foster and provide for these moments. 
     By applying the mindfulness and awareness they were learning and practicing at the monastery, the tenzo could not only feed his community well- through his work, he could find enlightenment, and share it with others. 
     In addition to the rules and concerns he lays down, Dogen offers several stories- humorous and humbling- that illustrate the relationship between food and spirituality.

     There are also bits of wisdom that echo of others, far separated by place, time, and culture.

     Food truly is a universal experience- as is its connection to spirituality.

     One final little koan for you all- my personal favorite:

Stay Classy,

     Good evening, friends and neighbors! Happy New Year to all!

     I don’t normally care so much for the actual EVENT of New Year as the things I do that evening/morning, and the people I share it with. This year was very different, and it forced me to reflect on the new year with a bit more introspection.
     
    My day job is in one of the Atlantic City casinos (one of the ones still open and NOT up to its neck in debt) and New Year’s Eve is a MAJOR money-maker for them. Lots of people showing up, eating, spending money, gambling, drinking, and then getting rooms so they can sleep it off conveniently. Therefore, the last two days have been balls-to-the-walls, all-hands-on-deck shifts, with mandatory overtime ordered- no one leaves till everything’s done.

Obviously, being on day/swing shift, this messed with my New Year’s Eve plans. The original plans involved a party with my parents, or at the very least a quiet night in with my girlfriend. My girlfriend unfortunately fell ill and cancelled, and I was way too tired from work to even consider going to a party- so this was the first New Year’s Eve I could remember spending alone.

Just to be clear, I’m not complaining about my work inconveniencing me in celebrating a holiday. In the culinary industry, that’s par for the course- we work holidays so that other folks can go out to eat somewhere nice on theirs. That’s just the way it is.

My night alone generally seemed like living out a Tom Waits song, but the solitude got me looking back at the events of 2014, the events of that day and the months leading up, and what 2015 might bring. 

2014 was a big year for me, professionally, and for the Black Hat Bakery.
I was inducted into the Chaine de Rotisseur, and was addressed as “chef”- unironically- for the first time at Roberta’s, where I helped in preparing my first Chaine dinner alongside Chef Joe Muldoon. I also catered my first wedding, and prepared desserts for my first Restaurant Gala. 
I redid the Black Hat Bakery website, reimagined this blog and what it should contain, and added a host of new desserts and treats to my repertoire.

At the same time, 2014 brought me work at the casino.
While working at the casino has brought me money and security, it is not my ideal work or work environment. I find so much of my energy is consumed by the casino that I have difficulty finding time to focus and work on the things that I want to do, and mean the most to me. While my coworkers and some members of my management are good people, I still feel constrained and tethered to work that I can no longer find meaning in.
In this year, I have had to accept several facts about my employment:
1. My loyalty to the casino is misplaced, and certainly not reciprocated.
2. My career and advancement trajectory in the casino is nil.
and 3. The job is not likely to ever bring me closer to my goals. All it provides anymore is a paycheck.

I don’t really do New Years resolutions- they are too much like aspirational statements and dreams than real goals. Instead, I am setting several goals, and I am determined to make them real within the coming year.

If I cannot find a new job closer to my ideals by May 1rst, I will quit the casino job and instead devote my time and energy to the Black Hat Bakery. Either way, come December 31rst, 2015, I will NOT be working at the casino, or any casino.

The Black Hat Bakery is the closest thing to my dream that I have, and I refuse to let neuroticism, fear, and doubt prevent me from making it the best it can be anymore. I have plans in the works to make this bakeworks in to something truly excellent.

As my grandfather used to say, “They may love it, or they may hate it- but they won’t be able to ignore it.”

2015 is promising to be very interesting. Keep your eyes open.

In the meantime-

Stay Classy,

Good evening, friends and neighbors! Hope everyone’s holiday season is underway with lots of food, festivity, and fun stuff!

I’ve hestitated to talk about tonight’s topic for a while. Initially because I was uncertain what qualified me to speak on body stereotyping and shaming. I didn’t want to write another vapid, rambling, whiny post like so many on this topic- lots of words, lots of pain and questions, but no real answers.

Then I just decided to change how was going to write it. Less as a complaint, and more as  a testimonial.
Less questioning, more examining.

First of all, let me share something with all of you- I was not always lean. Those of you out there who have known me personally for years are well aware of how I used to look, but for the rest of you:

This was me just as I was starting culinary school, in the fall of 2010. I was working as an EMT. I had bad knees and a back that would cripple me nightly after work. At my heaviest, I weighed 270 lbs (122.5 kg.)

In May 0f 2012, I made the decision to lose weight and get fit once and for all.

I knew exactly what was stacked against me:
– the habits of a lifetime: stress eating, inactivity, poor diet.
– genetics: my family has a predisposition to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and more.
– time constraints: I was then working at a hospital as well as going to school and starting up the Black Hat Bakery. My time was at a premium.

But I also knew what I had going for me:
– willpower
– genetic predisposition to a strong metabolism.
– cheap access to a gym.
– the support of a friends
– the knowledge that nothing good lay ahead if I stayed as I was.

With the support of friends and family, I set myself on a fitness regimen. I used a couple of free apps on my phone, MyFitnessPal and Fitocracy, to help me keep track of my eating and exercise and to motivate me along.

This is me, May of this year:

When this photo was taken, I weighed 163 lbs. (just shy of 74 kg)

There is a common joke maxim: “Never trust a skinny chef.” The joke is that the guy obviously doesn’t eat his own food.
Joke this may be, I have met several people that hold it to be true. I regularly hear that I’m “too skinny” or “too fit” to be a pastry chef, followed by the question “How do you DO it?! Surrounded by all that sweet stuff, I’d turn into a blimp!” The general conception is that I either A. don’t actually eat what I make, or B. I’m on some crazy diet/ diet pill.

How do I do it? Simple.
1. Yes, I try everything I make. A chef that isn’t CONSTANTLY tasting what’s around them or what they are working on is like a typist working with one hand, or a driver with an eyepatch. What these inquistive people don’t seem to get, however, is that you know when to STOP. If you are a baker and you have done your job well, you don’t need to eat a dozen cupcakes to know how ONE tastes.

2. Being a professional baker is a VERY physical job. You are constantly bending, lifting, and moving. You are on your feet at LEAST 8 hours a day, and most bakeshops won’t hire someone who isn’t capable of physically lifting at least 75 lbs. The exercise is exhaustive and nigh- constant. You are NOT just standing in place and cramming icing down your throat- you do not have the time.

3. Incredible as it sounds, you lose your desire for sweet stuff VERY quickly. After spending a day surrounded by the smell of sugar, butter, and flour, the smell nauseates me. All I want when I get home is meat and vegetables.

4. I exercise intensively, and regularly. Not just to burn calories, but stress. I wake up at 4:30 every morning so I can exercise for at least an hour before I go to work. Exercise relieves stress and tension, boosts energy and metabolism, and triggers endorphins which improve your mood. All of which can make the difference between a happy baker and one that holes up in the walk-in fridge with a bottle of whiskey and a rolling pin.

5. My diet is very simple- I DON’T. I can eat whatever I like, and I do- but I am very picky about WHAT I choose to eat. This is where MyFitnessPal comes in handy. I know what a serving looks like, and I know when to stop. I know how many calories I can consume in a day, and I can look at that last piece of chocolate cake and say “Am I going to enjoy that enough that I won’t mind just having a salad instead of a hearty stew tonight?” Nine times out of ten, the answer is no. As a result, my tastes have developed and my palate refined. If I am going to blow calories on something sweet, it is going to be WORTH IT.

All of this came about with a lot of hard work, self-control, and willpower. Implying that I got to where I am because of a miracle diet or pill- or worse, that I’m a poor chef that doesn’t try his own work- ignorantly cheapens and denies all of that.

I am a pastry chef, and a damn good one if I say so myself.
I also now weigh 170 lbs, now that I have lost the weight and am looking to build muscle.
I exercise at least 6 days a week.
My knees and back no longer bother me.
I regularly deadlift 250 lbs kettles in the kitchen.
And just last Saturday, I ran my first 5K. I completed the track in a shade under 22 minutes, at a pace of 8:14 minutes per mile.

Trust me.

Stay Classy,