Good evening, friends and neighbors.I don’t have a mental diagnosis- but I probably should. How is that for a starter?
kitchen culture
Snapshots of the Bakeshop
Good evening, friends and neighbors.
Today, while creaming butter and sugar for coffee cake, I got to talking to Victoria who was herself between tasks. Up front, the baristas were zipping back, forth, in and out of the kitchen tending to a lengthy line of customers.
In the kitchen, however, things are smooth and mellow. The music of choice today is classic Dylan, slipped through with a little Hendrix, Bowie, and others. Victoria has interesting tastes and no one complained.
Victoria is shaking her head in bewilderment for a moment, deciding what to do next on her list. She has considerable experience cooking in commissary kitchens and restaurants- pastry kitchen and line. Never on a dessert line, though.
“That’d be pretty weird- what would I do? Just constant plating, but at line speed? Not sure I’m cut out for that.”
Victoria likes to be efficient- but on her timeline. She’d prefer to move along at her own- albeit quick- speed than have to keep pace with others, or under pressure from a chef or a sous.
What We Give, for What We Get
Good evening, friends and neighbors.
About a year ago this past December, I got my first tattoo.
The Bakeshop OST
Good evening, friends and neighbors.
It’s been a while since I’ve made any kind of list- certainly for music.
It’s been a while since I’ve made any kind of list- certainly for music.
“Voos Mahkt A Yid?”- Yiddish in Portland, and a Recipe for Hamantaschen!
Good evening, friends and neighbors! Hope your Labor Day was fun and restful, and that all the kids are excited to be back in school.
What? Weirder things have happened. Case in point was MY Labor Day, spent in the kitchen of Crema Cafe + Bakery, my current employers.
As you might expect, business was VERY swift that day, and I was double-timing it around the kitchen. As the only pastry guy on duty that day, I had to make sure the front was stocked. Pastries, pies, cakes, pudding- whatever I could whip up with what was available that the customers would like.
The Black Hat Baker 