Pastry Chef at Large.

Happy September. The city's summer quiet comes to a close this weekend, as if tying off a scarf one began in April.

So much has happened since I wrote on eggbeater last. I'm sorry to have been away for so long, but oftentimes what is going on for me in a given kitchen, on a job, is not mine to tell, wholly, and I can't always figure out how to tell it diplomatically. I'm sure you understand.

Also, to be fully transparent, I've been cheating on you. Since April.

I've been taking my words elsewhere. Sharing them with others. My sentences are being edited by Charlotte Druckman. I couldn't be luckier, more honored, and more grateful. Behind every great writer is a keen, tough, grammatically correct editor.

My new paramour is Medium.com and the room we do it in is called The Egg Beat. I'm profiling pastry chefs. The idea is to give press to pastry chefs directly, without the middle man of their employer's website. Most pastry chefs aren't even named on their dessert menus, or acknowledged by print media journalists, or credited for their recipes in cookbooks! Most pastry chefs have no "name" until someone "discovers" them.

I think that's ridiculous, and I aims to change the playing field.

Let's face it, most professional cooks don't have the time, (or desire), to self-promote, or they don't really know how to use the-social-media-platform-of-the-moment. Twitter is about as much as anyone can bear, and there's a lot of katchka dreck to contend with, making it impossible to find the pastry chefs who aren't on TV.

So this bi-monthly column is a way to recognize the people behind the pastry. Maybe introduce you to an intuitive baker, a punk rock chef, a pastry chef making chocolate dirt or a chocolatier setting up shop in an old bookbindery factory. I'm writing about modern and old school pastry chefs alike. I could be writing about a pastry chef near you, or one halfway around the world.

At the end of this month I'll be participating in the Star Chefs International Chefs Congress in a few different ways. On the Sunday (if all goes according to plan) I will be one of the "Floor Judges" for the Pastry Competition, and the next day I will collaborate with my good friend Amanda Cook making baked goods to highlight heritage grains* from New York State. We will have a table as part of the eat@ICC "food court," if you will. Look for "A Bite of the Big Apple."

*I have recently begun a "conversation" with GrowNYC's Strategic Developer June Russell, who is working with various farmers growing grain, milling it into flour, in conjunction with the Heritage Grain Conservancy. I am most excited about working with Emmer and Einkorn varieties, which I am told have very different flavor and structure than the "standard wheat" we have all grown accustomed to.

And lastly, the most exciting idea to come across my desk is Mealku. I'll report back as soon as I know, and can explain more.

If you're wondering where I'm working these days, I'm At Large. It's like being On The Lam, but different.

 

 

 

Comments

[Ted Niceley]

Great read.
Thank you!!!
Ted Niceley

[David J. Wynn]

''Your ALIVE-ALIVE", & oooh sooo busy, in a good way.congrats to you, though it feels like a zoo...
Main to me is you give yourself a life as well. Well lived. Always reliable for puttin it out there no holds barred & now you are doing something for the 'Pastry Chefs'...!!!Wooohooo !! Q. will you include some of ''YOUR" photography too?

[Audrey]

Good to hear from you again

[Hareesh]

I always love your passion for pastry and the articles you write.
Not gonna miss a single column! Can't wait :)

[Amy Andrews]

Of course! Excellent evolution of your interests, heart and talent. Happy for you.
Amy

[Michael Lydon]

Great to see Eggbeater again!

[Art]

Nice to see you posting again!

[Exploding Mary]

Fantastic! As you can see from my URL, I've been at large for ages, too. It's a good way to go.

[Teri Renteria]

So happy you're back. You are such an inspiration!

[Kthln]

So, so wonderful to read news from you here. You go, Shuna!

[Nadie]

I stumbled across this blog looking for pie crust recipes (forgive me, Grandma! I'm consorting with other recipes!) and I've been browsing since. Am a little in love. More than a little. Thanks for a bit of quiet, happy reading on a cloudy, autumnal day, to precede the acts of pumpkin pie about to be committed in my kitchen.

[Linda Saegert]

Great read, Thanks as always