Pastry Chef in Training

I used to help out in my daughter’s catering kitchen. At first I helped to decorate the two front rooms. Then I helped in the kitchen area to clean it up and learned how to run the dishwasher. Little by little, I learned how to cut the fruit and display it on platters, along with cutting cheese for platters and vegetables. The platters were artistically arranged. I learned how to do different types of appetizers. After those jobs, I helped out with salads, and sometimes I made meat loafs and lasagnas and quiches. A few times, I made homemade pierogis, and a few other food items. I even worked at a few of her weddings, setting up the rooms, arranging the cookies on the cookie table, and serving the food.

Once my daughter started her downtown deli, she hired two full time bakers and I would be around to help them or to do my assigned jobs. I watched both bakers leave and a third person who did almost everything at the kitchen, also left.

My job after that was to learn how to make the pastries that are needed at the Deli, along with a few other items that are on the menu. Cookies, Scones, and soufflés were the three things that I started out doing. I added cinnamon rolls, spinach feta pin wheels, and pepperoni breads. 

 

  

It took a while to get things together. I needed to get a good routine and eliminate the screw ups. As time has gone on, things are running a bit more smoothly in the kitchen.