a lot has changed for me professionally in the past year.
it was around this time last year when people started receiving pink slips from my previous employer.
i left for work one afternoon feeling pretty confident that my turn was next.
an hour or so later, i returned home, jobless.
it wasn’t long though before i found more work though, as my chef instructor from school was consulting on the dessert menu at a popular vancouver restaurant.
they needed a pastry chef, and i needed a job.
it was a bit of a pay cut, but reflecting back, it has opened a lot of doors.
a year ago today, i would have laughed had you suggested i enter a chocolate competition.
what was once my nemesis, has now become my secret weapon.
i was fearful of chocolate, and reluctant to work with it.
but just after i started this new job in march, i was feeling confident and inspired.
so when asked if i would enter the belcolade chocolate competition, i agreed without hesitation.
armed with some beautiful new libros de los postres, i set about creating three plated desserts and three bonbons.
i was obsessed.
i couldn’t sleep.
but it was worth it.
i had never felt so inspired, and in winning the overall gold, and additional gold medals for each category i entered, i was confident that i now belonged.
i was feeling more comfortable with the title – pastry chef.
following the blur, that was the summer, it was time for a menu change, and a new challenge.
something new to inspire me.
in between competitions, and menu changes, i started feeling an entrepreneurial spirit, and decided i was going to work towards opening a small chocolate shop.
and on february 15, i will begin a one month journey to kickstart this process – a working vacation to belgium, france and spain.
i will spend one week working with the chocolate centre supervisor of the belcolade chocolate company in erembodegem, belgium.
then it will be ten days of travelling, experiencing the culture of lyon, barcelona, madrid and of course, paris.
having the opportunity to experience some of the greatest bonbons, pralines and pastries will give me sense of where i need to improve to achieve my professional goals.
and i hope to return full of ideas and inspiration, ready to push forward again in my career.
January 6, 2008...7:43 am
welcome.
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