career ambitions

So I'm considering going to culinary school after I graduate from Columbia.

Seriously.

I want to become a professional patissière. (Translation: pastry cook.)

What's that? You want to know why? Well, okay then!

I love to bake. You know this about me. Or you don't, and are therefore not really my friend at all. Anyway, I've been baking for AmCath - for rehearsals and brunches and stuff - since February. A few weeks ago, Kate, one of our altos, approached me and asked me to bake for her retirement party. Of course, she said, she would pay for the ingredients and labor. Excellent! I gave her a list of about 8 different cakes and pastries that would go well with the ice cream and champagne she was planning on serving; unfortunately, she decided to only have 4 of them. So. I spent all of Saturday afternoon and evening grocery shopping and baking. It was AMAZING - I had so much fun doing it! Okay, after the 6th batch my arm was starting to hurt, but it was a good hurt. A feel-the-burn kind of hurt.

The following was served at the party, which nearly 70 people attended: chocolate cake (with a chocolate glaze, duh), chocolate chip cake, vanilla sponge cake with cream and strawberries, and lemon poppyseed bread. (I had also suggested some sort of fruit pie or crumble, scones, banana bread, and pistachio cake, but she wasn't interested.) I hovered by the foood table for an hour, greedily watching people eat, until Harry told me I was creeping out the guests and tore me away. I couldn't help it, though: it was so satisfying to see people enjoying what I had made!

Anyway, the point is, I walked away from the party with €30 and the desire to learn how to bake, properly, and to do it all the time. So there.