The Next Great Baker

--Let me just warn you all now, this is going to be a doozy, I'm sorry...there aren't even any pictures. Shame on me! So grab a beverage, maybe a light snack, and nestle into your chairs snug as a bug for some serious reading--

All set? Okay!

As some of you may know, I tried out for TLC's The Next Great Baker, season 2... You know, that cake baking/decorating competition show on TV with the Cake Boss? If you don't know what either of those are you're either a hermit, in which case you're definitely NOT reading this blog or (more likely) you don't have cable... Um, if you're into cake, AT ALL... I suggest fixing the latter!


Once the casting was open I excitedly went online, downloaded their 100 page (by 100 I mean 5, it felt like 100 though!) application and answered the many difficult questions, which took me about a week to fill out.
I finally sent it in and, to be honest didn't expect to hear back. I mean, thousands... literally THOUSANDS of people apply and really... what were the chances, right? 


Um, yeah WELL..... I was wrong! About 2 days after I sent in my application, I received an email asking me for a video, I got all of these crazy instructions and only had about 48 hrs to do the video and submit it. Yikes! 


Now normally, doing something like this, I'd employ my wonderful photographer boyfriend to help me shoot, etc. Yes, well unfortunately he was out of town in Mexico working/vacationing without me. Booo. 
So I enlisted the help of my wonderful mother and her friend Roxanne; who were both incredibly sweet, and kind to take hours, literally hours out of their day to help me shoot and were very patient with me when I constantly wanted to re-shoot stuff. Thanks guys!


Now, for some bizarre reason I was incredibly nervous to record the video... I mean, it's just a video... of me... talking... about me... which I really don't like doing... and I'd have to watch it.... and critique it before sending it in... and I hate watching myself on camera... it makes me nervous.... wait, whose idea was it to try out for a TV show again? 


So needless to say some booze was in order to help calm my nerves. It worked, except that I forgot to eat dinner, and then I ended up drinking the whole bottle of wine... which is very unusual for me, I'm a "light-weight" if you will. Lets just say... it was a rough night. 


The second day of filming went smoothly and there was no liquor involved either, which was a plus, I did however have to film myself. So I decided to "spice" things up a bit and did some filming in the banana costume... just to help with the nerves again. Wait. What's that you say? The what what? Oh Yes, B A N A N A... as in fruit. 


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Let me explain: in 2008 I went on a mountain biking trip to Oregon, we brought the banana, we rode trails in our biking gear wearing the banana, my photographer boyfriend took pictures of us riding our bikes wearing the banana, when we got home he submitted said pictures to Bike, Magazine, one of those pictures was printed in the March 2010 Annual Trails Issue; on page 36 of that issue you'll find me cruising down a trail, wearing the banana, it's "tail-end" blowing gracefully in the wind... ever since the banana goes wherever we go, the banana gets it's picture taken a lot. And thus, the story of the banana unfolds. PS, you can find said pictures and others of the banana and possibly a whoopie cushion.... on the photographer boyfriend's website.
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So I finished filming, watched all the video's, the photographer boyfriend came home, we watched them together, I had a mini-freak out because I couldn't stand watching myself and having him watch them at the same time (I'm my worse critic) he assured me they were "great" then I calmed down and away they went into the Internet abyss... i.e. YouTube... yeah don't bother looking for them, they're private-sorry. (I can't have all of you out there trying to copy my sweet moves in the banana now can I?)


Again, once I sent the video I assumed nothing would come of it. 


Um... wrong again! 


I get another email, saying they like the video and my personality (they like me... they really like me--perhaps the banana also had something to do with it?!?!) and that I was in consideration to be a semi-finalist. A SEMI-FINALIST.... WHAT? Are you kidding me? Is this bizarre-o world? This kind of thing doesn't happen to me. EVER. 


From there I can't give out too many details, I've been sworn to secrecy by the TLC baking Gods... but what I can say is that YES I was ultimately picked as a semi-finalist along with about 25-30 other people (shut-up) and YES I flew to Jersey to audition in person: which was a crazy whirl-wind experience I was in and out of there in 24 hours!

I can also tell you that I met Frankie, and he was super duper cool! He showed me how to make a butter cream rose.


(yes, I know... I don't know how to make a butter cream rose, blah, blah, blah--you all know that I don't have any "technical" experience, I've never attended culinary school, (except to eat yummy treats at CIA) and I've never even worked in a bakery, (gasp!) everything I've ever done has been because I either was curious how it was done, and WANTED to learn it, or... someone requested something like this and I HAD to figure it out) 


Literally ALL of the other people I met during the process were very cool, and super nice too!  It was one of the more fun and nerve-wracking, experiences of my life. I loved every minute of it... even the parts where I was nearly puking because of my nerves!

SO.... are you wondering if I got chosen???... huh, huh are you?????

Sorry. No, I did not. But being one of the 30 other people that DID get chosen as a semi-finalist.... out of thousands of people.... that right there, makes me feel pretty damn good!! It's bloody amazing to me that they liked me, and my work (and banana) enough to want to meet me in person. It's so cool! For that, I am grateful!

I've been pondering why they didn't end up choosing me and I think I've figured out why: I lack basic experience, I mean come on... I didn't even know how to make a damn butter cream rose!

There are a lot of baking basics that I just don't know.

I know I still have a lot to learn; I mean I still consider myself a beginner. But I was excited about the chance to learn while being on the show, plus the winner gets to work at Carlos Bakery and I knew if I could make it that far that I would have a real chance at learning something from someone in the business. 


I knew applying was a huge gamble, I mean can you imagine if I did make it on the show and was up against people that have graduated from culinary school, and own their own cake shops? That thought was super scary to me, but I applied because I was so confident that I could learn things during the process and that I would do well at it too... and that's why I tried out for the show.

During my video and in-person interviews I expressed very strongly that I was aware I would be the ultimate underdog, and realized a lot of stuff I'd have to learn on the fly. But I knew that would be okay, because learning while doing is something I am really good at.

Show me something once, and I'll be able to re-create it... 
For example: when I told Frankie that I didn't know how to make a butter cream rose he was shocked, but once he took the time to show me (which I am so appreciative of!) how to do it and I made one he said to me afterwards that it was really good... better than some of the other people (and some of those people had attended culinary school!) he was shocked that I had never made one before... I'm not sure he even believed me!
 
So I think what TLC was really looking for were people that had graduated culinary school or at least worked in the business... and me, well I'm just a beginner. Do I feel like they made a mistake in not choosing me? Well, duh of course I do! But I'm not going to let it get me down!


That's my two cents anyway... and maybe I'm way off and that's not it at all. Either way... It gives me motivation to try that much harder next year, it gives me something more to want. 


So I have a plan on how to improve my skills:

I have all of these awesome baking books some are actual text books used at The Culinary Institute of America that I have gotten over the years that, honestly, don't get that much use. I use a recipe here or there and that's about it. It's really lame of me actually, especially since these books aren't just recipe books they are filled with useful knowledge that I should be filling my brain with! 


Duh! What is wrong with me?


So what is this plan, you say? The plan: to take the next year and teach myself by reading these books, front to back. I will try out every technique and recipe in them. Yes, every. single. one. 


Since I can't afford to go to the culinary school that I would LOVE to go to this is the only other option. I know what you're thinking, "why don't you get a job at a bakery?" Well.... I did that actually, I worked at a cake shop for a little bit. Lets just say that it... um... didn't work out because of.... personal differences. Yeah. 


So I'm going to read. I'm going to bake. I'm going to try making things like caramel that scare the crap out of me, and I'm going to conquer them. Oh, and, I'm going to blog about the whole damn experience, the successes and the failures... you didn't think I'd leave you out of all the fun now did you? No, I would never. 


So wish me luck, or whatever. Now I'm off to learn!