My Pastry Life the last few Months

Hello to all!  First of all, I'm sorry its taken me so long to actually post something here.  It felt like the day I wrote my first entry all of a sudden things just got crazy busy here and all of a sudden I found myself to busy to even think.  Well, I'm finally all caught up and I think I have myself a little better organize now so hopefully, I will be here at least once a week liked I originally had planned. 

With that being said, so much has happened since I last been on here.  In October I had the pleasure of working an event called "Outstanding in the Field."  It was simply amazing!  It's put on by this group from California and their mission is to inform local communities around the country of value of experiencing "farm to table" eating.  They travel all around the country for 3 or 4 months stopping in different cities and hiring a chef to put on a meal literally outside.  Amazingly, the tour was coming through Oxford and my Chef/Owner was asked to put together the meal and he asked me to take care of the dessert course. 

It's a very nice meal laid out with white table cloths candles and all.  Here is a picture of the site. 

So, I was faced with my first challenge of making something elegant to keep the flow of the meal going.  Also, it had to be something that could withstand the heat but couldn't be hot nor could it be an item that required freezing.  All while maintaining true to the season.  Therefore, I decided to go with a fall spiced plum gallette with a ginger pastry cream and crystallized rosemary!  I was able to keep the pastry cream on ice until I needed them and I piped and plated everything on site.  It turned out very well. 

The following week from that we had a buyout at the restaurant for a 21st Birthday party.  If there is one thing about the south is that we have a lot of Belle's floating around and here in Oxford there is a lot money to spread too.  I must say that the girl who the party was far was a complete sweetheart.  She wanted a cake but was sure exactly what she wanted.  All she said was that she wanted it to be tiered, Tiffany Blue, and no white chocolate.  :)  So I thinking  OHHHH NO!!!  I rather have a person who knows just exactly what they want that way no one is surprised when the big day comes.  However, it is my job as a professional to deliver no matter what so I talked with her for a bit more and all of a sudden this is what popped into my head......

Thankfully, she loved it!!! 

Finally, we are moving into the holidays and I was informed that we would be putting out a special menu for new years eve.  It would be a tasting menu consisting of 8 courses all paired with wines.  I was ubber excited about this for I felt that it would give me a chance to hopefully be able to impress the diners of Oxford and give them something a little different than what I offer on the menu everyday.  The hard thing about being a pastry chef here in the south is that southern cooking is still very active around here.  So, I need to always remember to offer a classic southern dish like apple pie, or bread pudding to keep majority of the folks happy.  Fancy dishes don't always cut it around here.  But I said what the hell...it's new years lets try something new! 

So I came up with this....

It is a passion fruit charolette, with an orange/vanilla gel, champagne gelee and blood orange sorbet.  Now honestly, I didn't think it would go over well but I'm glad to say that I was wrong.  They actually like it :-) !!!  I was thrilled.

So those have been some of my bigger challenges and accomplishments for the last couple of months.  Sorry this is so long I just wanted to get you guys back caught up with what's been going on.  I hope you find this as interesting to read as I found it to type.  Let me know what you guys think I would love the feed back. 

So until next time......


A Southern Pastry Chef

A little about me

Hello everyone,

I would like to take this moment to introduce myself.  My name is Dwayne and I'm a 27 year old pastry chef for a wonderful restaurant group here in Oxford, MS.  I attended the New England Culinary Institute (NECI)where I obtained a AOS in Baking and Pastry.  After completing my time at NECI I took off to live and work in Las Vegas, NV.  While there I worked in a couple of the big casinos and hotels on the strip.  I was given the opportunity to work in some exceptional kitchens and for some talented pastry chefs.  After a while of working in such a demanding city and high volume restaurants I realized that I needed to not only live to work but I also wanted a better quality of life.  Therefore, when to opportunity came about I took the current position that I have now and I am forever grateful for it!  My time here thus far has been absolutely amazing and for the first time I feel free to create the food that I love. 

However, being here has also made me feel a little apart from the ever changing world of baking and pastry and the brilliant minds that we call Pastry Chefs, which brings me to the purpose of this blog. 

I had a wonderful time at NECI and the one thing that I loved the most was being surrounded by people who shared my same desire and passion for pastries.  I remember the many nights were my classmates and myself would sit around discussing and debating which flavors paired best together, or discussing new techniques that were out there to try, or even what new toys and equipment we would love to have.  I never forget the excitement when I got my new professional kitchen aid in culinary school and we would just bake outside of class just to have an excuse to play with it.  While online today I came across one of my friends blog page and realized that he had started his own business and was creating cakes to rival some of the best cake decorators around and I had NO IDEA!  I realized that another one of my classmates has taken off with her own cake business and she is doing amazing things...once again.. I had NO IDEA!  I notice techniques that they were using some simple, and some very complicated and I realized just how out of touch we have become and just how out of touch with things I have become.  It made me realize that I'm in a place where my profession is rare and it is up to me to put myself out there and it's up to us as a profession to stay in touch and keep pushing each other to be better and to strive for excellence! 

Therefore, I created this space to be able to share with the you what are some of the things that a Pastry Chef goes through and show the creations that can be made with food.  All while getting the opinions and thoughts of you, the reader, so that we can interact in order for me to stay in touch with the great world of pastry and the people who just love baking!  I also plan on letting you into my head so that you can see and hopefully feel what I go through on daily basis as a Pastry Chef here in the South.  A place where food is more than just a substance for nurturing oneself but also a way of life. 

So, I hope you enjoy reading and I look forward to your comments and hopefully this will be a place for creation and reflection and it inspires all who read.  So, until next time....


A Southern Pastry Chef