Fonts and Food, an unlikely pair

There is a hidden, yet extremely important job in the restaurant industry: graphic designer.

Graphic design can, quite literally, make or break your business.  The wrong font or an odd size will garishly stand out and give the impression that your business is amateurish and doesn't care about detail.

Attention to detail is paramount when preparing food, and so it follows that how we choose to present our menus and signage  is extremely important.

There is a joke that circulates industry that if you're ever writing a menu, don't use the font Papyrus.

Restaurant managers will visit a new restaurant's opening night and secretly give it six months before it closes if the menu is written in Papyrus.

They will laugh under their breath as they order and condescendingly ask if the manager's sixteen year old nephew is their graphic designer.

Avoid all of this abuse and just don't use Papyrus, trust me.
You will be a joke in the industry if you do.

While I'm dispensing unsolicited advice, I'll also say that under pain of death, Comic Sans is to be avoided like the plague.

Lollipops with Beyond Wonderland
the font causes the tag to be larger than the candy!

I hope I've made my point with the above layout, that if a font or color is off, it is glaringly obvious.

The real challenge is that menus need to be readable, but people want them to be stylish, too.

It's this desire for style that often leads people into the proverbial land of bad design. This land is a place you don't want to be, though we often find ourselves in despite our best intentions.

I once created a lollipop I named Strega (Italian: witch) and thought it would be awesome if I had a 'witchy' font to match the label. I used one called Beyond Wonderland.  It was lovely, and interestingly, designed after Lewis Caroll's own handwriting.

However, because of the stylized design of the letters, it had to be printed relatively large in order for people to be able to read.

I soon ditched my fashionable witchy look and reverted to my reliable, easily readable friend Cronos.   Cronos is a font that many people may not have on their systems, but is apparently state of the art for web designers; it's stylish, yet still readable.  There is a saying that if someone notices your font choice, it's wrong.

Fonts and design are another level of things one needs to know in order to run a successful business that they don't tell you about in Culinary school!

Just remember: nix the Papyrus and Comic Sans and you'll be fine!

Stay Sweet!

Lisa

Let them eat... soup?!

Dear Reader,

Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm an unabashed Francophile; resistance is futile in the face of anything French.

In exchange for the fabulous food, culture and Champagne (with a capital C!) I entertain them by destroying their beautiful language with "my NY accented french."  Think: Bone Jour.

Many years ago, my pastry training took me to France. Not to reveal my age, but they were still on the Franc when I visited *ahem* and I quickly fell in love with the country.

Though Marie Antoinette never uttered the famous line about cake that is often attributed to her, the court of Versailles did influence the cuisine of France and by extension, the world.

As the story goes, Marie Antoinette was required to appear in public for meals, she actually preferred much simpler fare in the quite of her chambers.

One of her purported 'favorite' soups has also become a favorite of mine and is wonderful during the summer when you find yourself wanting something besides a cold salad and don't want to turn the stove on for too long.

Marie Antoinette's favorite cauliflower soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower cut into chunks
• 6 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
• splash of cream (approximately 1/4 cup)
• 1 tablespoon herbes de provence (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook cauliflower in broth until tender and use a stick blender, upright blender or potato masher to mash the cauliflower to desired consistency. Add the cream and season to taste. 

Èt voilà!  It is that simple.  

This soup is also delicious served cold and when paired with a salad makes and wonderful, light summer meal and leaves you with plenty of room for dessert.

Stay sweet!

Lisa 

Five things Culinary Schools won't tell you...

Dear Reader, 

Chuckling at my deathly pallor in the mirror, the result of years under kitchen fluorescents, I popped yet another dose of Advil. 

Despite the fact that this is all I've ever wanted to do, I found myself chuckling at my life choices in the early morning hours. While every sane person I knew was asleep, I was molding molten sugar and trying not to think too much about my aching back. It got me thinking... 

People's eyes often fly open with excitement when I tell them what I do for a living.  

Visions of sugarplums dance in their heads as fantasies of leaving the proverbial 'grind' flood their minds.  They dramatically toss off their $100,000./year career with benefits and don the distinctive striped apron of a kitchen Commis. 

They imagine themselves making a single pie, or perhaps "that cake they saw that their kid could make" and then retiring for the evening; fully satisfied with their life's work.

As I'm sure you can imagine, the reality of kitchen work is nothing like the sugar covered fantasies played out on The Food Network.  If you peel away the pink candyfloss fantasy, you will find under appreciated minions with foul mouths, sallow complexions and scheduled back surgery.

As the Advil kicked in, I laughed at the idea of creating a REAL list of what kitchen work is like.  The horror! 

Five things they don't tell you about in Culinary School:

1. Your feet/hands/back/knees will get destroyed.  Accept this fact and have a career escape plan in place by the time you are 40. 
2. You will live in a constant state of sleep deprivation.  Paradoxically, this will make you extremely high strung.
3. The hours you work in a week are, in fact, not legal. But you knew that...
4. The pastry department is not climate controlled. It is usually shared with the salad guy and sandwiched as an afterthought next to the dishwasher.  The owner will randomly unplug your refrigerator in order to save money.
5. Kitchens are not bastions of political correctness. If you are easily offended, get out.  Your humor will soon degrade into the socially unacceptable.  Accept this fact and try not to swear at the hapless supermarket cashier.  

When asking yourself if kitchen work is the right career for you, consider the theater adage "If you can imagine yourself doing *anything* else, go do it." 

It is true that the hours are long, the conditions deplorable and the pay insulting.  However, if it's what you truly love, you'll relish those 3 a.m Advil breaks.   

Stay sweet!

Lisa 

A sticky sweet mess

Dear Reader,

In lieu of sleeping, the cruel mistress that is Insomnia often demands that I peruse Wikipedia in the middle of the night.


In submitting to her wishes, I happened upon a questionable post under the Caramel listing.
Here is the original post:

Caramel sauce[edit]

Caramel sauce is made by mixing hot caramel with some combination of cream, milk, and water; butterscotch sauce uses brown sugar and adds butter.^[8]Caramel sauce is used for a variety of desserts, notably crème caramel or flan.

Caramel candy[edit]

Caramel candy is a soft, dense, chewy candy made by boiling a mixture of milk or cream, sugar(s), butter, and vanilla (or vanilla flavoring). The sugar(s) are heated separately to reach 170 °C (340 °F), caramelizing them before the other ingredients are added.^[9] Alternatively, all ingredients may be cooked together; in this procedure, the mixture is not heated above the firm ball stage (120 °C [250 °F]), so that caramelization of the milk occurs but not caramelization of the sugars. This type of candy is often called milk caramel or cream caramel.

----------

There are a few problems with this post.  Caramel sauce often contains butter and additional flavorings such as vanilla or fruit puree and the temperatures they are citing are far too high and would result in burning. In addition, calling the clear caramel used for Flan a caramel sauce could technically be considered correct, but is a bit of a stretch.

I noticed the edit button next to the listings, so I went ahead and changed Wikipedia.  The two sections now read this way:

Caramel Sauce[edit]

Caramel sauce is made by mixing caramelized sugar with cream. Depending on the intended application, additional ingredients such as butter, fruit purees, liquors or vanilla are often used. Caramel sauce used in a variety of desserts, though most notably as a topping for ice cream. When it is used for crème caramel or flan, it is known as clear caramel and only contains caramelized sugar and water. Butterscotch sauce is made with dark brown sugar, butter and often a splash of whiskey. Traditionally, butterscotch is a hard candy more in line with a toffee, with the suffix "scotch" meaning "to score."

Caramel candy[edit]

Caramel candy is a soft, dense, chewy candy made by boiling a mixture of milk or cream, sugar(s), glucose, butter, and vanilla (or vanilla flavoring). The sugar and glucose are heated separately to reach 260 °F (130 °C), the cream and butter and then added and cooked to other ingredients are added and the mixture is frequently stirred until it reaches 240 °F (120 °C). Upon completion of cooking, vanilla or any additional flavorings and salt are added. Adding the vanilla or flavorings earlier would result in their burning off at the high temperatures. Adding salt earlier in the process would result in inverting the sugars as they cooked.
Alternately, all ingredients may be cooked together. In this procedure, the mixture is not heated above the firm ball stage (120 °C [250 °F]), so that caramelization of the milk occurs. This temperature is not high enough to caramelize sugar and this type of candy is often called milk caramel or cream caramel.

You can link directly to them here

This was an interesting middle of the night experiment.  I've never changed anything on Wikipedia before, and I foresee my midnight wanderings through cyber-land as being much more interactive from now on.

Stay sweet!

Lisa 

SugarVeil: magic or marketing?

Dear Reader,

One morning, in a pre-coffee stupor and a burst of 'YOLO' I finally broke down and ordered the SugarVeil system.  

Traditional English Lambeth method of cake decorating

I've long admired the delicate string work technique known as the Lambeth method of cake decorating and I've often swore that if I happen to find myself with an abundance of spare time (perhaps when I'm dead?) I would learn how to produce such magical looking cakes. 

A fun fact about Lambeth: it is the reason British cakes are traditionally fruitcake. A more perishable cake cannot stand either the weight of the icing or sitting at room temperature for as long as it takes to produce such intricate designs. 

Fruitcakes do not appeal to the American palate, though the Lambeth aesthetic does. When I saw a wedding cake design submitted to the Royal Palace with a BRIDAL VEIL MADE OF SUGAR (can you imagine?!) I nearly lost my mind with the awesomeness of it all. 

After doing some research, I discovered the product responsible for such gorgeousness (SugarVeil), and nearly lost my mind again at the price.  Could it really be that different from traditional royal icing? Is the recipe really some kind of magic?  Ultimately, the thought of covering things in sugary spider webs proved irresistible; resistance was futile. 

Spiderwebs & lace made from SugarVeil

There are many pricing options available for purchase, and my particular configuration amounted to approximately $500.00, including shipping. This price range would be considered mid-priced for the SugarVeil system, though I think it is certainly a significant investment for most people. 

What I purchased:

AirPen Piping Dispenser/ Accessory Pack
Vacuum pick-up tool (for extremely small decorations)
Confectioners Spreader/Comb
Pail of Vanilla/Chocolate Icing mixes
Assorted design mats

The Pros:
The system is nothing short of magical and I would recommend it to anyone who decorates cakes.  The shipping was fast and the product arrived well packed and undamaged. 

Unlike traditional royal icing, their unique frosting is flexible and can be swirled into the lightest, most airy confections possible.  I am looking forward to wrapping my cakes in sugar bows, adding lace to my lollipops and draping edible spiderwebs on everything this coming Halloween. 

Lollipop with SugarVeil lace

The piping dispenser (air compressor) lessens fatigue on your hands when decorating a lot of intricate designs.  It also completely replaces the need for old-fashioned paper cones and is less messy.  The air pens can be rewashed and reused, lessening waste. 

I didn't even know I needed a vacuum tool! I had previously used a pair of tweezers for delicate work and decorations would fly everywhere, I accepted this as a necessary evil. It is not, and my problem is solved.

Increased productivity equals increased sales and profits.  Sugarveil will easily pay for itself. 

I love the ability to offer my wedding parties unique products such as the lace lollipops or lacy hot chocolate inclusions.  Unique items set me apart from my competition. 

Hot chocolate with sugar lace.
A perfect detail for Winter weddings

The Cons:
I felt that a few of the products were either completely unnecessary or wildly overpriced. 

The spreaders and combs are not different from any other cake decorating comb, at approximately triple the price. 

The impression mats are wildly overpriced at approximately $50.00 each or $100.00 for a bundle of three.  I purchased some because I wanted to thoroughly test their products. In comparison, I also purchased a lace place mat at a dollar store and it worked just as well as the pricier mats for the sugar impressions. 

The system must be used with SugarVeil icing, which is only available for purchase from the company.  

This is inconvenient for two reasons:

 i) it is a specialty item that must be kept in stock 

 ii) if the product is backordered or goes out of business, is my system useless?  

There are various recipes online claiming to have "broken the SugarVeil recipe" though I have yet to test them.

In Conclusion:

SugarVeil is easy to work with, performs as described and makes creating gorgeous masterpieces of sugar art relatively easy. I think it is a wonderful addition to my bakery and any serious cake decorator would enjoy working with it.  

The main drawback I found was the cost.  I understand that view is subjective and I believe with a bit of creativity could easily be mitigated. 

Stay sweet!

Lisa   

Please don't eat the daisies... unless...

Dear Reader,

Lavender Honey Handmade Caramels 

Floral flavors are polarizing; people either love them or hate them, there is absolutely no in between.

To make matters more confusing, people who have never tried them tend to romanticize what they must taste like.

Items such as 'lavender honey caramels' evoke thoughts of frolicking through a field in Provence on a perfect summers day, the air so heavy and sweet with the fragrance of lavender that you can't help but taste it.

Of course, unless you love the flavor of lavender, the reality of the flavor is nothing like the fantasy.  The most common feedback I receive from someone who isn't fond of or accustomed to a floral is that "it tastes soapy."
*le sigh*

Our popular culture is not at all helpful when it comes to romanticizing floral flavors.  I've received a few requests for Turkish Delight to accompany The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe themed children's parties.

Though I can understand the allure of wanting to transport oneself to Narnia, I will always suggest another confection with which to ply guests, especially if they are young children.  I have yet to encounter a five year old that will willingly or eagerly stuff themselves with what is essentially paste with rose flavoring.

Rose Turkish Delight - courtesy of Food.com 

To understand why Turkish Delight was chosen for the book, people must consider that it was published in 1950.

This was, after all, only a few years after the strict rationing Britain experienced during WWII ended. Sugar was an especially scarce commodity during the war years, and anything sweet had been both coveted and relished for some time.

In addition, rose was a popular flavor during Victorian times (C.S. Lewis' childhood years) plus, it nods towards the exotic with its middle-eastern origins.
Modern children simply do not have the pallet of Mr. Lewis and there is nothing wrong with this. His preferences were not better or more superior to anyone else's, they were simply a product of the times in which he lived, as are our own.

I'm fairly certain that if the book were written today, some kind of chocolate or ice cream would replace the Delight.

Nevertheless, the people who enjoy floral flavors really LOVE them.  If they are used correctly and sparingly, I believe they can add a wonderfully light and slightly exotic note to many items.  In my shop, lavender lollipops are my most popular flavor, especially for Spring and Summer events.

Lavender Lollipops are especially popular
for Spring/Summer  events

I always walk a fine line when I introduce a new item with a floral note.  On one hand, I want my products to be fun and creative, but on the other hand, if people don't care for something they react negatively.

To explain: people generally don't taste something they dislike and think it is their personal preference.  If people taste something they don't care for, they generally think the reason is because I'm unable do my job well.
It can be especially tricky explaining to customers that my products are not the problem, they simply don't care for the taste of florals.

Especially in this time of social media, a person's opinion will be emblazened on the internet forever.

I want my customers to both enjoy my products and send all of their friends to me as well.  I want to keep them as customers for generations, and that won't happen if I produce things they don't enjoy.

brown butter chocolate chip cookies with sea salt
                                                                                                     

Sadly, this situation puts constraints on what I produce, though I console myself by making everything the best it can possibly be.

For example, making chocolate chip cookies doesn't necessarily feed my creative soul, but making the best people have ever tasted allows me to pay my bills.  In addition, making something familar that people enjoy builds trust in my customers.  If customers enjoy my chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cake, they are more likely to give my pistachio rose lollipops a try.

In the same way that flavors such as anise (licorice) and grapefruit can be polarizing, floral flavors are very much a matter of personal preference.

Personally, I love the complexity and depth they add to a dish. I know that not everyone shares my opinion and that's okay.

Their dislike simply means that there is more for me to enjoy.

Stay Sweet!

xo
Lisa

Who am I?

Dear Reader,

Why am I here?  Why *are* we here?  

Aren't those the questions we all ask?  

Happily, in this case and despite its deeply philosophical origins, the answer to the question is simple: experimentation.  

With pastry, as in life, things don't always work out as planned 

Handmade sugar flower bouquet - red spectrum

I intend this blog to be a haven of experimentation beyond my standing product line. 

A place where I can document my thought processes and new, 

sugar-sweet creations can (hopefully) be brought to life. 

I intend to give you a glimpse into my world, dear reader, while putting the whole messy and frenetic process on display.

Valrhona Chocolate 'Turtle' brownies with caramel and pecans.
Delicious, but unfortunately didn't ship well

Please, grab a beverage of choice and settle in for what promises to be a slightly bumpy, but always sweet adventure!

Stay Sweet!

xo

Lisa