Five, Six and Seven............

A few days back I wrote of the three things I need in life . The only three things in life I require as a nomad to feel at home. I ended the blog with number four, my MacBook air, which is my lifeline to the planet and to the planetary system which is my inner thoughts.. I literally type everything I am thinking….

So this morning I was leaving work at 4am and I just had an overbearing urge to hear my best friends voice and see how he was doing…At moments like that time Zones don’t mean much, but we are friends and I knew he’d forgive me for waking him on his part of the planet…

His first question was why are you awake and what time is it….?

And that’s when I realised that despite what I wrote the other day there are three other things missing from my NOMADS GUIDE TO HAPPINESS…..

Remember, 1 is a comfortable sofa, 2 is a comfortable car and 3 was an amazing sounding GPS device, 4 of course as I have stated again is my MacBook Air…

Work completed at 4am and number 5 struck me like a thunderbolt… an amazing  career.! There were several years a decade or so ago where I tried to change careers, infact I have always wanted to practice Law…. But I stayed with Pastry and seriously, who wouldn’t its amazing…

Making the planet a happier place one cake at a time is an amazing feeling. I love making the requests at BLOSSOM SWEETS because you just know when people open up the box they are going to go WOW….and the planet will be a better place for a while.

Today I am actually fortunate because I do have two great careers, food and writing and they both allow me to be creative in different ways and to totally express what is inside of me.

Having those two portals of self discovery available at al times is a great way to live and to find freedom.

 And of course if you have an amazing career or careers you need an amazing best friend to share it with no matter the time you call him… and he is number 6.

In 2012 alone I have been privileged to travel extensively with this sensational job of mine, Canada, Hawaii, USA, Phillipines, and Bahrain to name a few, and all the while I have been able to tell my friend of what I’m doing and how it all goes and he is happy for me. You don’t need a thousand friends on Facebook when you have one real friend in life.

Well it now nears 5am and I have to be back at work at 9am so finally I am reminded of the 7^th requirement of a NOMADS GUIDE TO HAPPINESS…. Yep, the only real materialistic object I have other than a handful of clothes is….a coffee machine… . I could not live with out my dozen espresso’s a day. There is just something so calming too in the house about the smell of a freshly roasted coffee being brewed. I make a point of never getting in the car without having had a coffee. Other drivers beware if ever that changes. I m just a nicer guy with a an espresso running through my veins.

Anyway its time to curl up on the comfy sofa and let the head rest for an hour or two….a warm cup of coffee always makes me sleepy  !!

I may only have an hour or two till I head back to the kitchen, but I have everything I need, and that’s soothes this soul a plenty……

Have a great day folks..

And remember

GOOD THINGS BLOOM, GREAT THINGS BLOSSOM

THREE THINGS

Some say that tiredness makes you foggy in the head…

I find that tiredness brings about clarity..

I just completed a 20 hour stint in the kitchen…7am to 3am…wow…

But on the drive home I realized that there are only three things in life which I truly need..clarity in life….the essentials required in life to exist and to survive in a hard working life…

1    A comfortable sofa….several reasons really….married or unmarried it matters not, a sofa is where you will entertain, watch videos, tv and relax and therefore it will need to be comfortable as it is probably is the most utilized piece of sitting matter in the house.  On top of this if you are in a relationship or married and there is an argument, it usually ends up that the guy gets kicked to the sofa, for me, I cant wait to kicked to the sofa, I grab that pillow and run to it, like a kid going to the state fair, its awesome….always make sure the sofa is way more comfortable than the bed, and that way even if you lose the argument, you win the battle…..and its nice to sleep peacefully on the sofa thinking of the other half tossing and turning on a hard lumpy mattress…ha ha ha

Silent victories are sweeter victories !! Lastly of course the comfortable sofa is a requirement of the hard worker for simply its nice to sit, put your feet up and suddenly wake up 7 hours later and find that you had a restful sleep without having had to move location from your initial collapse into bed….

2    The second essential requirement of a busy worker, is a great car. I have the same car now that I had in the land of my 26^th floor oasis and I love it…For decades I never got the love of cars, but today I do. Its an extension of your soul. The world does not exist outside the cabin to my mean machine.. Literally!! I pulled into Carrefour last week , parked, hit the break and woke up twenty minutes later when the phone rang… A car should be as comfortable to sit in as your sofa….it does not matter if the passenger seats are hard and lumpy, just the cockpit seat, should be an armchair from which you can command the tank you drive… I don’t like little cars, they make a mess when you hit some thing and a big car just goes over everything…much more convenient… I adore my car.  Also if you have an argument with a loved one and the sofa remains too close to the battle ground, you can run with your pillow like a kid at the state fair and go sleep in the car…

3.     Finally the only other thing a busy worker needs is a good GPS device with a great voice behind the screen. I have that. The woman who voices my GPS is my rock. She never gets lost  and she offers me so many options and she never argues with me even when I get lost, she just recalculates and on we go. She is amazing. The perfect woman. She does not harp on that I took the wrong turn or that I missed a junction or in my happiness to drive that I took the second exit not the third on a roundabout., simply she just takes a second and recalculates and on we go. She’s a fun loving girl too, I punched in a street name the other day and with bad misspelling on my behalf she informed me that the sreet was in the UK, England. It took me a second but I thought wow, why not.. the shop will run itself , lets go… Then I realized I did not have enough petrol and the wallet remained in the kitchen so despite her tease of a side trip to the British Isles, I had to relent and make her recalculate.

That’s pretty much it though..

Many friends cart furniture from country to country, I never have. I live like a nomad. I am the least materialistic guy on the planet. I don’t want junk, I arrived on the planet without anything and don’t want it cremated with me so why waste hard earned cash on it.

Here today and gone tomorrow has a whole new meaning when you don’t own anything. Except that cheeky little voice on the GPS, she’s coming with me when I next move to another country, everything else, superfluous.

Oh wait, I lie…..there is a fourth item required of my lifestyle….My APPLE Mac Book Air….but its not really a material object, its part of me…

Cieu till next time.

I M.I.Z. Abu Dhabi !!!

There is a point every morning as I breach the crest of Mussafa bridge at 16^th street where the peace of the accommodation center of this part of the world changes for a whole different world for the next 8-10 hours…

There should be a sign post at the top of the bridge….not of speed limits, not of the bumpy road ahead, but a man pulling his hair out with the notation, ”NUTS AHEAD”, welcome to CRAZY VILLE..

For Mussaffa truly is full of nuts and the next ten hours are about pulling one’s hair out….Crazy best describes the road system and the drivers.

Draw a  map of the Mussafa Industrial Zone (M.I.Z) and there comes a point where you just have a stack of lines veering off one another….there are no street names here….

I tried explaining to a supplier yesterday, go straight on 16^th street, turn left onto 13^th street then turn left into…well just turn left then right, then second right and well after that follow your nose….. We are the factory that smells nice…!!!

Moving to Abu Dhabi I had visions of the grand Emirates Palace, the modern structures of grandeur that fill the Internet, ideas of YAS island and so many glistening buildings of grandiose design that we have all seen and been impressed by in real estate magazines.

Mussaffa, well, it is like an arm pit …. Necessary , serves a purpose but not the kind of place you want to spend eternity….

And we won’t we are moving on within a year or so, currently working out a new kitchen plan and building the kitchen of dreams to take our endeavor ever forward…..

For now at least Mussaffa has one great asset…………………………………….. hang on, I’m thinking……………….oh yes……………....we get Radio 2 from Dubai, which is truly heaven on earth….

They play such fantastic music….and they have the greatest morning team to ever hit the airwaves...seriously funny duo that makes mornings worthwhile again.......after 7 years of radio dribble in another land....

There are days when I’m working long and hard and even tired I feel like I’m an apprentice once again working in the back pastry area of OSCARS restaurant on the Gold Coast, age 14 and just starting my apprenticeship… Don henley's Boys of Summer and Pharaohs by Tears for Fear, Vienna by Ultravox and U2 where all the big thing and to hear them again today….makes this maddening chaos all worth while…

Some days , living in the armpit of the UAE just isn’t so bad ….I close the doors to the kitchen, put on my chefs jacket and rock around the kitchen like a 14 year old…..and thus I join the citizens of NUTS VILLE , which we all  lovingly call the Mussafa Industrial Zone.... Being nuts has never been such fun....

NEW KITCHEN COMING ALONE - WHY CHEFS ARE PERFECT

There really is no greater excitement for a chef than building a new kitchen.
Everything as you want it, everything where it should be and the tools you want, where you want them. Draw all this up and put it on paper for the contractors and builders to perform their skills and deliver on their promise and VOILA.....
The kitchen you never ordered.... ?
You know the reason why I have so much belief in chefs and pastry chefs in this world is that we are about the only people left who actually have to deliver everything EXACTLY as the client wants it or we get huge trouble for it. Chef's can't deliver late, we can't deliver sub-standard work, we can not substitute products for something else and we can't say we are out of stock !! Chefs should rule the world !
I went and spoke with a Equipment Rep yesterday, I told him I wanted the R5 he looked up the R6, Why, .....because he gets a bigger commission from selling me the R6 for sure, not the one I really need or want or the one that best suits y kitchen!!
Contractors look at your requirements, think for themselves and deliver whatever they want, a chef has to deliver a dish of food as the guest perceives it, value for money or greater value than they pay in most cases,and within 15-20 minutes or LOOK OUT....if there is not enough salt we have to hear about it......for a contractor if their is ONE CRACKED TILE I complain and he thinks I should get over myself !!!!
Anyway,Thankfully all is working to plan now and  just letting you know that the kitchens are about ready despite some delays and the store too is absolutely gorgeous....New three deck oven is in transit, as is...well.... pretty much everything else...

A view of Hot Zone ! Except for the other hot zone which will will have our new three deck ovens. And before anyone mentions it, yes the hand wash sink is getting all the additions to it soon !!! Remember we are still building !! ha ha

Teasing you with a picture but you'll have to wait, Kitchen move in Date is May 31st  and the PRECISE LAUNCH DATE OF THE STORE NOW IS JUNE 11th...INSHALLAH

Writing that COOK BOOK !!

Interested in writing a cookbook?
Then here is a few words of advice on what to look forward to and what to prepare for when doing so...from someone who has written 15 cookbooks over 20 year period spanning self publishing to the largest publishing houses in the world.
Good luck !!
Article appears in the newest magazine to hit the online world, THE WORD.. Currently online and soon to be on book shelves everywhere...
Enjoy !!

http://www.thewordmagazineonline.com/the-word/booking-the-cooks/

COOKING SCHOOLS - Investing in yourself and your Career !!

I read an online comment by someone recently that stated "Don't waste your money on overpriced pastry schools." 
Seems the person took negatively to the comments I had also posted on LinkedIn advising a young new comer to the industry about the schools in which I have had the pleasure to train and learn...
Yes,"Pastry Schools" are not cheap...but instead of thinking of this as an expense, think of it as an investment..!!
Once you have trained in any given trade, the learning does not END on the completion of a four year apprenticeship...
In fact it really has only just begun.
I have been cooking now for 3O years and the reason I try to go to a cooking school "somewhere" other than my home area every year, is not really just to get educated, I think after 30 years I have a pretty good grasp of the whole Pastry trade, but mores the reason I go to School every year is to re-learn and remind myself of the skills that working hard and fast in our industry can remove from you...
I invest in reminding myself that taking time and care in production ends with better production methods, smoother flow of production and greater volume of production.
I go to remind myself the reason little tricks where taught to me 30 years ago and the reason some tricks should never be forgotten.
I go to remind myself that trends change in a heart beat and finally I go to remind myself exactly why after 30 years I am still in love with pastry....because it is simply amazing to create food people adore every day.

Many people expect the career they choose to just reward them with ever increasing incomes year after year, but even a bank account or investment never grows unless you invest into it... The more you give the bigger the reward.
And thats why I go to school every year.
To invest in a richer future for myself and for my customers and clients.
There is no such thing as a "wasted investment" in my eyes, if you are serious about your trade. We can never learn enough, we are simply not on the planet long enough to ever  know enough and even if a skill is not learnt then sometimes the richer reward can simply be to show you that you are better than you imagined.
I for one will always "INVEST" into my self, invest in my career and invest in the taste possibilities for my customers because after 30 years, they all deserve nothing less.
In the words of MARK TWAIN....“Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned.” and I could not agree more.


My favorite school for value for money and value of education is as mentioned on this site before BELLOUET CONSEIL... I love their professionalism, the ease of classes, the acceptance that we are all professionals and the fact that they have always made me feel comfortable despite the sometimes language divide.. ECOLE Bellout Conseil now headed by JEAN MICHEL PERRUCHON is one of the leading book publishers for our global industry today and their books are as precise and clean, methodical and clear as their classes. Class notes can be provided in English and French and some lecturers have understanding of both languages. (http://www.ecolebellouetconseil.com/) check their link for the lecturers....I have been going to Bellouet for many years now and their professionalism is second to none.

THE ECOLE BELLOUET CONSEIL TEAM

If Paris is too far then I have it on great note that SAVOUR School for Pastry and Chocolate,(http://www.savourschool.com.au/)...featuring internationally trained, and award winning chefs, Kirsten Tibballs, Paul Kennedy and Robyn Curnow host classes and international chefs (Some of the best chefs in the Pastry world) who conduct classes on their premises. Savour is also just releasing its own cookbook and for those who find the Australian state of melbourne closer and cheaper than flying to Paris, you will be rewarded by a city equally as delightful with just as numerous pastry shops to choose from for added education.

THE SAVOUR TEAM

EDUCATION is never wasted, sadly too few people invest in themselves and into their careers to truly get the rewards and bonuses that they could so easily achieve, and those that do, well , the world truly is their's to rule.

GREAT THINGS....just getting started !!!

Great Things …just getting started. !!!

I apologise to those who where following this blog as to my apparent absence for the past few months….but things are about to change folks…we are almost there…!!!

According to an old saying…”all good things come to an end”…and the same could be said for the time of my life I have just been through…it has been amazing…travel to many countries, Vietnam, Philippines, Korea, Canada, USA and the delicacies of so many cultures, fun with friends, time to write and yet again I was published…this time not food and not a solo venture.... but a collaboration with 50 other talented writers…Check out MY BEAUTIFUL BAHRAIN (http://www.bahrainwriterscircle.com/my-beautiful-bahrain/)... and I even bought myself another home to live in …. in yet another country where I do not reside (exactly, how many does a single guy need!!!)…. But you know what….I MISS COOKING SO MUCH !! ...and I really miss customers !!!

Truth is… I have been cooking ....A LOT…but just not commercially !!!.

We have been searching the globe for the right ingredients, looking for the new and the creative in products and equipment and eating plenty , building relationships with our suppliers and testing the products we want to use while simultaneously building our new premises for the new store and the kitchen…

The staff are ready and within days we will be putting the final touches to everything...... Launching soon (a month or close to)  will be the new Patisserie in Abu Dhabi….and I could not be more excited…...….Good things may come to an end, but GREAT THINGS…well they are just about to get started …. Coming soon, the new concept, No names, no locations just yet as it will all be revealed soon enough.....but the first store is open and soon after we hope for stores in multiple locations ,  already there are  two more planned and a solid track for great performance is on coarse…stay tuned for the exciting pics, desserts and commentary of what we are up to….and thank you so much for your patience……. It will be rewarded…!! soon.....

Chestnut and chocolate tart with Vanilla Brulee and fresh figs

Flourless Chocolate and Apple Breakfast cakes

Tartlettes de Marron Glace 

Petit gateau Halwa