In Which my Baking Pays Off

Almost two years ago, I promised myself I would bake something new at least once a week, and write something new once a week: and so, Wacky World and Tashcakes! were born. I've been diligently writing and baking ever since, and becoming more and more proficient at both. My writing has slowly gained me more and more recognition at work, but my baking remained a more personal love, shared with the people closest to me (and of course, I suppose, the anonymous faceless body called the Internet).

Yesterday, I found out that I had gotten though to the finals of Godiva's Chocolate Challenge competition with my praline mousse coeur.

I and four other finalists were chosen over a shortlist of 10, which were chosen from over a hundred entries. All four of us win an expenses-paid 5* trip to Brussels, and this Thursday we'll be put through our paces in Godiva's kitchens in London to bake our chocolate creations for a panel of four Big Name judges for the top prize: a visit to Godiva's chocolate Atelier, and our creation on the menu of Hix Soho for a week. There will also be a few hundred people watching, and apparently the odd journalist. I'm also up against a big name in the food blogging and writing world, a professional baker and a budding chocolatier... making me feel like a bit of a weird outcast wildcard.

I still think I'm having a crazy and weirdly elaborate dream.

Words cannot describe how I'm feeling... and I'm a professional writer. So far the closest I've come is 'excarded' (scared/ excited). Well, I am pretty darn excarded!!

Pinch me.

Ow.

Update: The Whittard Afternoon Tea Blogging Competition

Remember I entered the Whittard of Chelsea blogging competition? Well, I didn't win- but I did get a runner-up prize of three boxes of different teas. Words cannot describe the happy.

Check out pictures of my plunder on my baking blog Tashcakes!

In Which My Obsession with Cake Pays Off

Recently Whittard of Chelsea ran a competition for bloggers, challenging us to write an article about afternoon tea (Whittard's being purveyors of tea, coffee, hot chocolate and all related paraphernalia- therefore being one of my favourite shops). Ten people would be shortlisted and a public vote would be run to pick the winner.

Guess who's been shortlisted?

Please follow this link and leave a comment at the bottom of the page to vote for my entry, which is number 8: 'Why Afternoon Tea is Awesome'. All voters get the chance to win a year's supply of tea, which spices things up a bit too!

I'm so excited! I say my obsession's payed off because although I haven't won yet, I'm still chuffed to have been picked for the final vote. I love writing, and although I write in these blogs for myself first and foremost, it's great to be reminded that my writing is enjoyed by others, too. Plus I've mentioned before in the story of how I won a Christmas in a box that I seldom win things, so I'm excited about that, too.

Look at it this way: the best case scenario is that I win a hamper of tea and coffee, and you win a year's supply of tea- and we can swim up to our eyeballs in caffiene.

Sounds good to me!

Unintentional Gluttony, Brain Freeze and Rest

I revisited one of my favourite places for cake today (which also happens to be the location that this post took place in). I always become a little over-ambitious when it comes to dessert, so I tried to go light on the drink- to no avail.

Also (see, this post isn't just a lazy repost!) the last part of this post's title should really be 'Lack of Rest'. I've been burning my candle at both ends lately, with a full-time job, writing for four blogs in total, baking and recipe-creating for two out of those four blogs, looking into more writing work on the side to build experience and looking into training and courses for myself in my spare time. Then I exercise nearly every day, and snatch a few moments here and there for other hobbies like craft and music (ah the days when all of my spare hours were spent on the piano...) There are, quite literally, not enough hours in the day.

I love being busy, but I thought I was fine with energy levels until today on the tube, when I wandered onto two wrong trains in a row to meet my visiting friend today, and then straight away led her onto three wrong trains in different directions to a place that I go to all the time.

I think it's a sign I need some me-time. Looking at my diary, I think I can book myself a time slot for that sometime in June...

Cooking Up a Storm

My status update from Facebook, 16th February 2013 (late this afternoon):

Covered in jam, banana slime, fish scales and guts. Seems about right...

Today was one of those rare completely free Saturdays. Usually I have someone to see or somewhere to go or both, but today was supposed to be a day to recharge my batteries. Too bad I had too much energy to burn and too many ideas in my head.

And when I have a lot of energy, a lot of ideas and even the slightest amount of free time, I can usually be found in the kitchen.

The morning saw the creation of jam sandwich biscuits, followed by a loaf of banana bread. Then I scaled and cleaned out some trout for dinner. However because I had rather a lot of energy and knew I was being a little ambitious in my culinary adventures time-wise, I sort of whirlwind-ed through the kitchen in a cloud of flour and goo... resulting in the above Facebook status.

Damn though, scaling fish is some serious business.

Friends with Sugar

My friend Vicky was visiting from Germany, and this evening we went to a dessert bar in Chinatown, where we ate a silly amount of cake. Vicky also gets a bit jittery on MSG, so having already been to another Chinese restaurant she was already getting a little bouncy. Me too- I'd just had a drink that was made out of 50% beans and 50% sugar. This didn't matter though- we were ready to tackle this magical place of cake.

By the end of it, we were giggling like idiots at nothing much in a cake and sugar-induced stupor. I was vaguely aware of Vicky beginning to stack the plates up neatly when I heard her declare proudly, "I shall be helpful! Ploop!"

The 'Ploop!' was accompanied by my sugar-crazed friend more or less slam-dunking the chunk of lemon from her half-finished lemon tea back into her mug- out of which tea shot out of in all directions.

I suppose she was helpful in the end, as she mopped all the spilled tea up- I was less so though, because I was too busy laughing like a hyena.

Fearing For The General Public's Health/ How Not To Poison Someone

As some of my friends know, I went on a course yesterday to learn about food hygiene and take the Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene exam (I won't know if I've passed for some weeks to come, but I'm pretty sure I did). This is so that, in the near-but-not-too-near future, I can sell officially (at least, it's a step- and it's going to be a while before I do). I wondered at first if I should do it since I'm entering the GBBO (see my previous post... I reiterate: Ohmygodwhathaveidoneaaaaargh), but I looked at the rules and I don't think it counts as a professional catering qualification. At least I don't think so- you don't get taught how to cook at all, only how not to poison people.

Now, a lot of this course was common sense, like not putting something warm in the fridge or freezer, not storing raw meat above cooked meat in the fridge in case it drips, not picking your nose and then go back to kneading the dough without washing your hands first... all that sort of stuff. There were also more specific things that you would have to be told or read up on to know, like clostridium botulinum bacteria (commonly found on grains like rice) can survive in their spores at water's boiling point and need to be superheated to over 122 degrees C (usually with steam and pressure- which is the process canned foods go through for this purpose) to kill them.

The toxins from clostridium botulinum are also actually used for botox- I knew this already, but then again I am a nerd.

However, regrettably, some people do not seem to posses common sense. A small handful of the people in my 'class' did not.

Bullet point time.

-The instructor asked us 'what does freezing do to bacteria?' One of the men behind me answered 'Ummm... minus twenty-two.'

- The instructor asked the class if anyone present was a first-aider. The guy behind me put his hand up and said 'yeah, yeah, I'm a first-aider.' 'Excellent, you have a certificate?' Asked the instructor. 'Oh, no... I have a first aid box,' he replied.

- Whenever the instructor asked a question in general, a couple of the guys, including these two, were always a few seconds away with their answers (ie, a few seconds after I or someone else had given the correct answer). When 'why do you have to decant food from a tin immediately?' was asked, the guy behind me answered 'because it'll go bad.' When the instructor asked for anyone else to elaborate, I answered 'the air will oxidise the metal and contaminate the food.' A few seconds after I had the first words out, the guy behind me was parroting 'yeah, air... oxidise... contaminate...'

- One guy's phone kept going off (in the stereotypical Nokia theme tune, too). This is a pet peeve of mine, and I really wanted to turn around and hiss at him how rude he was when the instructor was trying to speak to us and to turn his damned phone off, but of course I'm far too British and awkward for that...

-The guy behind me and his friend kept talking to each other whilst the instructor was talking. See above.

- The guy behind me also clicked his pen, tapped his pen, tapped his foot (in fact he had a whole body drum kit thing going on), and ate biscuits abnormally loudly. It was just a jammy dodger, but he made it sound like wet leather slapping on tiles in an echoing cavern dripping with bat guano. Okay, so this doesn't directly relate to someone not having common sense, but it really got my goat

- When asked why blue plasters are used in the kitchen, one guy replied 'So  you can see it and pick it out of the food.' No, my good sir. It's so you can see it and throw the contaminated food away, not serve it to your customers.

- When it was time to do the exam, one guy asked the instructor 'Can we ask you questions?' He was being serious.

You know what though- the thing that really worries me is that people like this pass these exams all the time, and set up food businesses all the time. I can't say I'm that surprised- I have, after all, worked as a silver service waitress part time during uni and I've seen some things go on behind the scenes- but it still makes me quite sad. And more than a little grossed out.

~Fin~

NEWSFLASH

I've submitted my entry for the Great British Bake Off 2013.

Ohmygodwhathaveidoneaaaaargh.