27.7.13

So Good #10


Hello again. Long time no see! I feel like I've just logged back in to my long dormant neopets account to find all these poor hungry pets waiting to be fed. Apologies for the long hiatus, hopefully I can make it up to you all with a gorgeous new recipe today.

It has been a pretty interesting few months to say the least. I've just returned to Jakarta from a sojourn in New York City where I braved its frosty winter to gather inspiration and study restaurant management at ICC. It was surreal to finally visit the bakeries and restaurants I've been dying to check out from my nightly stalkings of grubstreet and eater. It was 5 glorious months of bagels, pretzels, pork buns, cupcakes and cocktails with a little shopping and bootcamp on the side to balance it all out.

Babycakes, Momofuku Milk Bar, Magnolia Bakery, Georgetown Cupcake, Dominique Ansel's CRONUTS.. Oh, it sure was hard to leave the 'States. But with all the sweetness and indulgences of New York City, it was Tartine Bakery in San Francisco that truly stole my heart with the best d*mn toasted sandwich and croissant of my life.

Talking about amazing foods, I trust that you all are familiar with So Good magazine by now? A biannual publication aimed at professionals of the pastry and dessert industry, it remains as the best source of inspiration to me. The magazine's features of the best pastry chefs and their recipes is an indispensable resource for us kids just starting out. Through the step-by-step explanations and interviews, we can learn about the man/woman behind the wonderful desserts and their creative processes.

Now, after hearing how amazingly important this magazine is to me, imagine my reaction when I received an email from them about featuring me and my blog on their next issue about 6 months ago. I think I frantically called about 4 people to freak out about it before realizing I may have been jinxing the good fortune by blabbing about it (haha). So I put the phone down, knocked on a bit of wood, and just smiled giddily for the rest of the night.

Months of nervous days and nights ensued in anticipation for the release of So Good #10. But now that it is finally out, I am grateful and excited! I can't believe I was given the opportunity to be able to be in the same issue as my idols Philippe Conticini and Frank Haasnoot, both of them are legendary pastry connoisseurs. Though I am unworthy of such honor, I will work hard to one day be more deserving of such recognition.


Here's the recipe that was featured in the magazine. If you want to read about the story behind this cake, you can buy the magazine HERE and read the article for yourself, eh. They ship around the world, and they're not a huge company or anything, just some girls and guys really passionate about pastry. They would be very appreciative of your support of their publication.

OK. Talk again soon, buddies. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.


x Tal