Experimentation

By now, I was experimenting with photography as much as with food. And while I loved the freedom to follow my whimsy in both fields, I craved formal culinary training. I was considering enrolling in a school when I came across an article on the subject by David Lebovitz. Get your feet wet in a kitchen before investing time and money in school, he advised. So, I called up every local bakery and patisserie in our neighborhood, and even tually started working part time at a patisserie called Sugar Butter Flour in Sunnyvale, California. Though grueling— I began my day shift before sunrise—the fast pace was just what I needed. There were lemon tarts to assemble, cream to whip, cakes to be frosted. I was elbow deep in flour and sugar, and I could not have been happier. The pastry kitchen was full of life, a hive of frenetic activity. Here I was, surrounded by people who loved to create food as much as I did, and we lived for the messy chaos of it all.