Times are tough for a lot of people these days...with low paying jobs, part-time only jobs or no job at all, people are trying different ways to make money.

I have been going online to see if there are any food contests that I could maybe whip up something for to… Read full post »

Bathroom business and stomach issues are a touchy subject for many people.  Everyone has had a killer chili dog or a bad stomach day at one time or another.   Many also know that having the runs or any kind of bowel issue is embarrassing, laughed at or just not talked about. … Read full post »

Yesterday my body was still recovering from the nearly 300 covers we had at the restaurant for Mother's Day.  For those who have read past blogs, I have always mentioned the physical pain I feel constantly after being in the kitchen.  Restaurant work is hard...but I see my co… Read full post »

Last time I wrote my blog, I was in the land of misfit chef's.  It's been weeks since then am I am still in that land but although I am still an outcast here, I am practicing things on my own at home that are affordable to make and that have… Read full post »

I have only more more day until my job trail at the restaurant"Craft' and for the first time in more than a decade I am borderline terrified.  Why?  I am busting my tart off and working as fast as I can and still I'm not getting good reviews… Read full post »

Last Sunday I made it through brunch service and did a little bit of prep work without any major incidents or a melt down! Aside from service, I made a chocolate crumble and it came out AWESOME!  Congrats to me I say!  For the first time I set my nerves and… Read full post »

Just hours after I had posted my blog last week,  I started to feel bad again.  The pain in my body worsening as well as my spirits.  No Christmas movie was helping me either.  How quickly my mood had changed in just a matter of hours...I felt despair...sadness and started thinkin… Read full post »

I woke up yesterday feeling dejected and frustrated with myself and without any energy to get up out of bed, let alone go out on a cold night for desserts.  However I had to go.  Chef Vera Tong who previously worked at Dovetail and whom I had the priveledge of working… Read full post »

Yesterday I went to work at the restaurant at 8am raring to go and happy my right wrist wasn't in pain anymore. Then I saw a note from my chef who said she was not coming in.  The beads of sweat started to form.  “Really? Holy Sugar!”  Ok Ylia…breathe, you can… Read full post »

Yesterday I went on a trail for a job as pastry cook for a restaurant downtown in the village called 'One If By Land'. 

As the day progressed I kept getting more and more anxious about what task I was going to have to do, (I mostly… Read full post »

This past weekend I worked at the restaurant for the first time not as an extern but as an employee.  Friday was a bit iffy.  I still felt a  bit out of sorts.  Those darn nerves and the desire to be perfect always throw me off. 

Sunday however went well. … Read full post »

It's hard to believe the year is ending already and what a year it has been.  In the beginning I was trying to get into Pastry School which I did finally.  Then  I was trying to learn all the math and technical things that went along with baking...sweating it out and… Read full post »

Another two weeks in my externship has gone by and I continue to have my…”Ok, I’m doing decent…good job Ylia” and “Jeesh, I suck at this” moments.  In the beginning of the week, I got all choked up after not reading the recipe right and using grams ins… Read full post »

Yesterday as I was walking to my externship, I passed by the playground that’s located on the same block and once again heard the children laughing, screaming, playing and having fun.  I sighed and smiled.  I remember being that energetic, alive and full of sunshine and I tried to tak… Read full post »

Life is full of obstacles...we all know this.  Some obstacles are tougher than others to get through, and everyone deals with obstacles differently. Truth is, you never really know how you're going to deal with something until it happens to you.

I've always dealt with obstacles differently each t… Read full post »

Since I've graduated from school, I have been trying to find excuses to use my beautiful Copper Pearl colored Kitchen Aid that I was fortunate enough to purchase thanks to my loving boyfriend Matthew who is a Biscotti fanatic and loves to have them with his morning coffee.

It is actually… Read full post »

It's hard to believe that the last time I wrote an entry in my blog, I was already two months into my pastry classes at the Institute of Culinary Education.

Since then I have finished and graduated!  It was tough though.  Baking from a box or baking small things such… Read full post »

Some businesses close, some streets become deserted at a certain time of the day.  Loud noises are emitted from bars and restaurants, people call in sick to work.  It has nothing to do with a war, nothing to do with a curfew imposed; it all has to… Read full post »

At first I really wasn't interested in watching the movie Avatar.  The trailers looked decent but these days I need a little more than killer graphics to reel me in to watch.  I heard the reviews and comments from people who had seen and loved it.  Then I read some articles… Read full post »

When the year 2010 started I figured it was a fresh start.  Time to do new things and step outside the box....outside that 'comfort zone' that soo many people are afraid of.  My first task was to move on from the career that I stuck with for 10… Read full post »

When I started the new year, I was positive.  Postive things would be different.  Positive I could keep up the cheery attitude and power through any obstacles that would come my way this time.  This time I said things would be different. 

Sadly they have not been.  Sadly I h… Read full post »

How to stop hating yourself.  A question asked by many I'm sure given the fact that this question is asked and answered on google.com, yahoo.com and other sites.  This is also something that has been looked at as a new years resolution for 2010.  

The major question here though is..how… Read full post »

Going back to school, I've mentioned my desire of this plenty of times already.  However what I didn't realize was the many steps I would need to take that would make me stop and get frustrated like I did when I was in school years ago.  

Filling out a FAFSA… Read full post »

My list of challenges is almost complete.  Complete in the sense that I will have a complete list to work from.  

1)     Go to Pastry School (working on getting in)

On this frigid morning my alarm went off and I practically jumped out of bed because I was soo excited that I was finally going to get a tour of one of the pastry schools I've been interested in.  Excited to see the facilities, excited about possibly going there and starting… Read full post »