Interview with Maisie Parrish - Queen of Characters

At 73, Maisie Parish is not your regular granma.  Retired from a career in sales, 12 years ago, Maisie took her salt dough hobby and turned it into a new career in sugar dough sculpting.  

In the last few years, there has been a boom in demand for sugar-based figurines.  Sugar Dough sculpting has become a unique and personalized detail to any cake or centerpiece.  Maisie’s influence, in this boom, is unmistakeable.  Anyone of her 2 salt dough or 8 sugar dough books can be found on the shelves of all who dedicate their lives to sugar and fondant.  Her technique and style are as unique as she is - this, being her number 1 basis for her success:  “Anyone looking to make a name for themselves must create a unique style that set s them apart from anyone else”, insists Maisie.

Maisie at La Tienda Americana,
in Madrid

When I asked Maisie about what inspires her, she said:  “My inspiration comes from a higher me.  I never look at what other people are doing, nor do I want to copy anything or anyone”.  Indeed, this ability to create even had Disney knocking at her door to create her very own line of characters, sold at Epcot Center.  Creating from within is second nature to her.  She once thought that everyone had this ability.  It wasn’t until much later, when she asked one of her most talented employees to create a whole new line of products,  that she found out that although, many can work beautifully and make wonderful things, some only have the ability to copy and are incapable of creating.  As Maisie explains it, her skills, talent and creativity are a result of a self-taught art form, dedication to developing it, seeking within for ideas and believing in herself through the journey. 

Without a doubt, Maisie’s creativity is what sets her apart and has helped to forge her second career to international heights.  Maisie’s travel/teaching plans for this year include Holland, Belgium, France, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Australia (to name but a few places) with a possible trip to Canada, as well!  She confessed that she quite enjoys her fame and is, as a result, most proud of her published books.  (Maisie also does demos, teaches classes and has an upcoming 3 1/2 hour double-disk DVD on Facial Expressions coming out, this spring). 

My personal note:  

Meeting Maisie was quite inspiring.  Apart from her glowing kindness, serenity and sweet nature, Maisie is a woman who’s done it all on her own:  she started over a new career at 61, launched and ran the company Maisie Dough for 8 years, employing several employees, before re-inventing herself again (giving up the corporate approach to her art and the long work hours that went with it) and deciding to continue doing what she loved best, for herself.  Maisie’s career is now about how she truly wants to spend her time;  demonstrating her skill, teaching others how to find themselves in sugar art, and writing books so that all of us can learn the art of sugar sculpting.  

Most impressively, Maisie proves that it is never too late for any of us to learn a new skill, start fresh and make our mark in the world.  

Thank you, Maisie!

Find Maisie’s books on Amazon, at www.maisieparrish.co.uk or www.maisiparrish.com .  Classes are available at her Workshop in Stoke-on-Trent in the UK or, maybe even near you!  If you missed her in Madrid, don’t worry - she will be back next year!

My interview with Maisie was graciously held at La Escuela Wilton on Paseo Francisco de Sales, 5, in Madrid.  Loleta and her wonderful team can provide you with all of the best equipment and ingredients for “American baking”, sugar crafting, fondant cakes and other hard to find baking essentials.  At La Escuela Wilton, there are also many series of affordable classes to teach, even the most unexperienced novice, how to create beautiful cakes, cookies and so much more.  

What you get out of Chef School

Six months ago I made the decision to quit my job and go to Chef School.  Chef School had been a dream of mine since I was 18.  I worked in restaurants, bars and hotels around the world doing everything from hosting, to managing.  Hospitality work was fun, but I always knew that I did not want to spend my life in it.  The hours are long, you work on your feet... and customers are not always the kindest people of your day.  So, when I made the official decision to go to Chef School, everyone's first question was:  "will you work in a restaurant afterwards??"

The answer is: "no".  I do not want to give up my evenings and weekends to a restaurant job. "So why go to Chef School, then?"  was everyone's next question.

I must admit that as I signed my school admission - transferred over a large sum of money, and handed in my resignation... this last question echoed in my head.  "Why am I going to Chef School?"  I know how to cook.  I've read countless food books.  I create from my head, imitate what I taste and see quite accurately.... so, what was I hoping to get out of it?

Today, it all became clear.

Three weeks into the most exciting time of my life, today, I picked up one of my many cupcake books and read over the recipe to get everything ready... I immediately saw some errors in the recipe and remedied them as I mixed the batter. 

My cupcakes turned out great.  The Vanilla cupcakes were actually whitish in colour (the ones in the picture were a dark golden brown).  The cupcake turned out super light and spongy and so delicious (the ones in the picture were flat and deflated). 

I'm not trying to pat myself on the back in a public forum... the message I am trying to convey is that Chef School is teaching me something that all of the cookbooks I ever read never did.  Chef School is teaching me the chemistry behind the ingredients, the true basics of cooking and baking, and creating in me an innate intuition about food. 

In class, three weeks in, many are complaining:  the recipes are too tough or too easy.  The chef is too quick or too slow.  the recipes are boring and outdated.  My only complaint is that half the class spends there time chatting amongst themselves rather than listening.  I am sitting at the edge of my seat, every single minute of the day, soaking in all of the information I can get, picking the Chef's brain about every single detail, and being a pain in the butt, in my very own way, to everyone in class who isn't as 100% fascinated by it all as I am. 

For my daily Top 10 lists of things to know on cooking and baking, please go to one of my other 2 blogs:

http://www.thesavourychef.com/

http://www.hotbaker.com/

My (corrected) Vanilla Cupcakes
Cream 110grs of unsalted Butter (room-temperature) with 225gr of Sugar.
Add 3 medium-sized eggs, one at a time.
In a seperate bowl, combine 275gr of flour with 1.5 tsp of Baking Powder.
In a jug, combine 120ml of milk with 1.5tsp of vanilla extract.
Add half of the flour into the batter, then all of the milk, and lastly, the last of the flour.

Spoon into muffin cups or a greased muffin tin.  Fill to 3/4 of muffin cup.  Bake at 160ºC (in a convection oven) or 180ºC in a regular oven for about 20mins (inserted toothpick will come out clean OR pressing down on the top of the muffin will spring back to original shape ).

Frost as desired. 

Enjoy!

Launching a new themed blog on French cuisine

I haven't written in a while - preparing my life; the schedules, the kids and the house for our new routine took more out of me then expected... but it was all for a good cause.

Today, I am proud to launch my new blog - http://www.thesavourychef.com/.

The Savoury Chef will cover my personal experience as a Chef Student of the world's most renowned Chef School where I will be learning French cuisine.  Every monday, tuesday and wednesday, I will keep a log of my experiences as career woman who gave up her career to follow a dream, comment on the day's lesson and give a Top 10 list of things to remember when...  And remember to let me know how I'm doing (are my notes helping you, am I covering interesting material, is there anything else you'd like to see from me...)

Please join me on my new blog, and if you haven't already done so, join my Facebook Fan Page... All my postings will be updated daily on Facebook..

Looking forward to reading your comments, seeing you on Facebook and sharing my culinary life with you.

(PS. Vinum et Victus is going to continue as a general collection of personal culinary notes, recipes and techniques for working parents who love food!)

The Appetizer before this year's main Course

In the last month, my life has changed completely;  I quit the longest job I ever had, giving up a nice salary and all the comforts of the employed along with the travel, office politics and mundane beaurocracy. To celebrate this momentous event, I also decided to change the way I look;  I cut off 6 inches of hair and bleached my dark brown hair a light golden blond.  I've also let go of the babysitter and nanny and have exchanged all those hours I used to spend working, for time with my little girls - baking, cooking, playing boardgames and enjoying every minute of it...  The end of the decade also marks the end of a corporate life for me and the only life I've known since becoming an adult.

2011 will be the year of a new Me!  In 10 days I will begin a new professional career by beginning my studies towards le Grand Diplome at Le Cordon Bleu.  For 9 months, I will be waking up to spend the day doing what I love to do - cooking - and learning how to do it bigger and better.  2011 will mark the year I live out one of my biggest dreams. 

I've written about this before, but now that I am officially done with my "old" life and that the new year is upon us, the excitement of my new career has me bubbling with thoughts of future possibilities and visions of culinary accomplishments and it is making it impossible for me to get any sleep (its 3:47AM, now, and I had to get up to write this, in the hopes that getting it out might finally let me get some rest). 

Am I crazy?

I feel like a  teenaged girl who has just been asked to prom by the coolest guy in class, or like someone whose just sold their house for more than the original sales price - or as if I just found the Christian Loubouting classic Black Leather stilettos for 50€ (as opposed to the 600€ price tag they normally carry) - or like I've just eaten the most delicious Appetizer ever and I know that it pales in comparison to the Main Course that I see making its way to my table.  If you can relate to any of these examples, you would know but a fleeting moment of happiness compared to what I am experiencing.  And this is a feeling I hope everyone gets to enjoy one day.  I only wish that everyone who reads this gets inspired to follow their dream(s). 

OK... I got it out of my system.  Now, back to bed to see if I can finally get some sleep.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you! 

May 2011 bring you happiness, good food, and all your dreams come true. 

xoxoxo