Hi everyone!
No recipe today as I’m still recovering a bit, but an interview with a blogger whose blog I love: I love cakes. Valérie’s blog is a clever blend of North American inspiration and classic French pastry that’s very much like me, which is why I find myself in her recipes.
What’s more, she chose to retrain after obtaining her CAP and I thought her story would be very interesting for those who want to take the plunge.
Make way for Valérie!
– Hello Valérie, could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your blog?
Hello Camille, thank you for giving me the floor on your blog, which I really like. So my blog I Love Cakes, I created its first version in 2008 following a trip to Ireland. It was the first time I’d ever traveled, I loved it and when I got back I wanted to dive deep into my passion for baking. My blog is my way of showing what I like, what I try, it’s really a reflection of who I am. I think my character really shows in my writing 😉
Note from Camille: Yes, yes, we thought we detected that in the little nickname given by your boss “fucking bitching shit” 😛
– What do you think sets it apart from other food blogs?
The difference between me and other blogs… It’s a complicated question, but I think I put a lot of heart into what I do, into the photos (Oh la la when I see the ones at the beginning…) and I don’t do any advertising. I wanted a pretty blog with a North American influence, and that’s what I specialize in: a mix between two worlds to keep only the best of both.
NdC: I’m SO jealous of your photos, I hope to achieve this level of compo one day! 😉
– What’s your favorite recipe? Your readers’?
Well, that’s easy, my favorite recipe is Key lime cheesecake, which reminds me of my trip to Key West in 2013 and my birthday. My readers’ favorite, by far, is the Starbucks-style blueberry muffins. It’s a great copy and I love them too!
NdC: Given my passion for lemon, I’ll have to try the Key lime cheesecake then!!!!
– You took the CAP as an independent candidate. Can you tell us about your experience?
So, in fact, I wasn’t a free candidate but a trainee with a training agreement. In other words, I wasn’t an apprentice, because I did my training via Pôle emploi. They paid me (so I didn’t cost the company anything), but I had to pay for my training myself, and two years of CAP and honours is not something everyone can afford.
I did my CAP in a fine patisserie in Grenoble, specializing in macaroons. It was my first experience of working in a pastry shop and I’ll always be grateful to them. I chose a boulangerie pâtisserie for my diploma, because it’s important to change and see different things.
– What advice would you give to those who want to get started?
It’s been said a lot, but cooking and pastry-making have become fashionable professions. A lot of people take the CAP, but the reality is that these are very demanding professions. When you start out, you have to work hard and be aware that it’s a wonderful job, but it’s going to take a lot. My advice would be to do a sandwich course and choose a good company, because that’s what allows you to get into the swing of things straight away and come to grips with the reality of this wonderful profession.
NdC: I completely agree, I took my CAP “for fun” and although I love pastry-making, I can’t see myself making a career out of it. You have to get up super early and it’s very physically demanding, which I didn’t realize before…
– Following your CAP, you made a career change. Can you tell us about this period and what you got out of it? Any regrets, things to avoid? Any advice?
Yes, I wasn’t originally destined for pastry-making. It took me 28 years to find the job that suited me, and now I know that pastry-making is my world, and that’s good! It wasn’t without its difficulties, especially with my temperament, receiving instructions that didn’t always make sense to me, that’s not easy.
During the training, you have to tell yourself that you’re learning the basics and that you’ll do what you really like afterwards. I came out of it much more self-confident, more resourceful, proud of my profession, truly a revelation, but honestly it was my first professional experience that was the most decisive. I found myself head pastry chef in a gourmet restaurant, and I can tell you it’s an incredible job!
Patisserie is a profession where you can do lots of different things (boutique, catering, cake design, setting up your own business…), the important thing is to find which of these “sub-universes” you feel comfortable in. I’m the kind of person who likes to try everything out and see for myself, but it’s up to each person to do what suits them best.
I honestly don’t have any regrets. It may sound cliché, but whether it was changing companies during the course of my degree, or accepting a first job for which I wasn’t sure I was up to the task, I have no regrets. It was a great learning experience, and I’m proud of my roller-coaster ride!
So, after quitting my job as chef de partie, I needed a break, so I moved to Canada. I’m living in Montreal for a few months and then I’m going back to France to spend the winter in a resort with my boyfriend and some friends. What’s next is a long trip to Thailand, after which I’ll either find a job in a pastry shop or look to take over a business. I have to admit that I recently realized that I was going to have to move to France to find a more dynamic city than Grenoble to open my boulangerie-pâtisserie-café, but I’m not sure where yet. Could it be Toulouse? Or Bordeaux? Or maybe I’d like to move back to Canada… To be continued at the end of 2017 😉
NdC: Good luck with all your projects and long live your blog!
