“Hi, my name is Rebekah
Gerdes and I went to Las Vegas to volunteer at The 2012 World Pastry Forum.” The
key thing I learned was that communication (and not just verbal) is the key to success.
With both the organization who was in charge of the event but even in the teams
who were competing and with the demo classes. Watching teams and different
nationalities blew my mind. I was amazed
to see how different and unique every single one was. Which you would think is
an obvious thing that I would have realized, but I never really did until
seeing the stark difference between them standing side by side. Watching the
difference in those from Japan (doing demos) and then those from the
Netherlands and the U.S was crazy. Neither of them necessarily better than the
other, but just different. While each team worked like a “well oiled machine”
together, those leaving the greatest impression on me were those from Japan. In
the demo class, Chef Kinjaro and his assistants blew me away. Their mise en
place was heavenly and each person knew and was one step ahead- ready for the
next move without anything needing to be said. A simple head movement or eye
contact was all that these professionals needed because everyone knew their
place and what they were suppose to do next. The tension in the room wasn’t
high, but it wasn’t something that people were laughing in- people were on the
edge of their seats, waiting for the next move wondering what they could possibly
do next, constantly being blown away….or maybe that was just me? And everyone
there (from all the different nationalities) has their support team. To me, Japan
was like watching The karate kid: Hidden Culinary, Crouching Desserts. They had
their original boss there to support them, the old sweet Japanese sensei. It
was intriguing to say the least. Then you skip over to the next demo where the
guys from the Netherlands are jumping on every chance to get the crowd
laughing. They were more free style (but still had everything together). They brought
the crowd up, made them engage in the demo and included them in on ‘traditions’
from their country and left everyone feeling light hearted and in love with
them through their smiles and good-hearted nature.
I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great
people…and not so great ones. We had to deal with a lot of unnecessary drama during
the time volunteering there, and I was about ready to call it quits and just
enjoy the expensive trip I took down there instead of going in every day and
dealing with more crud. But I stuck with it, because there really isn’t a
single bone in my body that allows me to quit in anything I committed to. Plus,
I do love a challenge. So I kept going, and the last 2 days of the actual competition
blew my mind even more than just the demo classes. Again, Team Japan took every
single box, every thought, every idea, every single thing I’ve ever seen in
this profession and replaced them with complete awe and amazement. They took the
time allotted and saw it as something to use to their advantage, and they did.
The only comparison I can think of is if the Eifel tower had been completed in
a day instead of 2 years. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggerations, but they
literally dominated that competition, and though it wasn’t exactly my style,
they gained all my respect and then some.
Through the chaos of un-organization
I was able to attend a few wonderful demo classes with famous professional chefs-
one of them being a class taught by Bernd Seifert on gelatos. It was cool
because I had to miss a week of my frozen custards and desserts class. He took
gelatos to the next level. He not only added spicy things (like hot sauce) to
it, but he also plated these smooth, delightful gelatos in ways I wouldn’t have
thought someone would do. I had always just thought of gelato as something you
throw in a bowl and chow down on. I’m sure he’d be so beside himself if he had
known this. He created dessert masterpieces with the gelato as the base, not
just as the side attraction that has a nice taste to it, but you don’t get much
of. I believe it was Bernd that also said something that stuck in my mind,
though this probably not word for word what he said, it was my understand of
what he was saying- “the dessert world has a whole different level that we have
to uphold to because the desserts are just the things that come after everything
and not everyone will want because we have to follow the Main Course Mafia. So,
we have to prepare something that is not only going to blow your guests away with
taste and presentation but also leaving them with a greater impression of
desserts than they ever had before”. Again, I was blown away.
Now, I know I did quite
a bit of complaining about this trip during and after I got back, but after
sitting down and writing about everything that I took away from it, I really do
see how beneficial it was. I made a few connections, I saw the “great dessert
gods” in a way I would have never seen them before. I had gained a new respect
for every nationality of desserts and have decided that no matter how many
times I may fail, I will be failing while doing the things I love most- to
create masterpieces, to enjoy life, and to travel the heck out of this small
world to learn every single baking/pastry/dessert from around the globe that I
could get my fingers on. This trip reminded me that I am the only one that can
do something great with my life, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. It
may not be glamorous to other people, heck, I may end up just serving out of this
world dessert in soup kitchens, but whatever it is, it will be with what I love
to do. And that to me is the feeling I get when watching people eat something incredible
that I’ve made, watching them take that trip down heavenly taste bud lane and
seeing the expression on their faces while going down it. I have this talent
for a reason, and I’m not saying that in a cocky or proud way, I just intend on
using this super power to bring joy and happiness (and of course sarcasm) to
anyone who stands in my way. So watch out world! One extra large dose of sarcasm,
awesomeness, and sheer deliciousness is coming your way!
