Baking (& dancing) my way into the New Year!
Hello Hello Hello! I feel like time is speeding by and I barely have a few minutes to reflect on all of the great things happening! Time for an update, y'all!
With the New Year in full swing, I wanted to update the blog and keep everyone posted on what's been up!
Let's start with the end of 2016...
In November, I took part in an awesome event. Every year, Sojourner House hosts a huge masquerade ball to raise money & awareness against domestic abuse. Along with this, RI Food Fights has been hosting a cake competition during the event based on the theme that year. So....a good cause, cake, and a party? Obviously, I was all for it when asked to participate. I absolutely love living in a state that is so supportive and tight knit. I partnered with the guys from Rogue Island and we entered the competition. In order to participate, I had to make a cake centered around the theme of Havana Nights, and also make a few sheet cakes to serve to guests. I'm a huge fan of themed cakes and working on detailed things, so I was excited to begin.
I have to admit, my family was a huge help with this. Every time I have a large project to work on, my family is right on board. So it's not surprising that with the days leading up to the event, we had some sleepless and goofy nights in the Gray household. My dad has always been so creative and we think in a similar way, so he helped me mold the idea for the cake and really bring it to life. He's a rockstar. As my nights were spent working hard on cake details, my days were spent baking away at Rogue, including three sheet cakes for the event. I made one chocolate/peanut butter, one vanilla/rapsberry, and one chocolate/caramel. I had great feedback on them, and plenty of cake to go around, so it was a good night!
I obviously had to add in a few candid snaps from the cake adventure. Big ups to Poppa Gray and Tyler for helping me out in this photo. My beautiful mother was also a huge help throughout the process. Can't thank them enough. Also huge shoutout to my Rogue family for helping in every way possible- even driving this massive cake through the city of Providence in the bed of a truck (Chad, you're the man for cake sitting and riding back there). Ryan, the owner of Rogue Island, worked the event with me, along with my awesome big brother. The support I have is overwhelming and fantastic. I can't thank any of you enough.
Although we didn't finish first in the competition, I'm really glad I took on the challenge with the guys of Rogue. Ryan, Bill, and Chad are extremely supportive of everything I do pastry wise- I couldn't ask for a better team. It was something new and exciting...and we definitely got our name out there in a new way! I decided to make the tiered cake into a mountain, with the city of Providence below, tailored around the Havana Nights theme. You'll notice Rogue on there, The Biltmore, Sojourner's House, and even a mini waterfire! At the top of the mountain, I added a scenic overlook with a car and some extra palm trees. I was really pleased with the final product!
With the competition over, holidays were in full swing. I was excited to dive into some new orders and work on some exciting things at Rogue. We had many holiday parties at the restaurant so I was busy through the holiday season and the New Year celebrations. Check out my Instagram for some fun snaps of holiday desserts that I worked on!
I rang in the New Year with a pretty fun order. A local author by the name of Rachel Hoffman released her awesome book on January 3rd. She got in touch with me to make some donuts for her book release. We immediately connected over her laid back "donuts & booze' vibe that she was aiming for and I was beyond excited to make some tasty creations for her. On that day, I delivered 75 donuts to her book launch at the Cranston Barrington bookstore. She decided on half of the donuts to be maple bacon, and half to be chocolate raspberry. The maple bacon were bacon brioche donuts with a maple glaze and chopped bacon on top, while the chocolate raspberry were chocolate brioche donuts with a raspberry glaze (I'm getting a little hungry while typing this...).
The donuts were a huge hit and so was her fantastic book! I picked up a copy myself because ya girl could totally use some of this advice. I love it! I'll just leave a little link here for the website, you know,,,just in case ;) I highly recommend it!
With 2017 now just beginning, I'm so excited for the future. I've been in touch with some of you about some really great cake designs and ideas for some crazy cool treats. I'm looking forward to meeting you all, making some new connections, and testing the boundaries of the pastry world with each of you.
Thank you all so much for your continued support. To wake up every day and fall in love with my job all over again is such a blessing. I promise I'll be posting up on here more often with some really great things in the works. Just wait until you see what I've got in store!
Stay Sweet,
Morgan
http://www.sojournerri.org/
https://twitter.com/RIFoodFights