Renby’s Sugar Shoppe: A gluten-free beginning

It wasn’t too long ago that I hardly knew anything about gluten-free baking. I would bring cookies for my family on holidays and have to tell my three-year old nephew, who had a gluten allergy, he couldn’t have any. It broke my heart. Later I met a friend who became very supportive of my desire to be a baker, despite the fact that his gluten sensitivity prevented him from tasting anything I made. Then a coworker, with whom I’d previously swapped baked goods, developed celiac disease. I’d wanted to try to make him some gluten-free cookies, but I just didn’t know enough about it yet.

It was time to learn.

I googled the beeswax out of gluten-free baking. Starches, flours, gluten alternatives… I tried to learn everything I could. And when I got bored of reading, I took to the kitchen to learn by taste and technique. Several recipes and dozens of cookies later, I had the perfect, moist chocolate chip cookie. It was the first recipe I’d ever built entirely from scratch, and not only was it gluten-free, it was even vegan! I felt good.

Stack o' my first vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

I have always wanted to make a business out of my baking, and now I’m taking my first steps toward that goal. Renby’s Sugar Shoppe was born out of my love of baking and of sharing that love with my family and friends. I don’t want to have to leave anyone out because of a dietary restriction or food sensitivity. And since I know I can’t address every food-related issue in one go, I’m starting by going gluten-free with my recipes. I’m excited about exploring this new territory, and can’t wait to share all the lessons I learn and the treats I make along the way!

Apprenticeship Day 3: Foams

[Blogger's note: This post was originally written on February 19, 2010.]

The production of foams in the pastry kitchen takes up at least an hour daily. As a diner, I’d had the only dessert that doesn’t have any foam on it; all the other desserts do. There are six different ones used on the current menu: lemongrass, argan oil, apricot seed, pear, chicory, and yuzu. All in all we use about 14 quarts of foam per dinner service. I wonder what a bathtub-ful of yuzu foam would feel like.

Except for the argan oil and apricot seed, all the foams are made pretty much the same way. Take some amount of water (x grams… say, 100) and infuse it with a flavor. Buzz it up in a blender and add .20x in sugar (i.e. 20g) to sweeten the liquid. Then add 1% (1g) versa whip and 0.5% (.5g) xanthan gum. Blend until thick, then whip it in a stand mixer until it quadruples in volume. Tada! Foam. They usually remain stable up until the end of the evening before collapsing overnight, only to be rewhipped (if there are any left over) the following day.

A lot of the classically trained externs are not feeling too happy all the different powders the restaurant uses. For some reason, I am unphased so far. I’m just learning about what all of our different chemicals do, but I will try to post about each one as I learn more.

Apprenticeship Day 2: Perfection

The restaurant turns out some gorgeous plates—works of art that, as a diner, I marveled at for long moments before eating them. What I hadn’t considered was that those long, thin strands of lemon zest, tiny green lemon thyme leaves, and perfect blades of micro lemongrass weren’t just readily available garnishes. They came from someone’s hard work in the prep kitchen. And today, that someone was me.

My herb-picking duties were as follows: Take a package each of nepitella mint, micro lemongrass, and hyssop leaves, along with a bunch of lemon thyme. Pick 45 mint leaves, 15 blades of micro lemongrass, 60 hyssop leaves (or clusters of them, if small enough), and enough lemon thyme leaves to sparsely cover the bottoms of 3 pint containers. The leaves must be uniformly sized, a certain shade of green, and have absolutely no bruising or wilting. The lemon thyme leaves must be large enough to be handled by tweezers.

There is a window in the pastry kitchen that looks out into the savory kitchen, where another apprentice was undergoing a similar process with micro greens and micro celery. We were at it for almost an hour.

So after day 2, I have made foams, sauces, and various other components of the restaurant’s beautifully complex desserts. I can’t wait to see how they all get plated together.

Apprenticeship Day 1: Precision

At home, I am a not a precise cook. In my kitchen, everything is nearby, so if I forget about an ingredient or utensil, I don’t have to reach farther than the nearest cabinet to grab it. I measure things into the same containers when I can, and even better if I can measure it out with my hand. I don’t mind when I’m off by a gram or two when scaling things out.

At the restaurant, I am trying to break these habits. There is an upstairs and downstairs kitchen and things are stored everywhere; if you forget something after one trip, get ready for more exercise. Everything is measured out in separate containers and labeled with a piece of green tape (cut straight with scissors, not torn). Everything must be measured precisely. I was tasked with making the brioche dough-based crisps, and I asked the chef a silly question:

“Chef, the recipe calls for 125 grams of eggs and I am at 109 after two eggs. Should I add a third egg and go over the measurement, or stick with two eggs?”

“Neither, chef [Side note: Chef calls everyone else chef, which is pretty cool]. I do not tolerate either. It says 125 grams, and I want 125 grams. Let’s whisk up a third egg and measure out the remaining 16 grams.”

The various proteins and gums have to be measured precisely, as well. The restaurant has a scale that measures accurately to the hundredth of a gram, and it is so sensitive that it starts to wig out if you so much as breathe around it or use it near a vent. The powders fly around everywhere, and it takes some effort to get them to land directly into your measuring container. It took me 5 minutes to measure out a measly 1.25 grams of xanthan gum and was quite possibly the most frustrating moment of the day.

I am cooking in a far different league now.

Chasing dreams in NYC

Yesterday, I officially started as an apprentice at a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. I was eating there on New Year’s Eve when, after asking a million questions about the intriguing food, I was offered the opportunity to work there. What? Work in one of the famous kitchens in the world with renowned chefs?? Heck yeah! So I decided to run down what was left of my time off at work, packed my bags, and settled into a Midtown studio with a friend and her rambunctious cat.

For the next few weeks, I will be writing about my experiences in the restaurant and in New York. I am not going to name the restaurant but should you figure it out, here is my disclaimer: I do not represent the restaurant in any way, nor do I claim to be an authority in the food industry in general. I am just a gal with a blog and a passion for food