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 Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 10:30 am
Barry was glad to be at work. He had been through a small rough patch, but after a lot of effort and planning, things were working out well for him at last. It took his entire savings, but his bakery was finally taking the shape he wanted.
This space was new and clean, and larger than the last place he had worked from. It had a small dining area for people to enjoy their pastries, and a beautiful display area right as the customers walked in, for all the treats he could imagine. Whatever whim took him that day, he could fill the cases with it and share his passion and delight with the rest of the city.
The kitchen was what made this space really worth the money, though.
There was so much space back there! Enough room for him to work, and make what he wanted, decorate the way he liked to, and make a big mess. But more than that, he could have others there, and conduct lessons or just bake with others, as he found that made him like the whole art even more.
He even had a little sign in the window advertising lessons and showcases, so people could just come and watch the process if they wanted, or do it themselves.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:19 am
Jessie had a bit of time to search for just the right Easter cake. Her folks would be in town and her dad wanted to cook so that left dessert for her to take care off. Since she hadn't seen her mom or dad for several weeks, Christmas at least, Jessie wanted the desert to be just right. She hoped it would at least stem any questions about her personal life. She had a feeling that her dad had an idea what was going on but all her mom cared about is her love life or rather the lack there of. Shaking off her thoughts Jessie stopped in front of a bakery. She had poked into several grocery stores looking at what they offered but nothing really jumped out at her and said 'pick me'. They were all typical chocolate or vanilla sheet cakes, Boston cream pies, and other typical simple cakes. Jessie however wanted something different and studying to bakery through the window she hoped she could find what she was looking for there, even if she didn't entirely know what she wanted. The young woman was about to enter the store when a sign caught her eye. Lessons! A cake made by her own hands would trump anything she could buy but she still hesitated. Every time she tried to cook she made a disaster or something scary looking and she feared this time would be no different. A shop customer walked past her and opened the door, he politely held it open for her making her at least enter the store but as she stepped inside she desired that lesions were at least worth trying. It really couldn't turn out like the charcoal briquette that her cupcakes turned into. She waited quietly as all the customers were dealt with all the while studying the bakery and wondering if she really should try to bake once more. With everyone cared for she stepped up to the counter and quietly asked the gentleman there about the lessons. "I'm interested in the lessons, is it something I need to sign up for or schedule?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 11:47 am
Barry was at the counter, talking to a customer, who had a box wrapped in a colorful ribbon in hand. They looked very happy, but like they wanted to go, while Barry was happily and obliviously chatting away. Finally the customer managed to say good bye, and break away from the counter, laughing as they went.
Barry had a bit of a chatting problem. He just liked to talk to people!
"Hello there!" He said brightly, as Jessie walked up to the counter. He waved at her with honest delight on his face, always glad to see a new customer to get to know. Even if they did not become regulars, he could at least make their one visit good!
When she asked about lessons, though, he looked even more excited.
"Oh, lessons! Well, we can work out a schedule that works for you, if you want to take personal lessons, or I will be offering regularly scheduled classes in a few weeks, for a group! So whatever works for you, really! What are you interested in learning? Have you baked before?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 11:11 pm
Jessie smiled, it seemed that the gentleman behind the counter was rather friendly. Her blush was quite bright at the thought of her creations. "I have. It didn't turn out well and I'm honestly looking for something actually editable." She shuffled in place for a moment before explaining that she didn't really have an idea of what she was looking for, just "looking for something spring like. So far I've only been able to find simple cakes like vanilla or chocolate. Since it's for Easter dinner it just seems to mundane. You don't have any suggestions do you? I don’t have any ideas just not simple like the sheet cakes I’ve found so far." As for lessons, it was entirely possible that he might not want her to return so it might be better to try one lesson at a time. Sadly with her store finding days off were harder and harder to come by. With a glance down at her simple blue jeans and pale yellow tshirt, nothing she would worry about getting messy in. "Sadly it's a bit hard for me to get days off but I do have all day today if you have time to teach me. No time like the present right?" She shrugged shyly and waited to see if the baker would agree to her impromptu lesson.
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:28 pm
"You have come to the right place to learn things, my friend!"
Barry was excited to see that there was someone so interested in baking. The apparent lack of ability was not a deterrent to him: that was what he was here for! If someone was perfect, they would not need him, after all, and he was sure she had the ability to become an amazing baker if she had the drive for it.
"I can show you a few lovely deserts you could make for an English dinner! I have a really cute layer cake that you can decorate with candies, and it's just adorable. I've got time today if you do!"
He smiled brightly. Knowing him, he probably would not even charge her for the lessons, and he imagined she would be happy for that. That was all he was here for, after all.
"I can take you back to the kitchen and show you a couple recipes, if you'd like! And you can show me how you tried to make your efforts before, so we can see what went wrong."
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:36 pm
Lithiasaur sorry about the delay love Jessie chuckled softly, the baker was just as exuberant as she was when dealing with books. It was nice to deal with someone who took their job as a passion not a drudgery that the bakers in the supermarkets did. She clapped in excitement, a candy decorated cake might just do the ticket. Jessie still had tons of candy left over from various projects and she just knew she could come up with a creative design… anything had to be better than the mess she made of the prepackaged, some assembly required, gingerbread house she made. “That sounds perfect, I can’t wait to try it. I can do it right now if you want.” She was already mentally going through all the pictures of decorated cakes from the various cookbooks she had tried cooking from. Jessie knew that the fancy marzipan designs of the wedding cakes were way out of her league but she hoped that she could pull off some of the simpler, yet in a larger scale, of the ‘Hello, Cupcake!’ book. “I really would like that. As for what went wrong I don't really know. One time I left it in too long and it burnt, another time it was mushy in the center. The tastes always seem off and the one edible pie I made apparently tasted so horrible I won a prize for ‘most creative’. I gave up on baking more then cookies and rice crispy treats…” She trailed off as she remembered the horrible mess the treats made and added, “I’m not likely to make the treats any time soon… I am still finding smudges of marshmallow on some of my books.” Marshmallow had to be the glitter of the baking worlds because she would have sworn that she had cleared off all traces of the sugary substance but when she turned around again there was yet another smear, sticky spot, or ant. It was not fun and she truly hated the damage she did to her books, even if it wiped right off and no lasting harm was done.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:35 am
Barry loved meeting people who wanted to bake. Whether they were just doing it for one event, and wanted it to be special, or if they honestly had an interest in making it their career, Barry was more than willing to help them in whatever ways he could.
After all, what good was knowledge about something if there was no one to share it with? Barry did not learn to bake for himself, after all: it had always been for other people. Making them happy with the baked goods themselves, or, if he could, by teaching them.
It was all a joy to him, and gave his days meaning.
"Right now is great! Come on back."
Barry moved to lead her to the kitchen in the back, which he was kind of also showing off a bit. He took a cute pink baking apron and handed it to her as he led the way.
"Well, it sounds like you just need to learn some of the basics, and then you'll be able to avoid messes like that! Honestly, baking is like an art, but there's also a lot of science to it. Once you learn the formulas, though, you'll find a lot of what makes it scary and difficult melts away, and you're left with the fun!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 8:03 am
Jessie followed the baker back into his work area. She came to a stop when she saw just how organized and big I was. There were countless tools and machines, only a few she actually knew what they were. She absently slipped on the offered apron and stepped hesitantly farther into the room. "Yes well after a few memorable accidents my science teacher wouldn't let me be the person to do hands on experiments," she absently walked over to a large stand mixer and added, "I was regulated to documentation which I excelled at." She thoughtfully examined the large industrial size mixing bowl, her hands clasped behind her so she would resist the temptation to play with the buttons. It was only something she would see in tv shows and never actually thought she would in real life. It looked so much bigger here in the kitchen then it did on tv. She turned back to her teacher and realized she didn't know his name. "Oh," she extended her hand and smiled sheepishly, "I'm Jessie Haze. I own The Bookwyrm," she gesture vaguely to the wall behind them, as if to indicate the direction of her store. In actuality she wasn't quite sure where her store was in relation to the bakery. It could have been a few blocks away or on the other side of the city, although that was highly unlikely. "If you ever are looking for a new book just stop on in. We can find nearly anything for you.... Just don't ask for a first edition Gutenberg bible." She smiled at her little joke, not realizing that few would actually get the reference or even think it's a joke. "There is one in the New York Public Library but I don't think it's a first edition. I personally would love to go to Keio University in Tokyo because they do have a first edition and it's the only copy held outside of Europe and North America." Her eyes went a bit distant as she thought about the ultimate travel list she had been creating since she was little. Countless libraries were on it as well as prominent books, and their corresponding locations. One day she would go to see them.... One day.
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 8:29 am
Barry laughed jovially at her story, nodding his head. He had not been a particularly good student, either, and suffered some similar failings as far as clumsiness went. He lived his life in a sort of organized chaos kind of way, and she sounded like she was very similar to him in that regard.
It was not a bad thing, as far as he was concerned!
Even the accident prone could be good at things, at the end of the day. It was all just a matter of overcoming some personal barriers.
"It's very nice to meet you, Jessie! I'm not much of a reader, though. Oddly enough, I spend a lot of my time baking! But I think we should be able to get a little lesson in today, and I'll probably give you a little assignment to try at home, if that's okay? Learning continues outside the classroom, so to speak, but of course it's not required if you don't want to."
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:11 am
His joke went right over her head. Jessie nodded in understanding, after all she didn't read as much as she would like herself and she ran a bookstore. "It does make sense after all you must spend a lot of time baking. If you ever need any books about cooking or baking just stop in. We have some really cute decorating ones as well." She was once more thinking about the cupcake book, she smiled as she remembered that there were a few more by that author. All just as cute and inventive. She had gotten distracted again, this time by the various small tools that were around. At the mention of 'homework' she glanced up briefly before turning back to the mysterious little toy. She would have to do some research to find out what it did. "Oh yes I understand completely. Learning takes time, patience, and practice. Although hopefully my 'homework' turns out okay and not a charcoal brick." She glanced up and smiled brightly. She was having fun so far, and she hasn't even touched any ingredients yet. Maybe she should finagle more free time into her schedule for things like this. "So teach. What's first?" She tried to pull off the contemporary term for teacher but it seemed to fall flat, not that she really noticed.
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:44 pm
Fiction1119 I don't actually know anything about baking so uh. Handwave?
It would be good to support her business, since she was coming to his and giving him something to do, too.
"We'll just get you going on the basics of measuring, recipes and all the boring book work that comes before diving in and making something fresh. I promise we won't linger on it too long! I just want to make sure you have a clear idea of what kind of work goes into a basic baking endeavor! Once we have all that down, we'll just get right to the mixing bowls and ovens. Sound good?"
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 8:22 am
Lithiasaur handwaving is just fine ^.^ we can always wrap up with your post nd do a second one where we do some more baking later or something ^.^ Jessie was only a little crestfallen that they wouldn't just be jumping right into baking some marvelous concoction but she understood why they needed to start at the basics. After all Nietzsche said 'he who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.' The same could be said of baking. She nodded in agreement, a serious and focused look on her face. Jessie didn't want to fail yet again.... This time she would learn to 'stand' rather than just jumping into 'flying'. She looked over at Berry and smiled. It said clearly that she was game for any lesson he was willing to throw her way. "Ready when you are chef."
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:42 pm
Fiction1119 Sure thing! And I'm open to any plots and things he can help with!
Barry was all too happy to have a new student, and did not seem nervous or bashful at all. He was easy going and liked talking to other folks. He also delighted in teaching others, so his true nature was really showing once he got going.
He knew he was talking a bit too much, but that was what she was there for, right? Learning. And that required listening.
And an equal amount of talking!
Soon, though, the lesson came to an end, and he was all too happy to let Jessie go home. He gave her a book to read from, and the 'assignment' of making a batch of box mix cookies. It seemed like a cheat, but it was just a stepping block and a confidence builder.
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