Welcome to my world
What if we compare life to the creation of the perfect recipe for a rich, moist chocolate cake. It all starts with a vision. A dreamy thought about what the end result should look like and how good it must taste. We start our search for the right ingredients and start experimenting with the recipe. We will make mistakes, overbake the cake, underbake the cake, mix the wrong ingredients together, leave certain elements behind, and add others. But most of all, we will learn. Step by step, we will come closer to our vision. Or perhaps this vision has started to look different now too. The perfect chocolate cake of life? I haven’t baked it yet. But I’d love to show you what the recipe of my life looks like thus far. Welcome to my world!
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
C.S. Lewis
A University of Amsterdam media sciences graduate turned into a pastry chef. Who would have thought? Certainly not me. But sometimes you need to re-evaluate life and you are forced to think about what truly makes you happy. In my case, my baking hobby got out of hand and grew into an immense passion for patisserie and everything related to it. A passion that wants to make the hobby grow into a successful career as a pastry chef.
‘’Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.’’
Marilyn Monroe
Ever since I was little, I had been intrigued by the media. I therefore thoroughly enjoyed my bachelor Media & Culture and master Television and Cross-Media Culture, but the hands-on experience in the field wasn’t what I had always thought it would be. A dream fell apart and I hit rock bottom, which opened the door to pastry school and an internship at the Pastryclub in Eindhoven. Everything happens for a reason and leads you to the path you are meant to follow in this life.
“Don't aim for perfection. Aim for 'better than yesterday'.”
Izey Victoria Odiase
I’m an absolute perfectionist. I should therefore probably keep this quote in mind to lower the pressure I put on myself. With every cake and entremet I make, I really want to improve myself and my skills though. My passion for patisserie leaves me with an enormous curiosity and inquisitiveness. When it comes to flavors, textures and design, I continue to try new things and improve my recipes. It’s not an option for me not to grow.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
St. Augustine
My biggest hobby besides baking? Traveling! I count myself so incredibly lucky that I have been able to see so much of the world already. It’s amazing how much it has taught me about other societies, cultures, and certainly about myself.
‘’The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.’’
Deepak Chopra
Isn’t it crazy how much we hurt ourselves by our judgmental and hateful behavior towards ‘’others’’? I truly believe the world could use a little more love. Don’t be fearful of other people or cultures, but open your heart and you’ll discover that we’re all much more alike than you’d think.
“A smile is the best makeup a girl could wear.”
Marilyn Monroe
‘’A day without laughter is a day wasted’’ has got to be my biggest life’s motto. Did you know that a smile, even when it’s forced, creates a chemical reaction in your brain that automatically makes you feel more happy?
‘’Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.’’
Dalai Lama
Life can be hard enough as it is sometimes. Find the good in everything and everyone and you’ll live a lighter and happier life.
“You're a human being, you live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn Red Velvet Cake.”
Emma Stone
I have a real sweet tooth, pretty much any pastry or slice of cake will make me incredibly happy. But, if I must choose, my favorite cake flavor would have to be Red Velvet. What’s yours? What can I bake you happy with?