Introducing Mary Conaty, a Baking student from Rancho Santa Margarita, California and Bakery III at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, California. Mary is nearly done with the Baking program and is currently completing her last course in Pastry Arts during the Fall 2015 semester.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity
Tell us a bit about your work in the food industry thus far. How did you get started and what are you up to now? My first kitchen job was at Bruxie on the line. I also worked as a pastry cook at Black Market Bakery, and as a head baker at a Wish and a Whisk, a custom appointment-only bakeshop. Then I got my job at the Ritz in the pastry shop. I started as a baker, now I'm doing more pastry and working on the line. There is a lot going on all the time...And everyone needs dessert when they are on vacation!
What kind of stuff are you doing on a day to day basis? I work in the morning, on the line. I don't get too many tickets during the week. It will mostly be on the weekends. I am basically doing all the prep. You know, making ice cream bases, building cakes. We have a special birthday cake and a special occasion cake that we do a lot for in-room dining and for the restaurants. You know, prep for all the desserts. Tart doughs and cornmeal financiers are on our menu right now*. It's so good. It's with a lime [ flexible ] ganache and fresh farmer's market berries, it's delicious... I do a lot of the prep for whatever menu. Raya menu mostly. It's our steak restaurant that's only open at night. So sometimes the night people will do the prep stuff for that.
[*previous menu from the time of the interview]
So you're doing most of the prep for that specific menu?
Yes. I try to do most of it in the morning because at night is when we're busiest. So I try to get as much done in the morning as possible so at night they don't have to worry about getting prep done. And it's busy.
What made you decide to come to culinary school? I went to Senior Day at OCC, when I was a senior. I knew I wanted to go to Culinary and I knew OCC had a really good program...So I came to Senior day, got some papers, and did my matriculation on my prom day. Actually my friend and I came and did our english and math test and then went to prom that night. I totally forgot about that, it was so long ago. It was a nightmare. We went from there to go get our hair done. It was insane. I don't know why we did it that day, but we signed up for that day. So from there I started... I took Baking 1 with Gunter Rehm. And then I did, you know, Math and Accounting, Nutrition, all those Hospitality classes. I took a lot of classes. After that I kind of stopped doing Culinary and Baking. And I just focused on my general ed and I got all of that done. And then, when I came back I took Culinary 1, and Pantry...
So you came to the Senior Day, and then what was it that made you stay? Have you always liked cooking? Yes, oh yeah. And I took a Baking and Pastry ROP in high school, and I was like, this is what I want to do. It was at the school district's cafeteria. And this lady, she was so cool. I don't even know where she worked or anything, but I think she had her own catering business. So she taught these classes on the side. She was a cool lady. She was like "I made my own wedding cake." And I was like "you're crazy, I would never do that." I just wouldn't want to stress about that.
What do you think is one of the most useful skills you have learned here at Orange Coast College? Being on the Hot Food Team, I learned a lot in quite a short period of time. And you know, it really sharpened my knife skills. We practiced knife cuts like no other. It was our homework every week. developing a dish and just refining it for 9 months. And being able to take constructive criticism is probably one of the most important things I've learned ever in life and not taking it personally. Because people are just trying to help. Because I know I try to do that and people don't take it as well as I would.
What do you think you have learned from those experiences within the program where you have had to manage a class/lab as a part of an assignment? You can only do your best. Try to keep in touch with everyone throughout the class. Make sure everyone is on time, everything is looking how you want it, everything is tasting good. It's a lot of work. I gained so much respect for chef instructors at that point. Trying to control a class can be impossible. They probably feel the same way. You cannot keep track of everyone. 24 people in a class, that's so much. Checking on all the products, making sure that everything (12-14 different recipes) are top-notch...
What has been a favorite experience here? The Hot Food Team. That's like, my glory days! I just loved it. It was so much work, and it was so tiring. After we won state, we were at school every single day at 5 am. On Fridays we were here at 6 am, so we got to sleep in on one day. We were working on our platter...that platter was brutal.
What is one long term or short term goal that stands out to you? Actually one of my goals is to really get chocolate tempering down. At work we do it a lot, and it's just something I know a lot of people have trouble with. We do the table tempering and we do all of our own chocolate decor. So it's something I really want to learn and it's something I absolutely can with all of the people I work with who are just so talented. People think it's easy but it's not that easy. You have to work quick, you have to work clean.
If you could take a 2 week workshop to perfect any skill, what would it be? Chocolate!
And then, any tips for incoming students? Put time and effort into it. People don't practice at home, they don't do their homework and their projects. Put time into it and you'll get more out of it. Come prepared to class. Read your recipes through, do the reading. Show up no matter what. I've never missed a lab class. The only lab class I ever missed was when we were in Idaho for our [Hot Food Team] competition. Just care about what you're doing.
Is there any piece of advice you have been given about working in the industry that stands out to you? Chef Bosich says "Fake it 'till you make it" a lot. I like that. That's pretty right. People get really scared for their first kitchen job. Just show you have confidence. If you don't seem like you know what you're doing, they'll think you have no idea what they're doing. And they're probably right. Just power through it. When I started at the Ritz, I started as a Baker III, which normally you get hired as an apprentice or a [Baker] IV. So I was really lucky to get hired that high up. And I was like, I hope I don't blow this. Because working at the cake shop, it was like, this lady owned it, there was 5 of us, and it was super easy. I just made cake and buttercream and mousse and it was the same thing every week. But then I was going into somewhere where it was going to be a little bit different. I mean, it's the Ritz. But everything was fine. People train you, they show you how to do stuff, ask questions. Never be afraid to ask questions, that's something that, you know, I just learned. I don't know if anyone told me that, but I have never shied away from asking questions. Ask "Am I doing this right"? Double checking procedures.
What are your favorite non-slip shoes? Mozo
What's the kitchen tool you cannot live without? mini offset, paring knife. Do I have to choose only one? Chef's knife, paring knife, slicing knife, heat proof spatula, microplane, a good pot.
What was your first chef's knife? Messermeister. A German one. 10 inches long. I now have an eight inch Victronox and I like it a lot better. That was a good beginner's knife. Kept you steady.
What's the ingredient you cannot live without? Valhrona chocolate, 46%
What is one of your favorite dining experiences of all time? Chez Panisse. Long term goal is to stage at Chez Panisse.
What restaurant in California would you most like to visit? The French Laundry. You've got to save up for that one.
What restaurant anywhere in the world would you most like to visit? Noma, Japan
What is your favorite cookbook? The Chez Panisse fruit book, dessert book, and vegetable books. That's three different books, all Chez Panisse.
What's one of your favorite family recipes? Yaki soba. I'm Japanese.
Tell us about a chef you admire and why. Alice Waters. Starting the Farm to Table revolution. Edible Schoolyard, her work she does with kids and school and education. The fact that she has not served the same menu in 40 years baffles me and inspires me at the same time. She opened it as a place for her friends to eat at, to eat French food in California. And she's a lady. A pretty bad ass lady.
What is your favorite comfort food? Anything Japanese, curry and rice.
Is there a class you unexpectedly loved that you did not know you would? I didn't think I would like the meat cutting so much in Culinary 2 since I am more pastry backgrounded, but I loved hacking at veal bones. Chef had some extra veal bones one day and he gave them to Emily and I, my partner, and he was like, you can use this for our whatever stock, and there's a picture of her sawing at these bones. I didn't think I would like sweetbreads but I loved them. Liver I still can't do.
Is there anything else you want to add? Don't wait until you're done with school to get a job. I have heard that a lot. "Oh I'm just waiting to finish school." No, go get a job stat. That's my advice. Do anything. Bruxie. That was my first kitchen job. I was just like, listen I have no experience, please take me. And I put together waffle sandwiches and I made it happen, you know. When we first opened we were so busy. It was the Rancho Santa Margarita location, so it closed down. But I learned how to move fast in a kitchen, because we were slammed, all night, every night, all day, every day for the first couple months we were open. You know it slows down, but it was... you better know what you're doing because you have to be on autopilot. It was nuts. And I had Culinary 1 and Pantry at the same time-- I think that helped me with my speed as well. Culinary 1 is so long and people tend to take their time, but Pantry was a short class. It made me go faster in my Culinary 1 class. I would finish everything and chef would give me more recipes to do.
