We recently connected with Rudy Diaz and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rudy, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I learned to do what I do from my grandma, my mom, and a lot of youtube videos. Also a lot of trial and error.
A lot of it was experimenting with different recipes and trying new techniques. I went on a French Macaron kick one year and I think I baked over 50 batches of macarons. It was through this that I slowly learned that baking is a science.
If I could go back, I would learn more about the reactions that take place when you’re baking and why. For me, I love baking because its like therapy. I get to dial in and focus on what I need to do and make sure the measurements are the exact amount while also getting to be artistic with what I’m making.
I think the biggest obstacle that stood in the way of learning more was ultimately money and resources. Baking can be expensive so I always had to make sure I knew what I wanted to make before jumping into it.
Rudy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My love for baking started when I was a kid and came from my grandma and mom. My grandma, my mom’s mom, would always bake something special for my birthday and most of the time I would watch her bake. I have this very vivid memory of watching my grandma make creme puffs filled with chocolate mousse and I believe that is what started it all. Over the years I would bake with my mom, I would watch baking shows on the Food Network, and then when I went off to college I would bake for my friends. It wasn’t until I started my professional career that I needed an artistic outlet and I turned to baking. I love baking for the people in my life. Usually if a close friend has a birthday I’ll ask them what flavors they like and what they want whether it’s a cake, or cupcakes, etc, as long as I get artistic freedom with it.
Usually when it comes to baking I like it all, especially if it involves chocolate. I think one of my proudest bakes was when I made a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup cake for someone very special to me. It was my first real big cake that I made and I spent weeks planning out how I was going to make it. I baked and sculpted for 15 hours one day to make it — I think it weighed close to 25lbs so it was a lot of cake but totally worth it in the end when I got to see their face. Plus you can never go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.
I think out of all of this I want my “fans” to know that I do this to be artistic and I do it for the people I love. Over the years a lot of people have told me to open my own bakery and I definitely have thought about it. I think for know I will continue to use it as an artistic outlet for myself that others also get to enjoy.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
As a baker I think the most rewarding aspect of my craft is seeing and hearing my friends and family’s reaction when they take their first bite of one of my creations. I do admit that I get nervous sometimes that it’s not going to taste good but everyone always reassures me that they love it.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I really wish I had hopped on the social media train to document my baking earlier in my life. I was in that age range when social media was just invented and YouTube became popular so I just wish I could have focused more on making baking content for those platforms back in the day.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kangarudy
