We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristina Marder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kristina, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Becoming pastry chef takes lots and lots of hours practicing, failing, practicing again and studying theory to understand what and why goes wrong. There is no way to speed up learning process, it takes time and patience. But it is also a good and quite fast way to understand that practice makes perfect. It is very rewarding career in a sense that you see result right away. And once skill is learned there are unlimited possibilities to show your creativity. I went to France to study pastry arts. No only I spent 6 hours in the kitchen every day (not to mention we started at 6 am.) but I was also immersed in the french culture and lifestyle. Besides practicing and studying theory we went to chocolate factory and wine tasting places.
Kristina, 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?
I make mousse cakes and other pastries very popular in France. I’ve been living in the US for a while and always wondered why I can’t find European types of cakes here. They are very different. Less sugar, only natural and qualitative ingredients, very sophisticated look and taste. It’s more a piece of art rather than a cake. Before my pastry career I was at the point where I moved to a new country with my husband who had a job but it was extremely difficult for me to find a job. Then I had kids and spent years of my life taking care of them. I always liked to bake but never considered it as a profession. And then as I got more involved in the baking industry I decided it was time to take it to the next level. I quickly understood that only in France I can get that kind of education and I went to the small village called Yssingeaux to study in the ENSP pastry school founded by Ducasse (famous French Chef with the most Michelin Star restaurants in the world). It wasn’t easy and sacrifices had to be made along the way, but I don’t regret it. That was the most interesting experience in my life. I met new people who had their own stories and challenges. And I understood that everything is possible. It is possible to turn your life in any direction you want. Now I have a brand named “Sweet escape Desserts”. I take only a few orders but each cake is different. I take my time to develop a unique design for every cake using only the best quality ingredients including chocolate and fruit purees which I order from France.
I am extremely pleased when I see more bakeries around me offering french pastries and cakes. I want people to know and discover pastry arts as it is in France. And that it is not about quantity, but about quality. I always say that it is better to have a very small piece of rich quality cake than a big piece of artificial looking cake.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Purchase more handmade stuff. Change your mind about things and food made in factories using poor ingredients and cheap materials. Support people who make change.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The first book that significantly impacted my entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy was “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki and it is still the most important book I would recommend reading. Otherwise, I don’t read many books on entrepreneurship, I just do what I like to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sweetescapedesserts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinamarder/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristina.marder/