Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Press Release

I'm going to get some press in a local paper because someone at the paper had one of my cakes over the holidays and was thoroughly impressed. Since it happened to be a friend of mine whose parents also happened to be fishing buddies of my parents, a fact that came to light when I delivered the cakes, we ended up at their house visiting this past weekend and I met this dude.

He grilled me about my education, where I've worked, what I thought about the latest cupcake craze (I'm over it), and what I see as the next big thing. He asked my opinions about celebrity chefs and the nation's latest fad with cooking shows. He asked me my opinion on obesity in our country versus indulgent eating. I spent nearly three hours talking with him, and when we were done he revealed his connections to this paper and his desire to feature me in there.

Naturally, I was excited and nervous. When someone from his office actually got in touch with me about the feature, all they wanted was a bio and a picture. =(

After spending so much time talking to this man and being asked such fantastic questions, I felt like my answers and my opinions were really on point and far from the curve of the general public. I thought I would be getting an interview. No. Just a picture with a little blurb about myself. What's worse is that they want me to write it myself in the 3rd person. Who does that? I feel like I should be hiring a PR rep to handle this for me.

Needless to say, my jubilation was quickly fizzled in light of the actuality of the situation. I'm still grateful that people like what I do and they find me interesting enough to talk to for hours on end, but I'm not really part of that sacred 1% who will really hit it big. The market is saturated with people who look better than me, have better connections, and have old money to back up whatever little craze they fancy. It leaves us old school bakers in the back of the house, much like the way this country tends to treat the workforce that drives their desires. If you go to the kitchen of any 5-star restaurant in ANY city, you won't have a kitchen full of Emerils or Anthony Bourdains. You'll have a ton of Jose's, Pedro's, and a few Hectors'. And they are the one's putting out your mouth-watering, uber-fancy meals. Those people you see competing on television do not represent the cross section of the cooks actually hovering over the stoves; they are just the one's who get the good press.

I won't spit in the eye of a great opportunity. I'll give them what they are asking for, and hope that it opens up my business this year to a new audience. I'll be the first one to admit that I do not like working for Filipino people. They expect more from their kind and want to pay a lot less for it because of the "ethinic" discount. My extended family is VERY guilty of this, so I'm not just talking out of a self-loathing racially charged soap box. They wouldn't try and needle down Magnolia Bakery with their overpriced fares, but they will try and get some grand 3-tier design out of me and expect to pay cost for it. Despite this annoyance, I foresee a hard year coming up for a lot of people and custom cakes and gourmet cupcakes will not be high on the list of necessities of most houses.

People are tightening up their budgets, as they should be, but that puts luxury items on the back burner. I see a lot of change in my future. Less cake orders on a regular basis will leave time for new adventures. I look forward to see what new opportunities present themselves now that I have more time on my hands. I'll just have to make sure I make the right choices.

If my picture and bio does get published, I'll scan it and put it up here. Wish me luck!!

6 comments:

  1. Hey, I'm proud of you no matter how small the blurb is, or what paper it's in. Publicity is still publicity, and you're getting it for free because the guy liked your stuff. Consider it a small victory. People get put in the papers or in the news because they know the right people. You're in there because the right people liked what you do. Take your victories where you can, Katherine, and be thankful. There are a lot of bakers out there who would kill to get this opportunity. And clip me a copy for my shoebox! As I said, I'm proud of you! Pat on the back from me. ;)

    Look, I used proper punctuation AND spelling AND capitalization!! I told you I got some smarts left in me.

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  2. Thanks, Mike. I appreciate that. And I am appreciative of the opportunity. I know it's more than some people will ever get- people who are a lot more talented than I am. I'm not glossing over that.

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  3. Good luck! Maybe all the people at the paper talk in the third person! That would be confusing. Do something really controversial and racy and maybe they'll give you a weekly column! lol.

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  4. LOL!! I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it seems a little self-serving to write a bio on yourself in the 3rd person to have a paper print. I don't even want to give them my picture. What if I just send them the graphic off my business card? LOL I don't even have pictures of myself in my chef gear anymore. My ex took it all.

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  5. Just send them a picture of a cake with googly eyes and a caption that reads, "I AM NOW A CAKE." lol

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  6. LOL...

    "I'm not always a baked good, but when I am, I'm a mother fucking Queenie Cake."

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