The Mind of a Pastry Chef
by, Billy Mumphrey
Being a pastry chef can be a thankless
job. You get up even before the roosters crow to prepare a days work that’ll
last until after the sun has gone down. You put in hours of work only to have
your greatest creations just disappear, but the faster they go, the better you’ve
done your job. Vermont Pastry Chef and Stylist, Kristi Tursi, has spun three
generations of Hungarian pastry tradition with some worldwide travel and has now
landed back in Vermont opening and running her own bakery, The Little Red Fox
Bakery.
Tursi, who has ties to photography
and other art forms, has used her ideas and family background to create some of
the most detailed and exquisite pastries you’ve ever seen. Her creations have been
featured in the biggest cooking magazines including Gourmet Magazine and
others. Her creativity and out-of-the-box thinking has led to amazing
creations.
Local Big Time wanted to pick her brain and see
how she came up with some of the amazing pastries she brings to life. Here it
is:
1. What made you want to open a
bakery?
Tursi: I was living in NYC, working
full time as a photographer and stylist. To relax, I would bake cakes in
my apartment on weekends. Over time, I started styling my baked goods and I
would create my own mock editorials. I really loved the creative process of baking,
styling, shooting and editing my work and soon realized that I could translate
all of these elements into my own business. About a year later, I decided to
formally establish Little Red Fox Bakery. Having my bakery “born in Vermont”
was important for me as well; I wanted to use all fresh, Vermont sourced ingredients
(maple being key!)…
2. Opening a bakery in Vermont might
be difficult because there aren’t that many people in Vermont, what do you do
to combat that?
Tursi: When I first started my business, I
joined Vermont Specialty Foods Association. It’s an association of members who
have established specialty food businesses; all with a focus on premier Vermont
ingredients. The products produced in Vermont are sold throughout the US (Cabot
Creamery, Lake Champlain Chocolates are some of the bigger names). Vermont
might be small population wise, however, the popularity of Vermont made
products has a broad reach throughout the US. I’m also a food stylist and focus
my work on weddings and specialty events. This gives me the opportunity to
market my business to people who not only live in Vermont year round, but to
people who wish to have Vermont as a destination location for their special
event.
3. Your food designs are highly
artistic, what inspires you creatively to create a new piece?
Tursi: A lot of my inspiration comes from my
travels and the experiences, both artistic and culinary, that I have
encountered. Eastern European and Viennese pastry making is very artistic.
Pastry chefs there make an art of the decorative in pastry making. In Budapest
one of the famous pastry chefs built a table-sized replica of the entire
Hungarian Parliament from marzipan. Impressive. I also love architecture and
I’m inspired by how structures are part of a landscape. I view my plate or
platter as an empty landscape and I build into it. A cake is never just a cake.
4. When exploring a new concept, how
do you translate the ideas from your mind to a final masterpieces you would “eat”
rather than just observe?
Tursi: I started photography as a hobby when I
was about 13; it’s a discipline where you need to be exact and creative with
your subject, light and perspective to elicit a certain response. When I bake
sweets, I know that the cakes and cookies taste great, and that I need to
translate that emotive response via an image. I’m always considering how my
products will make someone want to indulge in a treat! I usually use lighting
that is warm and inviting and focuses on the baked good. Sometimes, I will
create environments in my photos where the viewer sees people sitting together,
relaxing, enjoying a special treat, and having a good time. I try to create
emotional responses that resonate with the viewer; the image should invite the
viewer to want to partake and be a part of.
5. What is the largest influence in
your life that would lead you to express yourself as a Baker rather than a
Painter or Writer?
Tursi: I’m both a pastry chef and a
stylist so you might say that I express myself artistically in the creation of
an edible dessert and then I create an environment that showcases it in a
setting that complements it. I draw on my photography and fine art background.
This is very satisfying because the object changes as does my interpretation of
it in the creation process and then secondly in the rendering as stylist.
Check out The Little Red Fox Bakery Website HERE!
Check out The Little Red Fox Blog HERE!
And here are some photos of Kriti Tursi's Work at Little Red Fox.
