A SHORT BIOGRAPHY ON MY CULINARY HISTORY

When asked how he found his passion for baking, Ron turns his head askew and thinks back to his childhood years.  "I was told by my grandmother that I always wanted to be in the kitchen either helping out or aiding with the cooking.  They allowed me to do minimal tasks in the beginning and by age nine I received my very own cookbook that was passed down to me from my mother.  I would always dream over the pictures and the possibilities of making my own meal.  That dream was fulfilled a couple months later.  Of course, my brother pretended not to like it." 

As the years went on, Ron's love for baking grew.  He started baking simple cakes and cookies by the age of eleven and had planned and prepared his first Thanksgiving Dinner at the age of 12.  A year later, he started experimenting with quick breads and homemade pasta.  He was also known for his Banana Cream Pie.  On Sunday afternoons, Ron would watch cooking shows on PBS with his mother; Julia Child and Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet were his favorites.

Around the age of 15, Ron started experimenting with bread baking.  "Yeast was very scary to me because it was a living organism and back then, I did not know how to control it.  So, sometimes my bread would turn out rock hard or wouldn’t rise at all."  He continued to study by reading new cookbooks and watching food shows after school.  "Two of my favorite shows were 'Great Chefs of Chicago' and 'Great Chefs of the World'.  I would run home from school and turn on the television, watching in amazement at the ingredients and preparation of the dishes.  Back then, there was no FoodTV so I savored every minute."

At the age of 16, he got his first job as a line cook in a local bar/restaurant.  "I was so eager to learn and so excited that all of my hopes and dreams were being fulfilled.  I was learning so much and loved the frenetic pace of the kitchen.  I excelled and was soon left to run the kitchen by myself."  Although, soon after, his hopes were dashed when he found out the restaurant would be closing its doors due to financial difficulties.  Alas, he would not give up there.

A year later, he began looking into culinary institutes in various parts of the country but after finding out his parent's financial situation; he knew he would not be attending a culinary school any time soon. 

By the age of 18, Ron had found himself in New York City.  He was now in one of the culinary capitals of the world and knew one day his dream would come true.  For many years, Ron practiced his craft by planning and preparing holiday meals for his family, always making sure that each dish complemented one another; and baking dozens and dozens of cookies for his friends and coworkers.

It was not until November 2001, nine years after moving to New York that Ron would find himself living his life long dream.  “I was working for OppenheimerFunds in New York City and we had just settled into our new corporate office after losing our original one in The World Trade Center disaster.  I was making a lot of cookies for my co-workers; it was this natural instinct that came out in me.  After speaking to a couple of people, they urged me to check out some culinary schools.  About a week later, I had found one and was signed up the following week for an 8-month program with externship that started the following year.”

After leaving a long-term relationship and moving to Jersey City, NJ to pursue his dream, he began pastry school in May of 2002.  “I can still remember the nervous excitement of that first day of school, meeting all those new people who had the same dream I did; it was awesome.”  Attending school at night while working a full-time corporate job was hard on Ron at first but he knew in the long run, it would pan out. “The first couple of weeks, I was really tired but soon after my body adjusted to the long intense hours.” 

He relished every moment, every subject and got along with everyone in his class.  His favorite pastry subject was bread.  “I always wanted to learn how to bake bread and we were taught all the classics, like sourdough, baguettes, boules, hard and soft rolls.  I loved the smell of freshly baked bread.”  He soon realized that this was what he had been searching for his whole life.  He aced every test, quiz and essay.

“We had a pre-graduation ceremony in November 2002 before we started our externships with local restaurants.  This is where we displayed our final project, a cake that we had to invent from scratch.  I made a Fieldstone Butter Crunch Noisette cake, basically a hazelnut sponge cake frosted with praline butter cream and decorated with hazelnut butter crunch.”   At the ceremony, Ron and his classmates received their toques, preliminary diplomas and enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

A couple of weeks later, Ron started his externship at Patria, a well-known Nuevo Latino restaurant, under Chef Andrew DiCataldo.  He decided to dedicate all of his time to his externship, so he quit his corporate job of 5 years and immersed himself in Patria.  He chose Patria because of their extensive and interesting dessert menu.  "It was very intense yet fun; I was always learning new techniques and how to plate desserts.  "I remember being put on the pastry station for lunch for the first time, it was exhilarating.  The experience was one that I will soon not forget."

Two months later, Ron finished his externship at Patria and graduated from The Institute of Culinary Education with Highest Honors and a GPA of 3.85.  Unfortunately, Ron could not continue at Patria because there were no positions for him.  So, he took the experience he had learned from school and Patria; and decided to look for a full-time pastry job.  He trailed at several well-known restaurants, Union Pacific, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park and Butter. 

“Since I could not find a pastry job within a reasonable amount of time, I had to fall back onto my previous skills as an administrative assistant and found a job at Coach, Inc.”  Later on that year, in December 2003, Ron found his first pastry job at a local café in Jersey City called Baker Boys Café.  Although, it would be part-time, Ron took the job anyway. 

He worked weekend and nights trying to gain more experience and showcase some of his talent.  A hit with customers, some of his favorites included Pecan Apricot Blondies, Blueberry Crumb cake Squares, Gingersnaps, Banana Bread, Coffee Cake, Scones, Muffins, Pies and Birthday Cakes and for the holidays Gingerbread Men and a Gingerbread House.  A request was even put in for a Barbie Cake and Ron rose to the challenge and got rave reviews from his employer and the customer.

With no room for growth at Baker Boys, he decided it was time to move on in January 2005.  He took a couple of months off from baking to catch up on sleep and to look for a new job.  A former co-worker of his from Baker Boys suggested he come down to a new café that had opened up on Grove Street in downtown Jersey City.  “I remember seeing Beechwood Café & Market for the first time; I knew I wanted to be a part of this.”  He was hired on the spot and began baking a couple of days later.  The owners at Beechwood had a set dessert menu but were flexible to Ron's ideas. 

“It took me about a day to get back in the swing of things and after that I really started to impress them with my talent.”  With a lot more freedom and better equipment, he was able to turn out a higher quality baked goods.  Today, some of his specialties are Lemon Bars, German Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Pound Cake, Black & White Pound Cake, Hungarian Coffee Cake, Chocolate Pudding, Shortbread Cookies, Almond Biscotti, Pear Breton Tart and other specialties which can be tasted at Beechwood Café & Market.