A Day in the Life of Pastry Chef Félix Larocque
Hi everyone, I’m Félix. Welcome to the UE pastry kitchen!
On a typical day, I arrive at the urban element production kitchen at 7:00 a.m. just after I drop my fiancé Liam off at his job. After I turn on the lights, pre-heat the oven, and put on my apron, I take a few minutes to create the day’s to-do list.
Each day in the UE kitchen is different from the last – it all depends on the type and number of events, the custom menus, and the number of guests per event that we have in the calendar. In addition to helping the team with prep for savoury dishes, most days I prep for the desserts I’m making by measuring and weighing ingredients, bake cakes and bread, and create fillings and spreads for pastries and desserts.
I also enjoy getting creative with garnishes for plated desserts, piping buttercream to decorate pastries, and making everyone's favorite – chocolate chip cookie dough. This treat can be served as cookies at catered events and will also be available as an add-on in our upcoming holiday meal, so clients can bake it themselves at home.
Ingredients-wise, we like to keep things seasonal. Depending on what we have available that day, I like to experiment with different flavours. By using ingredients that we already have on hand, I can get creative, have fun, and also reduce food waste. For example, the filling in our choux bombs is never the same twice – I might use blueberries, cherries or raspberries in the summer, or pears, cinnamon apple, or butterscotch in colder months.
This time of year is quite busy, and while we prep and cook for all types of events, we also have an eye on our plans for holiday meals for home delivery and chef stations for corporate holiday functions.
If we’re heading to an event, the first thing we do when we arrive at the venue is get our bearings in the space and plan our stations accordingly. Once we’ve organized our stations, we have a team discussion to go over how each dish is going to be assembled, then tasks are delegated so we can make sure our service runs smoothly.
I usually assemble the desserts, and as I’m always looking to evolve my plating skills, I have fun trying new plating techniques at different events to try to come up with the perfect way to showcase each dessert.
If we have a public cooking class coming up at Corner Peach, I’ll have fun dreaming up a dessert that pairs well with the style of cuisine that Chef Tara will be teaching. For example, for the Thai green curry soup class, I used tropical fruits and created a tropical pavlova. A favourite of mine was a triple chocolate chai/espresso mousse which I’m happy to say our guests also loved!
When I get home from work, I start prepping for dinner – the kitchen truly is my home! Liam and I live with our two cats, Alphonse and Taz, who are our constant companions. After dinner, we typically relax by playing video games or watching cooking shows or documentaries – one of my favourites is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat with Samin Nosrat (Netflix). We’ve also started planning our wedding – starting with the cake, of course!
I hope you enjoyed a peek into my daily life. Desserts and sweets were a big part of my childhood -- my grandfather had a sweet tooth, and my grandmother used to make at least 5 different types of sweets during each of our family gatherings. I hope next time you enjoy some desserts at an urban element event, it helps you think back to your own food memories or create new ones.
With a cherry on top,
~ Félix
Baking Tips:
- Add fine espresso powder or an espresso shot in your chocolate cake to create a richer flavour
- No two ovens are the same, so make sure to test for hot spots and use an oven-safe thermometer before making delicate pastries