You have reached my personal site. I have been cooking/baking professionally for over 35 years and have learned a lot along the way. Here is a composite of some of what I do and some of my past work. I am currently working as a cake artist and apply a plant-based approach to ingredients and design.
About meringueshop
As a classically-trained pastry chef, I was taught to bake with sweet butter, whole milk and fresh eggs. Most recipes had at least one or all of these ingredients. So, when I decided to transform my recipes and retrain myself to bake using only plant-based ingredients, I found the egg replacer to be the most difficult ingredient to substitute. I turned to the different available options for egg replacers. Aquafaba checked all the boxes. However, creating a consistent aquafaba with the right viscosity was critical. My goal was to perfect a measurable reduction of clean, organic aquafaba that would be the base for structurally sound meringues which could be used in a variety of applications in my bakery.
After having perfected my aquafaba formula recipe, I decided that creating a meringue powder was next. I am excited to share with you a year’s worth of trial and error to arrive at the perfect royal icing formulation.
My bio
A little more about myself! I am a restaurant-trained professional chef. Though I worked in quite a few restaurants with some incredible chefs, my most noteworthy experiences included The River Café and Gotham Bar and Grill in New York. In Paris, I apprenticed at L’Arpege and Maison Blanche. I also studied bread-baking at L’Ecole Lenôtre.
After my training period, I was fortunate to open my own restaurant, Verbena, on Irving Place in Gramercy Park. The Union Square Greenmarket was right down the block which made it easy for me to create seasonal menus year round. My cookbook, Anatomy of a Dish, is a compilation of recipes from my restaurant (not vegan). It is a study of what happens when the botanical and culinary worlds intersect. Signed copies are still available upon request.
When I closed my restaurant in 2003, I decided to switch gears back to baking. It was an easy decision; baking has always been a passion of mine. With two small kids in tow, a bakery provided a more flexible schedule. I opened Flourish Baking Company, with a mission to recreate my recipes in a vegan and allergen friendly format. I am currently honing my cake making skills; every day is a learning experience.
