A couple of interesting developments in Mandyland; I am without a job. I am stuck home alone with no car, in the pouring rain and with intermittent TV and internet service due to the weather. I have a lot of free time. I had a cupcake for dinner last night.
None of these things seem to pose a serious problem. I am however left with my thoughts again. This is where things get interesting. I need a new career. While writing is a passionate love of mine, it might be awhile before I can cash in on that offer. I am really enjoying this blog along with reading and inspiring my friends blogs.
My mother, bless her heart, sent me another email about a bake-off competition. The prize is 1 million dollars. I could use the money, and not to open a cupcake shop. That is not my dream, actually it would be my nightmare. I have had enough with the cupcake thing for one lifetime. I actually used to sell my Macarons to a Frenchman who would turn around and sell them under his fancy name and use them for his wine and champagne tastings. He said mine were better than he could find in LA and as close to the ones he had in Paris. A huge compliment, but once again, I got no glory for my work. His clients had no idea I existed.
It has me pondering the competitive baking circuit. I know a lot of the competitions are won by the same people. I have seen shows where a woman has won so many duplicate prizes of new kitchen appliances that she had ovens stacked in her garage. She is not a professional chef but somehow she figured out what the judges are looking for and pretty much everything she enters, wins. I had my hopes and dreams crushed in a County Fair cake competition when the judges all ate more of my cake than the others, questioned if I was a professional (which was allowed), heavily complimented my talents and then awarded ribbons to the ugly dry looking cakes made by the people who had been winning the ribbons for years. I was definitely an outcast and learned the hard way that competition is not about the product but the politics. I chose not to enter in the rest of the competitions that Summer. I let them defeat me.
There are all kinds of online entry recipe contests. My issue with them is they own the rights to the recipe you submit and can use it for their benefit. This is not a problem for housewives who enter for fun and aren't worried about reading the fine print. I wish I could have that attitude. I don't know if giving away my right to use the recipe in the future is worth the prize. I would be better off if I didn't think there was something bigger for me. I come up with new recipes all the time but love my classics. So, as I take another look into the contests, I think I will come up with something new. I have to get into the head of a housewife who's skills might not be at the professional level, and think about what a family in a small town would think is fancy and interesting but not beyond what they could wrap their head around. Out of professional mindset and into personal. I know I can win something. Just have to find the right competition where I fit and pray they don't judge me before they judge my food.
It's time to stop over-thinking, and start winning. Mama needs a new kitchen!
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