One of my favorite kinds of culinary memoir to read is what I've dubbed the "corporate-to-culinary" or "grey-suit-to-toque" realizing where one's true passion and/or vocation lies. But Jenna Weber's White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming of Age Story departs from that right out of the oven, because she bypasses the corporate job entirely. Instead of seeking a Fortune 500 job after graduating from the College of Charleston she heads straight for Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Florida and is up to her elbows in Meat Fabrication before she can say "not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."
Another odd thing about Weber, who is decidedly NOT odd as you get into the meat and potatoes of her memoir and learn about her life, is that she isn't going into debt at Le Cordon Bleu to have kitchen underlings snap to and say "Yes, Chef!" and "No, Chef!" at her every whim. Her culinary aspirations are writing about food, not creating it or serving it.
She wants to do it well, and with authority. And so she seeks a chef's education and this basis for understanding her subject in a way that many food writers do not. Certainly we must admire and respect her for her noble goal. It's an approach I would take if I was young, unmarried, childless, and at the beginning of my career.
A glimpse at her daily life reveals her mornings at culinary school interspersed with evening shifts as a hostess at a restaurant, negotiations with her childhood friend and roommate who is attending police academy, and occasional dates with her long-time---and older boyfriend-- with whom she has a committed and long-distance relationship with.
What is a typical day, or course at culinary school like? Undoubtedly each person's experience is different, colored by her personality, classmates, instructors, the setting, and the events culminating in her life. So while Weber captured many typical scenes you might expect, such as hours spent in commercial kitchens replicating recipes until they were perfect, or taking copious notes as her instructors lectured, or working in teams with classmates with whom she got on well (or did not), there were many details specific to her life that make White Jacket Required a timeless rendering of a woman's journey seeking identity. Another thing we learn about Weber is her determination. She takes up running despite the excruciating pain it leaves her body in. She plows through and continues running. With such moxie and determination, readers understand that Weber will easily make it through Le Cordon Bleu and any other trial she must overcome.
Weber's skills improve as we read each chapter, but ultimately she discovers that the Culinary Arts program leaves her dry. Dealing with meat and the other portions of the curriculum leaves her dispirited, and it's not sinking her hands into the bread making course that her spirits rise and she finds her passion. Fortunately, she easily switches to the Baking and Pastry Arts Program and though she has many challenges to meet, she does so readily and cheerfully.
I loved reading about the time she spent in Napa, which she writes about near the end of the book. And since it's where she currently lives it's nice to know that dreams do come true, smiley face, smiley face.
Dozens of recipes are tucked within the book's chapters. I made First-Day-of-Class Biscuits because I had a yen for biscuits and the recipe intrigued me: pastry flour in biscuit dough? Granted, I have Nathalie Dupree's mammoth book on biscuits, Southern Biscuits (As If there are Western Biscuits, Northern Biscuits, New England Biscuits? Pah.) but haven't made any from it, yet. These were so so. I credit my failure as a biscuit maker rather than Webber's recipe. And, that I used unbleached whole wheat flour. I don't stock any other kind in my larder. Somehow biscuits don't taste as yummy unless they're made with bleached flour; simply my preference for incorporating more healthy ingredients in my home.
Weber's publicist shared the recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies which she said was available for reprint, so I'm sharing it herein:
Reprinted with permission from White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story © 2012 by Jenna Weber, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Pumpkin Whoopee Pies
By Jenna Weber,
Author of White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story
For more information please visit http://www.eatliverun.com, and follow the author on Facebook and TwitterMakes about 18 whoopee pies
These cookies are very rich, almost like a cupcake, so I suggest saving this recipe for a special occasion or a rainy afternoon. The cookies are best the day you bake them; if you keep them for too long they will become a bit gummy and soft. They would also be perfect with cream cheese frosting in the middle, or on their own, sprinkled with a dusting of powdered sugar.
For the buttercream filling
1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, divided
¾ cup shorteningFor the cookies
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1½ cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the egg white, milk, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of the powdered sugar, then mix on high speed until the mixture is creamy and light. Add shortening and remaining cup of sugar, and whip on high speed until very light, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 325°P. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the cookies: In a large bowl, blend together brown sugar and oil with a spoon until well combined. Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla and continue to stir until smooth.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices, and then add to the wet ingredients, stirring only until combined (be careful not to overmix).
For best results, spoon batter into a piping bag with a large tip and pipe mounds of batter (about 1 tablespoon each) of batter onto the lined sheet tray, about 3 inches apart. (If you don't have a piping bag, use two large spoons and space the batter in the same way.)
Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes, until they begin to turn golden. Let cool completely before sandwiching cookies together with the filling.
Cookie sandwiches will keep in a sealed plastic container at room temperature for a few days.
The above is an excerpt from the book White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story by Jenna Weber. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Reprinted with permission from White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story © 2012 by Jenna Weber, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Author Bio
Jenna Weber, author of White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story, is the author of the highly successful food blog Eat, Live, Run. In 2007, she attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Florida. White Jacket Required is her first book. She lives in San Francisco, California. Go to www.eatliverun.com for an up-to-the-minute look at Weber's world of food.
I received a review copy of Weber's memoir from her publicist, just to let you know, so I'm in accordance with the new FTC regulations, but otherwise, I received no other form of compensation for this review. It's just what I do. I love to read. I love to write. And I love to share my opinion.
