must i content?

chaotic videos or it didn't happen

It’s fake fall here in richmond, VA and I am still hopscotching my way from gig to gig. I left my job as executive Pastry Chef of the Restaurant and Cafe which I owned in 2020, before the pandemic hit. I left for many reasons but a big one was that my department was slowly getting stripped from me. Having to let staff go, not because they weren’t doing a great job, but because the pastry/baking department is always the first to go when money is tight. I was too afraid and too young to push back against my other partners. That is a whole other post but I feel it’s important to give you some context, I been in this industry more than half of my lil life now.

now its 2024 and my income is from cakes, pop ups, part time prep/dessert cook at a local natural wine bar, private cheffing and the occasional painting. I ramped up my instagram presence in the spring of 2020 to make it known that you can order a cake from me or take an online sourdough class and I became involved in a hyper local mutual aid organization, focusing on taking donations and distributing food to our neighbors. Social media became more of a tool for communicating and helping but then as the world kind of became “safer”, it became about cakes.

And then, in a matter of 6 months, everyone became a custom cake maker. I found myself in a global community of fellow cakers that really did not exist at the same level prior to 2020. Are we all inspired and borrowing from one another? probably but I don’t really think that’s bad. Especially because most folks aren’t gatekeeping tips and I consider a lot of the folks friends despite having never met most of them. There are more people making really delicious cakes than ever before which is wonderful and a much needed advancement from the flat, too sweet, inedible fondant covered choo choo train concoctions of the early aughts. I personally don’t make a dollar as a “content creator” but have also spent more time making shotty reels or lengthy stories behind the scenes of building a wedding cake or pop up prep and I’ve been wondering why? I guess it’s good to show folks how much work goes into a cake but then I am also working on providing that content which is exhausting and kick starts negative self talk every fucking time while also making me feel guilty about how much/little I produced in a day. Who do I think I owe?

So I wrote the above back in October but felt it was too elementary to post. I wanted to introduce myself and then got all venty about things so I abandoned it and worked on one of my other projects. I am back with less inhibitions and fucks to give and in an effort to spend less time on instagram, I will be shifting my focus to more windy rambles, the occasional recipe, thoughts on fruit and ways to make a meal with very little. Scrappy Sundays has been living in my head for a long time now.

I look forward to meeting new friends here and sharing ideas, dreams and jokes.

love,

Liv