My First Post -

Hi! 

My name is Joy, I'm from Australia and as the title states, I am a BEGINNER Baker and Baked goods decorator. I emphasise the “Beginner” as although I know some things, I by no means know if it’s the correct technique, easiest way or even if I call it the right thing, (half the time, its not even close). The things I do (think) I know I learn from books, or YouTube, or even simply by trial and error (mostly error) but mostly, its just a happy accident that works.

I recently decided I wanted to start a blog to share my learning journey, and follow others – those who teach and others who, Like me, want to learn. This post, being my first may be a little long winded, but I like to get to know someone a little before I decide to follow them,  and I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

I love the artistic nature of baked goods when decorated, that presentation is key with food. No one grabs the plain cupcake next to a beautifully decorated one – we eat with our eyes first, followed closely by smell. There is nothing that draws you in like the smell of fresh baked bread, or chocolate cake with that choc-orange ganache you love. Smells evoke memories, and for me, some of the 

fondest memories I have come from food.

Ive always been hands on. Its how I learn, and it makes me happy to know that there is something I made. I can see it, touch it, learn from it and share that with others. But most of all, its what I'm good at. Ive done all kinds of things from making quirky furniture, to making custom car interiors. (more on that some other time) but my true love has always been food, especially the sweet baked stuff. My love of baking goes back to my childhood, and the credit goes to my wonderful Nan. My mum would bake with me, usually after hours of nagging at her, closely followed by her deep regret of giving in with all the mess I would make. Plus she (much like myself) was and still is very particular about how she wanted the final product to look. But my amazing nan would give me free run in the kitchen, even when I wanted to make blue and green pancakes that she couldn’t bare to eat because they looked so unnatural. Lucky for her, Most of the time she was out of the country as she lived in New Zealand, so she had plenty of time to recover from our very energetic cooking sessions. Unfortunately she passed away a few years ago, and to this day I cannot enter a kitchen without thinking about her.  (more on that later, too.)

Although I've always loved cooking, and baking, I never thought I would be able to do it as a career, as I had some medical conditions which I thought would be a life long preventer of me doing the things I wanted to do. I had a condition called Psoriasis. As common as it is, majority of people have no idea what it is, even some of the sufferers. This is a condition for which there is no cure,  and if this blog develops, I would love to help do something about that. I suffered with this for the first 21 years of my life, and I'm only 22 now. For many of us, the condition can create all new problems – for me it was a strain of arthritis through my pelvis, hips and back, making walking and standing extremely painful, and a lot of the time, impossible. But I am one of the lucky ones who found a treatment that works, after 21 years of trying every treatment there was. And I am now in a position to do something with my life. So here it is. My dream – to cook. To bake. To share my love of food with those around me. To help people where I can, and to learn from others where ever possible.

Ive never had a blog before, or any public viewing platform really. So please if you do happen to read my essay up there (I promise this will be the longest one I ever do J), leave me some feedback, suggestions, tips  or any  questions about me or anything else in all that rambling text  up there,  so that I know what you guys want to hear  about.  

Thank you for reading. The Beginner Baker.