Interview with student Ana Beatriz Faertes from Diplôme Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu Rio de Janeiro
Where did your passion for pâtisserie come from?
My dad is a doctor, but he always loved to cook. So I grew up in this environment and got a taste for his hobby. His salty food was delicious, but he never did an amazing dessert. I started studying psychology, but I ended up switching to gastronomy and now I am currelty studying Diplôme Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu Rio de Janeiro. In addition, I married a person who loves Pâtisserie and that made me follow my passion even more.
Tell me about your work experience?
I worked in a restaurant and after some time I opened my own buffet. Years later, my wife went to study in Canada and wanted to accompany her, so I closed everything. I'm currently making pies for a hotel.
It all started when I posted on my Instagram account that I was studying at Le Cordon Bleu Rio de Janeiro and I was going to make Christmas pies, and that generated a request for 25 pies for Christmas. Due to the success, I took several samples of pies to hotels and today, I make, on average, 56 pies per week, the most requested being strawberry, chocolate with orange and lemon tart.
What does it mean to you to study Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu Rio de Janeiro?
Studying at Le Cordon Bleu has always been my dream! It is a professional and personal achievement, evolving the challenge of graduating from the most traditional gastronomy institute in the world.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to move to Spain and open my business there! As I am a vegetarian, I would like to open something in this area.
Favorite cake?
Strawberry with cream, always!