Sharp Rise
A highly motivated Julie Sharp has successfully cocked a snook at her former lecturers at Southfields College in Leicester. Since ignoring their advice and becoming a pastry chef, her most recent achievement is being appointed pastry chef at London's newest five-star hotel, the Regent.
This promotion came after a six-month stint as acting pastry chef at the Regent, following the departure of Yolande Stanley. Prior to that, Sharp was number two in the Regent's pastry kitchen.
While there might be a general shortage of good, experienced pastry chefs, many of the youngest, brightest ones on the scene - all eagerly awaiting their chance to make it to the top - are women.
At 27, Sharp is one of the new breed of young female pâtissiers. Now that she's secured the top job at the Regent, a bright future lies ahead in her chosen field.
Although Sharp had reservations about not being quite ready to take on the job permanently - as she wondered whether she had the necessary experience to open the Regent's own bakery in the coming year - now that the job is hers, she says she's "ready to take up the challenge".
Her determination to become a pastry chef began when she joined the 36-bedroom country house hotel Rothley Court, near Leicester. "It has always felt more natural for me to be in the pastry section, than in any other part of the kitchen," she says.
Initially starting work in the larder, she stepped into the role of pastry chef when the job suddenly became vacant. Although given a free rein, she had gained little pastry experience at college and now had no-one to teach her.
Her saving grace came when the hotel's owners, Forte, sent her on a one-month course to Lenôtre pastry school in Paris, gaining experience in bakery work, plated sweets, trolley sweets and petits fours. Hungry for a greater challenge, she moved on to a Forte establishment with a larger pastry kitchen - the Compleat Angler at Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
She joined as second in the pastry kitchen in September 1989 and within 18 months was promoted to pastry chef.
While at Marlow, she completed the two-year 706/3 advanced pastry course with John Huber at what is now Thames Valley University in Slough.
Like so many other young pastry chefs, she has nothing but praise for her mentor. "Mr Huber is always so interested in his students and full of enthusiasm that I would always return to work from college brimming with ideas," she says.
After three years at the Compleat Angler, she moved to the newly opened Coppid Beech Hotel in Bracknell, Berkshire. It was here that she met Stanley, whom she moved to London with for the official opening of the 309-bedroom Regent, in July last year.
The first week of her new job proved to be the most hectic of her career, preparing for the hotel's official launch party, attended by 800 guests.
Her involvement in producing major display pieces in chocolate and pastillage, as well as hundreds of innovative petits fours and desserts was a major inspiration.
"My feet didn't touch the ground that week," she enthuses. "It was brilliant, the whole kitchen was on a high."
Sharp is very grateful to Stanley for encouraging her to come to London; in particular for expanding her experience in banqueting work, and generally broadening her scope for learning.
"She taught me the traditional methods of making certain dishes - some pastry chefs may have taken short cuts," she says.
"For example, at the Regent, we make traditional strudel pastry for our apple strudel, whereas elsewhere you might get it made with filo or puff pastry."
Served with cinnamon ice-cream, the strudel is one of the hotel's most popular pastries.
In her six months as the Regent's acting head pastry chef, Sharp headed a team of four (down from the ideal number of nine) within a brigade of 40, to produce desserts, pastries and cakes for: room service; three restaurants - the Dining Room (110 seats), the Winter Garden (70 seats) and the Cellars (50 seats); and up to 1,500 covers in banqueting every day.
As a result of the shortage of staff, Sharp and her pastry team frequently find their basic 12-hour day rising to 16 hours. "We know the work has got to be done, so we just pull together and do it."
A sweet trolley is used in the Dining Room, a buffet and afternoon teas are available in the Winter Garden, while traditional puddings, such as bread and butter pudding, are served in the pub-style Cellars.
All desserts served in the nine banqueting rooms are plated. Everything is produced in-house, apart from ice-creams, sorbets, some petits fours, bread and Danish pastries.
While Sharp recognises the value of a sound, traditional training, she always builds on the basics to come up with new ideas. In particular, she enjoys working with one main ingredient to show off its versatility in one dessert.
For example, the dish she is presently planning for the Chefs and Cooks Circle dinner, next February, has apples centre stage.
In its current guise, Sharp's trio of apples includes an apple creme brûlée; a baked apple cheesecake; and a Calvados and pecan mousse, with caramelised pecan nuts running through the centre of the mousse. This will be served with a Calvados sorbet, caramel sauce and crispy apple garnish.
Having found her first experience of working in London to be enormously valuable, forever keen to expand her horizons, Sharp plans - at some point in her career - to work abroad.
"Especially Switzerland," she says hopefully, heading back to the stove.
