Baking up a new beginning: Pastry Chefs celebrate new wedding cake offerings onboard Disney Cruise Line
A familiar scent of vanilla and powdered sugar is wafting in the air. Final details are being piped onto culinary creations as hidden Mickeys are being hand-formed from fondant. In a pastry kitchen onboard Disney Cruise Line, Pastry Chefs are embarking on their newest adventure: crafting signature wedding cakes for guests onboard – a new skill they’re perfecting.
Chef Grace, Culinary Standards Manager - Pastry, oversees the operation with precision and expertise. Chef Grace’s journey here has ensured her ability to support the pastry team, with more than 20 years in the business. When selected to train the Culinary team on board to create wedding cakes, she knew she was the perfect person for the job and happily took on the challenge.
Chef Grace with the newly designed wedding cakes.
Developing her team through careful training, education and guidance ensures each cake is passionately piped to pastry perfection. “We conduct research, develop the menus and training manuals, and train the team. After our trials, we get feedback and tweak things based on what our guests are looking for,” says Chef Grace. “We work very closely with our partners and the Pastry Chefs on board to find out what these challenges are and give them the tools they need to succeed.”
From sourcing the right products to ensuring consistency with recipes across the Disney Cruise Line fleet, Chef Grace does it all. The research and development that has gone into this new offering has been a long time coming. “I was asked if this opportunity could go fleetwide, so I made an educated decision based on our guests’ expectations while also weighing the challenges to ensure it wouldn’t be too demanding for the team on board. I studied each and every ship and determined what the opportunities were.”
The four styles of wedding cakes now being offered.
This did not come without its challenges, as Chef Grace explains, “The first thing I experienced was the humidity being nothing like it is on land. But until you’re on the galley in the middle of the ocean somewhere in the Caribbean, you don’t know until you experience it.” She continues, “When you’re in the middle of the ocean, you’re constantly swaying. You have to think about the stenciling and piping, because you cannot get a straight line if you’re constantly moving.”
After meeting all the necessary partners, she made the decision to move forward with intention and purpose, with a clear plan to execute this concept. The solution? Simple, but effective.
Pastry Chefs smile as they begin training.
Through trial and error, and lots of faith, trust and pixie dust, each Pastry Chef has learned these new techniques. “We have a large team, but not all of them had the experience with making wedding cakes, so we had to find ways to train them,” Chef Grace explains. “Our chefs have multiple tasks. I trained them to make sure that they have that support that they need. They practiced everything from building the cakes, to decorating and storing them and more.”
Pastry Chefs deep in focus while training on a wedding cake design.
The result? Satisfied guests and inspired Chefs. “This new offering has benefited the guests and the operation by giving the team the opportunity learn and grow. By meeting with the Chefs, we were able to get them the tools they needed to succeed, along with that hands-on experience.” By supporting the Chefs, they were able to make a greater impact. “They were very excited to learn. And as long as they want to learn and they have that passion, you can teach them.”
The Pastry Chef team proudly pose with their creations.
Chef Grace’s favorite cake, the Nautical Romance, features a nautical-style hidden Mickey, her very own creation. As suggested by the pastry team, “They asked if we could add a hidden Mickey, so I took an existing nautical rope design cake and had it shaped like a Mickey head. Everybody loved it!”
Chef Grace’s favorite cake: Nautical Romance.
Her advice to aspiring Pastry Chefs who are interested in working for Disney Cruise Line, wrapped up in a bow, is: “Never give up. If there’s a goal or dream that you have, make sure that you never stop believing in that dream and keep trying. Try everything you can to achieve it. Because it’s possible.”
Chef Grace: excited to continue in her journey with Disney Cruise Line.
Inspired by Chef Grace’s story and interested in crafting your own culinary career with Disney Cruise Line? Head to DCLJobs.com to discover open roles and apply today!
