Art inspires Kitchener pastry chef to new heights
Art$Pay’s AP Now! exhibit pairs visual art with cuisine
On Labour Day Monday, in a commercial bakery on Gage Avenue in Kitchener, master baker Jessica Kerr was busy completing a special order of sugar cookies. Lots and lots of sugar cookies, each one glazed with a special icing that hardens to allow her to paint a fall-themed element on the baked goods.
“It’s hard work,” she said. “They’re like a canvas.”
The cookies were for a corporate client but even as she iced, Kerr’s mind swirled with delicious ideas for an Art$Pay project.
In May, the arts group Art$Pay challenged local composers to write music inspired by photographs in one of their exhibits. It seemed to be the perfect pairing. This week, the pairing will be between food and art at the opening of the organization’s new exhibit, “AP Now!” at the Centre of International Governance, Sept. 7 and 8.
“They gave me a file of all the artists participating,” said Kerr, who oversees a dozen staff as production manager at La Pâtissiere and recently started her own custom baking business, Sweet Thing Baking.
Kerr is all about creativity, having completed an undergraduate degree in fine arts at the University of Waterloo before studying culinary arts at Humber College.
Kerr loves a challenge, so when she was approached by the Art$Pay group and asked if she could create gluten-free baked goods —
truffles, and macarons, a French, meringue-based confection — she was intrigued. Then when she saw the artwork chosen for the exhibit, she was inspired.
The pastry chef looked through the works of the 25 artists participating in the show. Three in particular caught her creative eye.
“When Cathy (Farwell) told me what they were for, I got it, I understand artists,” she said, noting her arts degree and background had prepared her to tackle this unique project.
“Working for La Pâtissiere, it’s been great,” she said. “I’ve been able to evolve skills I didn’t have before.”
“Baking is something that is rooted in science, but to complete a piece artistically you have to have an understanding of colour, how to use a (pastry) paintbrush,” she said.
In the past, clients have given her textile samples or even bits of wallpaper, asking her to match the patterns for a custom-made cake. This is the first time she has been asked to look at a piece of art and do her own creation. It’s been a heady experience.
As a baker, Kerr thinks in terms of “flavour profiles” and she said that often, when she is looking at an inspiring scene, she gets distinct flavours in her mouth. It’s her creativity expressing itself.
One of the Art$Pay works that is light and frothy made her think of lemon and white chocolate, while another much darker image made her think of dark chocolate and gold leaf.
Kerr’s creations, along with a bartender’s special cocktails also designed to reflect the art, will be presented at Friday night’s reception, to an expected crowd of about 200.
It will be a full gastronomic and visual feast for art lovers.
The exhibit moves to Wellington Brewery Sept. 22 and 23, where a Guelph team will pair beer and food with the art.