Ching Sien, Candice, Hong Fai, Jing Xian, John, Ming Jie, Olivia, Perry, Shu Jian, my piano teacher and my hairdresser.
This year's sales went up to 14 containers (420 tarts) and I am very very grateful.
I learnt a lot from this experience and one lesson I found the hardest to take was receiving negative feedback. Previously, I assumed I would be able to take it well, learn from it and continue feeling motivated. I completely didn't expect myself to feel down in the dumps for the entire day, mulling over it again and again and worst of all, consider not selling the tarts for next year.
During the few days when I was making it, many ideas sprung into my head for next year:
1) I would sell it by weight in future, seeing that I cannot guarantee the size of the tart.
2) I would make mini tarts.
3) I would make round tarts, square tarts and perhaps even any requested shapes.
I am very glad to report though, that as I make batches after batches,
- My pineapple grating skills improved (even though I will STILL shed blood every time)
- I got hold of the right consistency and time for the pineapple paste
- I take an approximate 15 seconds to make a tart
- I can stand, forget lunch and dinner, ignore my handphone, not catch my 7pm shows AND not pee for a straight 12 hours. Alright, I exaggerate the peeing part.
I sincerely apologise if the price is a bit steep, but I know I can safely say that I have tried my best for each tart even though the first few batches may not be as good. It has been too much work, so much so that after every baking session, I can barely spare the energy to talk.
The recipe is so imprinted in my mind I doubt I can forget it.
- Pineapple paste takes 3-3.5 hours to make and stirring it after every 2 pages of the novel on your hands will ensure that it will not burn. If it burns, throw the whole thing away.
- 4 pineapples take 1.5 hours to grate and the muscle ache attained will take a day to heal.
- One egg can be used to brush about 100 tarts.
- Butter takes at least 45 minutes to soften to the consistency that is required for creaming.
- 1 recipe makes 2.5 containers (80 tarts).
- 1 pineapple can fill roughly 30 tarts.
I can make the dough in 10 minutes. Hohohoho.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their continuous support and their insatiable appetite and the auntie and uncle downstairs for selling close to ten pineapples to me. And helping me to cut the skin off. Else I would've cut my skin off too.
Of course everyone else who believed in me and accepted my flaws and trusted that I would do a good job. I am sorry if I didn't reach up to your expectations, I really tried. But I promise to work even harder.
It has been an enriching, demoralising, motivating, exhausting and not to mention bloody experience.
Till next year my dear tarts,
For all the amazing, wonderful, motivating, lousy, downright demoralising comments,
THANK YOU
No comments:
Post a Comment