You Can't Be Everything to Everyone.

I remember, way back when I started out with the small and very modest B&B... I was a wizard with eggs and I could make a great breakfast that almost anyone would be thrilled with. I didn't really expect the "foodie critics" (who were NEVER qualified as such) that would come along every so often and find little things to pick apart and that they would suggest I improve for future guests. They would qualify their remarks under the guise of being helpful (yup, I still roll my eyes thinking about them!), but I always thought it was more likely an excuse to leave a shitty tip lol. Here's a funny one: super wealthy dude who lives in a big city with very well-stocked grocery stores says to me, "You should offer avocado on the toast instead of butter, it's much healthier". Yes, he was serious and I was seriously trying my best (and would not succeed) to bite my tongue and keep a straight face.

Anyway, something I heard from these culinary gurus from time to time was that I should bake all of my own breads; I remember hearing more than once that "... it would be so nice to walk into the smell of freshly baked bread!". Yes, I bet that would be nice but when the hell was I supposed to make that smell happen? Between 4 acres of beautifully manicured lawn and gardens in the summer, and 4-12 metres of snow on my 120-meter driveway every winter, not to mention the endless laundry, housecleaning, food-prep, maintenance on all the buildings and organizing around a dozen chords of firewood annually, I couldn't imagine how I could add something as finicky and time-consuming as baking bread! If you want the absolute truth, I kind of wanted to throat-punch people who made that suggestion to me.

Take All Suggestions Graciously And (MAYBE) Give Them A Try!

What do you think I did? Well, tempting as it was, I did not throat-punch them; that would probably guarantee that shitty tip I just referenced. I tried baking my own bread. I tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and guess what? I was not very good at baking bread, and I wasted a hell of a lot of time trying to learn. Then, so as not to waste the actual food, I wasted a ton of time making breadcrumbs and croutons out of the catastrophic bread fails. Remember that this was about 25 years ago now so bread machines were brand new and not great - I even took one on loan from a friend to try out and immediately hated it when it pumped out a hard little brick of gluey garbage that would be better suited for smash-and-grabs than eating as a loaf of bread.

You Do You.

I went back to buying bread and, having the actual experience behind me, I would have no problem relaying that to the guests which came up with that (so friendly and SOOOO helpful!) suggestion. Sometimes I would ask them if they've ever tried baking bread, just to be the Devil's Advocate, lol. I would give them a full run-down of what I had previously invested (and lost) to actually try to produce my own bread; this would usually end their critique section of the day.

Once I had built Lodge 2.0, I had a full restaurant license with my B&B plus catering business so I was able to order through Sysco which made my life a lot less stressful, not having to rely on the dismal grocery situation in the little town nearby. I was then able to order professionally made frozen baking that I only had to proof (put on a sheet and let rise overnight) and pop them in the oven. Then, how nice for my guests, who would walk in to the smell of freshly-baked bread, croissants, buns, baguettes, etc. every morning or on arrival!

So, take those friendly suggestions in stride and consider all the other priorities in your day before committing to master an artistic, time-consuming and difficult project. Just because someone (who maybe doesn't even know what they're actually talking about, and who has probably never tried it themselves) gives you some advice, you don't have to take it - and it may be really stupid advice too, so why follow it anyway? Know your strengths and draw the focus to them... but also recognize your weaknesses and look for ways to work around them instead of beating yourself up trying to change them.

The pics below show creations that were all me; a RARE loaf of bread (maybe the only one!) that looked really good and tasted ok but not awesome. I was much better at baking pies, prime rib roasts and home-made appies! I hope you enjoyed the story of my baking evolution, the pictures and your visit to my website; please drop me a line to share your thoughts or offer any suggestions for future blog posts!