Head pastry chef in “Aroma” 1 Michelin-starred restaurant of the luxury hotel Palazzo Manfredi in Rome
Like a modern victorious heroine, Irene Tolomei, head pastry chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant “Aroma”, chose challenge as the engine of her professional career, built on coherent and challenging training experiences. Irenes’ answer to whom, knowing she participated to “Bake Off” raised an eyebrow, was to gain credibility in professional pastry, demonstrating her value. That’s how, with a summa cum laude in Biological Sciences taken before attending the Advanced Program in Pastry Arts in CAST, Irene began to combine a whole series of high-level experiences, useful for better defining her professional profile: after an internship with maestro Felice Venanzi of “Gruè”, she had an experience at Hotel Rafael where she was able to experiment with pastry making. The combination between the adrenaline of the service, creativity, experimentation and the management of the unexpected, all aspects that reflects her personality, made her lean towards this type of pastry, refined first by “Mediterraneo” the MAXXI restaurant and then at the 3 Michelin-starred “Villa Crespi” at the court of chef Cannavacciuolo. For about two years she has been head pastry chef in “Aroma” 1 Michelin-starred restaurant of the luxury Hotel Palazzo Manfredi with view on the Coliseum. That’s why it didn’t surprise me that when I asked: “what are your targets for the future?” she answered: “Becoming one of the best pastry chefs in the world!”. Surely, she doesn’t lack determination…stay tuned!
When I experiment in my lab to find new creative solutions, I can reconcile my two worlds, that of pastry making and that of science.
INTERVIEW
When did you understand that pastry would have been your job?
I always thought about my future in a laboratory where I could experiment and that’s why, after high school, I chose to enrol in biologic science in Sapienza University, here in Rome. At the time I used to spend my summer vacations in Grisciano, with my paternal grandparents, and the funniest thing to do was baking desserts that I “showed off” on the stall during festivals. Seeing the happiness in the eyes of my costumers I understood that the kind of laboratory I wanted to be in wasn’t analysis, but pastry!
What are your memories of the training period in CAST?
I have beautiful memories of the time I spent in CAST, I met colleagues with which I am still in touch today and I had the possibility to practice with advanced instrumentation and techniques. During my work experience I never felt unprepared regarding techniques and preparations knowledge, therefore I think my training was excellent. It’s been an exciting and challenging period, for many reasons: while I attended the training in CAST, the recording of “Bake Off Italia” was being broadcasted, the pastry contest I participated to, and many people felt entitled to judge me based on what they saw on TV, without even knowing me… participating to that show was a fun experience and felt more like an endurance test than a pastry contest. I never felt “condescending”, in fact I enrolled in CAST’s advanced program to truly become a pastry chef.
What’s your idea of pastry making? Is there an element (shape, colour, balance of flavours, an ingredient) that you like to experiment with?
For me, pastry making is the perfect combination of art and science, so when I create a dessert it must be first and foremost understandable, simple and accessible to everyone, but also technical, where the pastry chef’s skill and perfection in creating a specific element on the plate must be seen and, above all, enjoyed! I love playing with style “trompe l’oeil”, recreating objects in the form of desserts, pairing them with a vegetable or fruit that I’ve been enjoying experimenting with lately. Like the fake, lactose-free, veggie beef tartare we’re offering on paper these days: watermelon concassé marinated in Campari with fake mango yolk glazed in vegetable jelly.
When you draw up the dessert list, what do you pay most attention to (food cost, execution times, coordination with the kitchen, wow factor, etc.)?
I mostly focus on the execution times, since we have about 60 daily covers and they all must show the same quality and perfection, therefore you need to be perfectly organized during production phase. However, the wow factor is important as well since with a nice frame like ours you must be at least measure up to the view of the Coliseum and capture the customer’s attention with “instagrammable” desserts!
You chose Pastry Chef over retail baker. Why?
There are two different production philosophies: I prefer the adrenaline and the possibility to experiment with desserts that don’t have to hold in a display cabinet. As I always say, the catering dessert is “ephemeral”, gives the opportunity to amaze the diner with something that will last a short time, made especially for him, to amaze him at that moment of the culinary experience.
You have 25 thousand followers on your Instagram profile @ireninsky did having social media helped you making yourself known?
My Instagram profile represents my life in the pastry shop; I would like to be able to work on it more! Social media has helped me a lot to make myself known and has also brought me a lot of satisfaction: interviews, events, collaborations… I think that they are important both to make yourself known and to learn, because by browsing the profiles of other professionals you can get the right inspiration or other points of view. For me, social media is a source of inspiration and a way to maintain contact with those who have followed me since the days of Bake Off.
You started teaching pastry in a cook school about a year ago. How do you feel about being on the other side of the desk and what are you most interested in transmitting to your students?
I’m really satisfied with this achievement, teaching other kids allows me to reconcile my technical and scientific side with my creative side. I want to instil love for this profession, but above all, I want to teach them that pastry making is effectively a science, and that if they can govern the physical and chemical laws behind, for example, an emulsion or a sponge cake, they will be able to master the recipe, being process-aware creators, and not simply executors.
Where do you see yourself in a few years?
My dream is to become one of the best pastry chefs in the world! I already said it after my training in CAST while filming the short interview and the goal hasn’t changed. I would like to be remembered over time, to leave a mark on the world of pastry making. Some will mistake it for presumption, I’m used to it, but if I’m here today doing this interview it means that I’ve done something good and that I’m on the right track. So, thank you CAST for this opportunity!
