Inspiration can come from anywhere, writers can find it from a shower room (King, On Writing) or a chef can find it in a grandparent who gobbled any desserts she brought home. Recent Culinary Arts graduate Allison White was awarded the 2024 National Student Pastry Chef of the Year through the American Culinary Federation in July in Phoenix, Arizona.
Her journey began in 2013, when she was twelve years old, when her grandma signed her up for the Kids on Campus; attending the cupcake decorating program. However, White’s career journey didn’t immediately start within the kitchens of the culinary arts program, but instead with graphic arts. White was dual enrolled with Schoolcraft and Specs Howard, earning degrees in graphic design and broadcast communications. While attending Schoolcraft she would walk past the culinary kitchen and gaze at the culinary students in their crisp white uniforms, wishing she could once again be in the kitchen.
During the pandemic, at eighteen, White was working for Noodles and Company. At that same time Michigan began offering the free tuition program called “Futures for Frontliners.” White decided to take advantage of the program and made the career change enrolling into the Schoolcraft Culinary Arts program.
Cooking is something that White loves, though during the segment that covered baking and pastries with Chef Joseph Decker, who retired in April 2023. She found her inspiration through his teachings and realized she could express her love of art through unique desserts.
“I am artistic through my food, I get to create art that people get to eat, instead of reading the menu I designed,” said White.
White found that feeding people is something she loves deeply. She remembers that before the passing of her beloved grandparents, she would bring home desserts for them. They were her dessert people and always encouraged her to enter the pastry program.
“Those two are the reason I am doing this [Culinary Arts and competitions]. I would bring them the desserts I made, they loved eating them,” said White.
Her grandma, who passed one month before she competed in regionals held at the Culinary Institute in Port Huron, Michigan, would always call White her shining star.
White most certainly proved she is a shining star when she won the nationals in Phoenix Arizona this past July, earning herself the title National Student Pastry Chef of the Year.
She won by creating a Sacher Torte made with pistachio shortbread, gluten free chocolate cake, an apricot mousse with a chocolate glaze and an apricot sorbet. White believes the winning dish though, was her Peach and Plum Strudel.
“The pastry dough was probably about eight feet long,” said White.
During the competition she was surprised when she received the mystery ingredient, balsamic vinegar. That didn’t stop her from finding inspiration to make a blueberry balsamic compote, adding to her dish a pecan cookie crumble along with a sour cream and brown sugar ice cream.
Behind the scenes, White faced great adversity with her cake layers for the Sacher Torte. The Friday before the competition, one item that was allowed to be premade was her cake layers. White received help from many resources on campus, one being the Welding Department in which Professor Coley McLean created custom cake pans for the flight from Michigan to Arizona. Unfortunately, during the cross country flight, the cake layers lost their original density.
Accompanying White to Phoenix was her mentor, Chef Heather Moore, CMB, CEPC. When they arrived in Arizona, they opened the cooler to begin setting up the cart for the competition and discovered the layers took on an appearance of almost raw.
They came up with several possible plans including baking the cake layers in a toaster oven in their hotel room, making the cake layers in her one hour block she is given during the competition or contacting Schoolcraft President Dr. Cerny and taking him up on the offer that they had ironically joked about before leaving. Before leaving for the competition, White and Moore joked with Cerny that if anything happened, they could go to his home in Arizona.
Filled with hope, Moore made the call and asked if they could come to his home and bake the cake layers. “Dr. Cerny’s wife came in clutch, she had everything I needed. They really helped me out,” said White.
Her grandparents and Dr. Cerny’s family were not the only support and inspiration she had while preparing for nationals. Her parents, who are hard workers, always encouraged White to put her all into what she was doing.
The days before the competition, White’s mother could be found in the Schoolcraft kitchens washing the dishes while she was honing in her skills for the upcoming competition. “She loves doing the dishes and that was great because I hate doing them.” Her mother was there to show her support in any way that she could.
White’s advice to all aspiring pastry chefs out there, “always give it 100 percent, don’t ever think that you’re at the best you’re going to be. Always keep learning, keep doing what you love.”
One day, White hopes to work on Mackinac Island as an executive pastry chef. However, for now, she will spend the next year staying at Schoolcraft, working on her desserts. She will continue to work on pastries,working towards more certificates and one day earning the title master pastry chef.
