The sweet life - Circle City Sweets

SECTION E ✭ MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008
My Life
Small talk can
mean big potatoes
Mundane though it may be,
idle banter done properly can
help you get ahead in life. » E2
+ INDYSTAR.COM/TRAVEL Pacers coach Jim O’Brien has traveled a lot, but his favorite trip was a 1995 visit to Italy.
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Hand-held shredder
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www.ziszor.com for $39.50.
Time to spring-clean
your relationships
Maybe you’ve started springcleaning the dust bunnies out of
your home, but what about your
relationships?
“We all know someone who regularly gives us a sick feeling in the pit
of our stomachs,” says Christina Eckert, author of “Winning Against
Wackos in Your Life” (Larstan Publishing, $14.95).
Eckert has these tips for cleaning
up your emotional closet:
» Find some self-worth (wackos are
bullies who try to make you feel
smaller).
» Learn to say no (don’t let them
take advantage of you).
» Keep your personal life to yourself
(set boundaries so they can’t get in
your business).
» Learn to diffuse ugly scenes with
a few words.
» Be honest (if you have tried the
kind approach to no avail, then confront them firmly).
Diet gives thumbs up
to organic wine
On a diet? Go ahead and drink up.
According to research from TheDaily
Green, pouring a glass of organic
wine could be part of a healthy diet.
Wine helps
rid your body
of overprocessed, overpackaged
substances,
replaces the
junk with
whole foods,
and causes
you to fall in
love with
foods that are
safe for you.
Consider red
wine over
white; it has
antioxidants
that further
aid good health.
Video game system
helps stroke patients
A popular teen game system is
now being endorsed by therapists to
help rehabilitate patients.
According to an Associated Press
article, The Nintendo Wii helps heal
patients recovering from stroke, broken bones, surgery and even combat
injuries. Repetitive stretching exercises can become tedious and painful, so the video game helps patients
get involved mentally and work their
body.
— Compiled by T.J. Banes
TOM KLUBENS / For The Star
THE JOY OF BAKING: Cindy Hawkins basks in the glow of a finished chocolate hazelnut mousse cake she’s just made.
The sweet life
Woman gives up a
career in health care
to put on a chef’s hat
» Over 50? Never had a book published?
It’s not too late, according to the April issue of Writer’s Digest magazine. A literary agent shares his advice and warns of
the four biggest mistakes mature writers
make.
» Wow — that sums up a new Web site
aimed at women ages 40 and older. The
Web site — wowowow.com — is kind of
a Facebook for baby boomer women. The
founders include gossip columnist Liz
Smith, television news reporter Lesley
Following your dream sounds
great, but to be successful, you
need to support your hopes with
solid planning. Here are a few
steps taken by Cindy Hawkins as
she transitions from health-care
administrator to full-time baker.
By Julie Cope Saetre
W
Star correspondent
hen Cindy Hawkins was a grad
student studying
leader services
management in
Texas, she once
called home for instructions on how
to make a baked potato. “My family
to this day makes fun of me for that,”
she says, laughing. “You know, I don’t
cook at all.”
She does, however, bake — with a
passion that has led her to launch a
business, leave her full-time healthcare job and
begin a course
+ LEARN MORE:
of intense study
Details on French
at an elite ChiPastry School, Circle
cago pastry
City Sweets. E10
school. Today,
Hawkins owns
Circle City Sweets, a dessert-catering
company; serves as the pastry chef
at Buggs Temple Downtown; and attends Chicago’s French Pastry School
as a full-time student.
Unlike some career-switchers,
Hawkins wasn’t laboring in an unfulfilling routine. Her post-grad-school
career path led her from Indy Parks
to the alumni office at Butler University (her undergrad alma mater) to,
most recently, Community Hospital
East, where she directed volunteer
services.
“It’s funny that I am a careerchanger,” she muses, “because I have
loved my jobs. I have been so fortunate in what I’ve done.”
Still, outside the office, she had another love — baking. It took root, she
says, in her youth, when she baked
pies with her grandmother and created Holly Hobbie-shaped sugar
cookies with her mom and sisters.
Likewise, she has an affinity for
the restaurant industry. Her mother
owned a deli, and Hawkins herself
has worked in front-of-house posi-
Media scan
A peek at recent books,
magazines and Web sites:
DON’T JUST DREAM;
HAVE A PLAN OF
ACTION
Don’t believe what you see
on TV. Reality shows such as
HEATHER CHARLES / The Star
PRACTICING HER CRAFT: Hawkins works
as pastry chef at Buggs Temple restaurant Downtown and operates Circle City
Sweets, a dessert catering company.
She also attends pastry school.
tions in several upscale area restaurants. She and her husband, Roger, a
chef, met while both were employed
at the same eatery.
So three years ago, when Roger
had to work on New Year’s Eve at
Puck’s restaurant, he suggested that
Hawkins spend the evening assisting
the pastry chef.
“I wasn’t working at a restaurant
at the time,” she says. “So I thought,
‘Well, that would be kind of fun.’ And
I had an amazing time.”
Eleven-and-a-half hours later, the
pastry chef asked, “When are you
going to start working for me?”
For the next several months, Hawkins devoted Saturday mornings to
whipping up base components for
such goodies as crème brûlée and
bread pudding. She stopped during
the slow season, but the following
fall, Puck’s newly hired executive
chef invited Hawkins to return,
working under Pete Schmutte, the
new pastry chef.
Schmutte welcomed the help —
and was quickly impressed. “She
“The Next Food Network Star”
and “Top Chef” glamorize the
world of restaurants, but Hawkins knew otherwise from working in several. “She had experience in the restaurant industry,
which is very important,” says
Pete Schmutte, who has worked
with Hawkins at Puck’s. “Everybody has a romanticized idea of
what it would be like, but it’s actually some grueling work and
some hard hours.”
Look for creative financing
techniques. When Hawkins
launched Circle City Sweets, she
arranged to share space with
Matt Mills of Mills Catering,
swapping the results of her baking prowess for square footage.
“My trade-out deal with him
was . . . if I was making something and he needed some of it,
too, I’d make more so he’d have
some.”
Expand your horizons. As she
works through her six-month
pastry program, Hawkins hasn’t
locked herself into a specialty.
“There are so many things that I
don’t know about yet, but I’m
really looking forward to (learning). In the past, I would have
said I love working with creamand custard-based things. But
now I’m looking forward to
building cakes and looking forward to the different techniques
I’ll learn . . .”
» See Sweet, Page E8
Stahl, advertising executive Mary Wells, political columnist Peggy Noonan and former president of Simon
& Schuster Joni Evans. Don’t recognize any of the
names? Well, then this isn’t the place for you.
Same goes for the site’s many contributors, who
include actresses Marlo Thomas, Lily Tomlin and
Candice Bergen. Wowowow, which
launched earlier this month, lets visitors eavesdrop on virtual conversations
and essays by boomer women on such
topics as “Let’s balance this Obama
thing out” and “Do you feel a certain
rage when someone invades your personal space?”
Visitors can join the conversation
by posting comments after registering.
And if you’re not an Internet pro, don’t
worry. There’s a tutorial video by Liz
Smith to help you out.
» “The Sharper your
Knife, the Less You Cry”
(Viking, $24.95) may refer
to onions, but for author
Kathleen Flinn it describes her journey leaving
behind a corporate career
and fulfilling her dream to
attend the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school
in Paris. Flinn shares how
she learned to cook like
Julia Child while living in
Paris during the time of
“freedom fries.” She also includes more than two
dozen recipes, including cassoulet and duck with
orange sauce and figs.
— Star and news-service reports
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR ! INDYSTAR.COM
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» Hawkins says she relishes the
demanding classes she takes.
From E1
picked things up pretty quickly,” he remembers. “And if she didn’t, she was determined to get it. It’s just that kind of
dedication that, as a chef, you’re looking
for . . . somebody who’s got a passion,
who will take the initiative.”
A graduate of the French Pastry
School himself, Schmutte encouraged
Hawkins to try its community-education
classes. She did, first with a petits fours
class in January 2007, and then with a
cakes class last July. “They were amazing,” she says.
Also in January of ’07, she launched
Circle City Sweets. Soon, she was work-
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7265 N. Shadeland Ave.
317-577-2450
ing for private events and corporate clients and toting her sweet creations to
area farmers markets. By the fall, she
had begun working at Buggs Temple as
pastry chef.
At the conclusion of her cakes class at
the French Pastry School, her instructor
suggested she enroll in the full-time
study program. It would be no cakewalk:
Classes meet Monday through Friday for
six months, divided into such modules as
baking theory, history and science; ice
cream and sorbets; wedding and specialty cakes; and chocolate and sugar
candies and decorations.
“French Pastry School is arguably the
best pastry department in the country,”
says Schmutte. “The two people who
own it, Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sebastien
Canonne, are master French pastry
chefs. And the knowledge that they
have — just being there is humbling.”
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The decision to give up “the job with
the (steady) salary and insurance and the
retirement package and all that good
stuff” was grueling, Hawkins says. Still,
on Dec. 21, she left her office at Community East for the
last time.
She began her
Pastry School
classes in Chicago the next
month, rising at
4:30 a.m. to
catch a 5 a.m.
train for her
daily commute.
On weekends,
she travels back
to Indianapolis
to work at
Buggs. And she
still keeps Circle
City Sweets in
operation.
The schedule,
she admits, is
challenging. And
the household
budget took a
hit. But the ultimate payoff, she
stresses, is much
TOM KLUBENS / For The Star
bigger.
MASTERPIECE: ChocoShe relishes
late hazelnut mousse
the demanding
classes, saying, “I cake and other sweet
can’t wait to be treats are the fruits of
in a kitchen full Cindy Hawkins’ labor.
She left her job in the
time . . .
“There are so medical field to pursue
many people that a new career as a pasI know who have try chef.
wonderful jobs
in terms of their salaries, but who are
not happy with what they’re doing. And
I just can’t imagine not pursuing something that really, truly brings joy to you
and makes you happy. I think anybody in
FIND OUT MORE
Interested in scoping out Chicago’s
acclaimed The French Pastry School — or
simply enjoying the fruits
of Cindy Hawkins’ studies?
Here’s info on both the school
and Hawkins’ business.
THE FRENCH PASTRY
SCHOOL
» WHERE: 226 W. Jackson
Blvd., downtown Chicago.
» WHAT: Affiliated with the
City Colleges of Chicago, this
intensive six-month program
features hands-on instruction
by internationally recognized
pastry chefs. More than 90
percent of lesson time during
the 24-week course is spent
in the kitchen. Three-day continuing-education classes also
are available.
» FEES: $525 to $1,200 for
continuing-ed classes; $20,500
to $21,500 for six-month program
» INFORMATION: Call (312)
726-2419 or visit www.french
pastryschool.com.
CIRCLE CITY SWEETS:
» WHAT: A dessert-catering business offering cheesecakes, breads, muffins, coffee
cakes, cinnamon rolls, tarts, cookies, pastries, fruit bars, brownies, blondies and candies.
» COSTS: Vary depending on quantity and
varieties selected.
» INFORMATION: Call (317) 258-8646 or
visit http://circlecitysweets.com.
their right mind ought to think about
why they do what they do, and not just
look at the paycheck at the end of the
week.”
HEATHER CHARLES / The Star
CHEF AT WORK: Cindy Hawkins sprinkles powdered sugar
on a lemon curd tart (left) and cuts bananas for a carmelized banana tart in the Buggs Temple restaurant kitchen on
the Downtown canal. She works at the restaurant on weekends. “I can’t wait to be in a kitchen full time,” she says.
5172024
Sweet
5168695
E8 MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008
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Pet Talk
Pet Profiles Pet Pics
Adopt a pet
Visit IndyPaws.com to view pets seeking new homes.
Go online to IndyPaws.com daily for new posts, pictures, events and more.
In the spotlight
Meet some of the IndyPaws.com members.
Marley, housecat
Owner: Johna
Motto: “If you didn’t want me to attack you, why did
you move?”
Favorite activities: Playing with the dogs — or
anybody
KC
domestic short hair
Hilda
domestic short hair
KC is beautiful, laid-back,
friendly with children and
playful with other cats.
Hilda is a shy, 1-year-old
spayed cat who likes to hide
and sleep.
Indianapolis Animal Control
(317) 327-1397
www.indygov.org/accd
Humane Society of Indianapolis
(317) 872-5650
www.indyhumane.org
Favorite toys: Strand of beads, mice, moon
Maggie May, mix
Owner: Maggie
Likes: Walks, burrowing under blankets, licking faces
Pet peeve: The darn cat!
Favorite foods: Hamburgers, French fries, pizza
Debra, red-eared slider turtle
Owner: Marty
Motto: “Born to be wild, so keep me that way.”
Tucker
American pit bull/
terrier mix
Bono
domestic short hair
Tucker is a 1-year-old male
who would make a wonderful
pet for older children.
Bono is a 3-year-old
male orange tabby
who is good with people
of all ages.
Hamilton County Humane Society
(317) 773-4974
www.hamiltonhumane.com
Hamilton County Humane Society
(317) 773-4974
www.hamiltonhumane.com
Likes: Playing in pond plants and basking in the sun
on a log or on the side of the pond
Best trick: Sliding into the pond when someone
comes too close
Join the pack
Sign up online today — it’s free.
Visit www.indypaws.com. For questions
or to advertise, call (317) 444-PAWS or
e-mail indypaws@indystar.com. Submit event
information to calendar@indystar.com.