News
Pies Be With You!
On Saturday, September 11, 2010, Chefs Mark Seaman and Della Gossett of the French Pastry School of Chicago will be giving back to the Community with the new Pies Be With You initiative in Milwaukee, WI. Through Pies Be With You, parishioners’ of St. Francis of Assisi Church children between the ages of 10 and 14 will have an opportunity to learn how to make a homemade apple pie.
“Through this experience, not only will the kids be able to take home something that they made with their own hands and share it with their families, but will learn about where their food comes from and how to work as a team”, said Father Mike Bertram, Pastor of St. Francis.
Mark and Della will be assisted by a former French Pastry School intern who now resides in the Milwaukee area, as well as 6 adult chaperones from the parish.
All of the ingredients will be donated by a local grocer.
Steve Dolinsky Chats about Upcoming International Pastry Tour
For the third year in a row, Chicago pastry chef and instructor Mark Seaman planned an International Pastry Tour through France. If you have an insatiable appetite for macarons, chocolate and butter, this is the tour for you.
This tour is not just for pastry professionals. Anyone with an interest in French culture, food, or travel is invited to participate. The 2011 tour dates are June 21-30, 2-11; the tour has been moved to a June time frame to accommodate school calendars permitting more people to enjoy the tour.
Listen to Steve’s conversation with Mark on his podcast.
Marked for Dessert Opens New Sugar Art Studio in Chicago
Subsequent to the closing of Marked for Dessert’s Cake Boutique in Chicago and the selling of The Neighborhood Bakeshop in Libertyville, many of you have been eagerly awaiting news on Mark’s next location. Wait no more! Marked for Dessert now has a new home in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood.
This new facility, a sugar art studio, provides a work space for Mark to create cake models for an upcoming book, conduct mini classes on cake decorating techniques, and to manage administrative tasks for the International Pastry Tours. Since this is not a bakery facility, there will be no food production in this new space.
A bit about the neighborhood:
Ravenswood is one of Chicago’s first planned neighborhoods, popular for its Victorian and Prairie School homes, brick row houses and wide lots. It is combination of grand old homes in residential areas and industrial warehouses along the railway tracks.
Ravenswood is located from Ravenswood Avenue west to the Chicago River, between Montrose and Bryn Mawr Avenues. The neighborhood’s history began in 1837 when a Swiss immigrant came to Chicago and bought 100 acres of land to farm. The wooded village of Ravenswood was annexed by the city in 1889. Poet Carl Sandburg who was inspired to describe Chicago as the “City of Big Shoulders”, lived in Ravenswood.
Mark remains in the process of settling in to this new space. Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter to stay informed about upcoming classes and events in the new studio.
Mark Seaman Joins Faculty of French Pastry School at City Colleges of Chicago
Mark Seaman is one of the Chef instructors of L’Art du Gâteau which will begin August 30, 2010. The French Pastry School is now accepting applications to the January 2011 term of this exciting new program. The full-time 16-week certificate program will focus on the art of cake decorating, baking, constructing and all aspects involving the creation of wedding, celebration, and specialty cakes.
“Mark shows great commitment to the art of cake styling and pastry,” said Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-owner and co-founder of The French Pastry School. “He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the new L’Art du Gâteau program, and he’ll be an inspiration to his students as an artist and successful business owner.”
Mark Seaman has joined the faculty of