It's contagious!!!

You wanna see a what a cheese wax prodigy can do??

And I mean... WOW! The turkey is just phenomenal!!!

Featured Artist Segment: James Erd

A few weeks ago, Chef Lisa Wilson from Career Services pointed me in the direction of a film production company seeking a Production Assistant to help with craft services and catering. The film is called Doggie Boogie: Get Your Grrr On! When I arrived on set my first morning, I walked into a room filled with brightly colored draperies, costumes, pillows and props. Among which, I noticed perhaps the most unique combination of food and art I have ever seen...

CHEESE PUFF SCULPTURES!!!

Leaning Tower of Cheesa in progress, with what are perhaps some partially assembled doggie friends??

Potted plant and dog. Notice the slight color difference. Instead of cheese puffs, the base for the plant was covered with styrofoam peanuts that had been sliced in half, then sprayed with orange paint to create a more durable version of cheese puff art.

Cheese puff dog close up.

Gramophone. I believe this one is half styrofoam peanuts, half actual cheese puffs.

James Erd (aka Jema the Wolf) Prop Design and Construction.

Assembling the next great cheese puff artifact!

All pictures were taken and published with permission from Doggie Boogie LLC.

Externship Heros

My Externship at Patisserie Ganache couldn't have been a better match. Their specialty is custom celebration cakes made to look like absolutely anything! (Special thanks to Chef Tim, who suggested that I look into them.)

Everyone there is CCA alumn, and Chef Ken used to be an instructor at the old Polk Street location. No one will yell at you if you make a mistake (even if you burn an entire rack of muffins because you forgot to set the timer:-/) This was especially helpful during the learning process. I was able to retain more of what I learned when I didn't have to stress over the prospect of being yelled at.

Cheese Wax Andrew, with a box in which to keep especially awesome externs ready at hand.

Cheese Wax (Chef) Ken, with a blowtorch for smoothing out all that cold butter cream.

Cheese Wax Angela, with cheese wax daughters Maddie and Chloe.

Cheese Wax Chris, with basket of baguettes, sour dough and croissants. (The tiny breads are made out of Fimo clay. Kid friendly and available at craft stores, it hardens quickly in a low-temp oven.)

The Cheshire Cat Cake, which I made during my last 3 days on externship. Thanks for letting me play, Ken!

Next up, a special Guest Artist segment, plus How I learned to Cook: Baptism by Fire!

The Mile High Club

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter... I'm trying to keep this G-rated;-)

A few weeks before Christmas, I went to San Diego to visit a friend from college, Matt. Matt is King of all things pop culture, so cheese wax woman had a grand time touring around his apartment, meeting various characters of note:

Cheese Wax Woman poses at the in-house Super Hero Expo!

Meeting the cast of Back to the Future.

Ready for action with the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Flying makes me nervous, but I hate it less than I hate long car trips, so the choice was clear. To help quell the nervousness on the flight home, I kept myself busy by fashioning a cheese wax flight attendant doing the seat belt demo. I got a couple of odd looks from the people sitting near me on the 1-hour hopper from SAN to LAX.

Cheese Wax Flight Attendant says "Keep your seat belt fastened while seated."

Up next, Allison's Late Night Distraction Series continues with "Friends of Patisserie Ganache."

Better late than never

One of my theatre colleagues and founder of the Dragon Theatre, Meredith, hosts a BFT (Big Friggin' Tree) holiday party every year. Her request is for each guest to bring an ornament to put on the tree. Last year I brought popcorn on a string. Traditional, but not very creative. This year, I decided to make up for it with Reggie, the Cheese Wax Christmas Dragon!

The dark green wax came from a wedge of champaign cheddar from Costco. The light green is leftover Zombie wax.

The black for the eyes and claws is from an unknown source, given to me by a friend back in middle school. (Yes, it keeps.)

Unfortunately, cheese wax Reggie doesn't lend himself very well to being suspended by string, as he would eventually droop under his own weight. So he sat happily on a bookshelf next to the tree instead.

Hell no! We won't go!

In spite of the fact that I'm no longer going to class on campus, I still make frequent visits for various reasons... And so I like to think that my "deadline" to ensure that everyone has received their cheese wax effigy is somewhat extended, at least until my official graduation date, January 29. Even more, I like to think that I will stay in touch with these wonderful people, even after I have "left the building" for the final time as a student.

These ones are getting delivered on Tuesday, so shhh... Don't tell:-)

Cheese Wax Chef Mark, World Champion Ice Carver

and head of the Sculpture Club, with chain saw.

Cheese Wax Carmen! My Superwonderwomanawesomepatienthelpful

Tuition Planner, without whom I would be completely lost!

Next up, the Christmas Cheer I promised last time... Plus, Mile-High Cheese Wax and Adventures in San Diego.

The Next Generation

Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking to a group of 6 students who competed in a Market Basket Scholarship Competition, just like the one from this entry. Upon introducing me to the group at the beginning of the event, Haley mentioned my "unique talent" for making cheese wax figures. Well, since no one quite understands the idea until they actually get to see it, I decided to make the students their very own cheese wax people.

So while the students were hard at work making their plated entrees in the culinary battle for tuition money, I made a run over to Whole Foods and grabbed a couple bags of Baby Bell cheeses. By the end of their 90-minute allowance, I had fashioned the 6 contestants in cheese wax form.

Cheese wax people, like Iron Toque bones, are my way of saying 'Thanks for being a Rock Star.' By taking a chance and participating in the competition, these contestants are definitely Rock Stars in my book. Congrats guys!!!

Cheese Wax Market Basket Contestants, with uniform caps in honor of their future student status. (5 ladies, and 1 gentleman.)

One of the contestants and her sister were particularly interested in the cheese wax process and asked me if I knew how to make a dolphin. I've never had a request before, let alone one for a dolphin! So I tried my hand at a cheese wax dolphin.

My attempt at a Cheese Wax Dolphin.

Next up, Christmas Cheer in the Cheese Wax World!

Thanks for stopping by:-)