Cakes and Cocktails – 41 Ocean Hosts a Night of Sweet Confection and Magical Libations
By Mike Vallens
Right in the middle of a 13 mile hike on the scenic Backbone Trail off Piuma Dr in Malibu Canyon, my cell phone miraculously got enough reception to receive an email from a fellow food blogger. The message was urgent, stating that he had fallen ill with a severe cold and would not be able to make it to a very important event titled Cakes and Cocktails, scheduled for later that evening. I realized then, since I had a rare day off from my day job, it would be in my best interest to attend the event myself. I ended up being extremely glad I did.
I arrived for an evening of Cakes and Cocktails at the exclusive 41 Ocean , a private members only social club with a relaxed Mexican inspired atmosphere, right on time to network with fellow members of the media and blogging world. Audrey Shulman was the first friendly face I ran into, one of the two stars of the evening. Immediately, I felt soothed by her presence. She has to be one of the sweetest and most down to earth people I have met in recent memory. Though our conversation was brief to begin with, I knew that her story was sincere, unique, inspiring and was thrilled to find out more.
Audrey is originally from Nashville, Tennessee and personifies southern hospitality. She found inspiration to go on this particular culinary adventure when her best friend Chrissy suggested the genius idea to bring freshly baked cakes to bars. The idea was to meet guys and hopefully attract a boyfriend. Audrey knew right away that Chrissy was on to something and thus, the challenge was accepted. For an entire year, Audrey and Chrissy would embark to different bars with the goal of blogging about the experience on Audrey’s fantastic website, Sitting in Bars with Cake.
About halfway through their experiment, Chrissy suffered a seizure and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. With reality staring her in the face, Audrey fought through thoughts of quitting her blog and bar experiment, but Chrissy was determined for Audrey to keep moving forward. The rest of the year was split between appointments with Chrissy’s doctors and further medical treatment, all the while still making the trek to bars every week to continue the task at hand.
By the end of the year, Audrey and Chrissy had been to 50 bars and baked 50 cakes, a true feat in itself. Her blog was noticed by the Huffington Post and Audrey was invited to contribute, a real honor. Furthermore, after the yearlong experiment, Audrey landed a boyfriend, a book deal and subsequently, a pilot for a television show, which is currently in the works. She personifies the old saying that good things happen to good people.
Soon after, I was introduced to a true “Rock Star”, Molecular Mixologist Rob Floyd. Rob is a true gentleman and his passion for his craft shines brightly. He proudly details his upcoming international tour for his renowned production known as Cocktail Theater which he describes as a mix between Rocky Horror Picture Show meets the History Channel. He will be traveling to China and Istanbul, Turkey in the latter part of 2015 and will perform in front of sellout crowds expected to number over a few thousand for each show. In fact, Rob and co. are going to perform for the audience of the World Poker Tour while in China.
After schmoozing with colleagues and indulging in appetizers, we were greeted by 41 Ocean’s General Manager Jeff Rowe and a couple of other staff members and then taken on a brief tour. As a group, we felt lucky to be shown their famous secret poker room where members can cure their gambling itch. Additionally, 41 Ocean offers wine lockers to members, also located in the secret poker room as well.
After the tour, the group settled down for an evening of Cakes and Cocktails in a private dining room in great anticipation of hearing about the nights 2 stars. Rob Floyd began the evening with a brief recollection of his history as a Mixologist and his inspiration that keeps him motivated. Rob confided that he was 23 years old with two children that he supported while living in South Beach, and wanted to fulfill his obligation as a parent while proceeding with his passion for making interesting and thought provoking cocktails.
He exclaims, “The groundwork to all great drinks must involve the three T’s.”; the three T’s stand for Taste, Technique and Tales. All beverages must not only taste great, the technique with which they are made has to be distinctive and the story behind their creation must stand out. Moreover, the story must start as a secret that one desires to share.
The first beverage Rob provided was a 16th Century French Ver ju. In the past, before citrus fruits such as lemons were introduced to the culinary scene, the French and Spanish would use grapes/wine with everything in order to give a sweetened dimension. The cocktail was presented in a frosted Champaign glass and consisted of high quality Vodka, muddled grapes, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur. With his deep knowledge and having a background in molecular biology, Rob uses a dripper to gently place the lighter wine over the more dense cocktail concoction. The wine and cocktail not only look great, but their tastes complement each other and make for a great start to the evening.
To pair with the first cocktail, Audrey Shulman baked a Sage Cake with Ricotta Frosting. This particular cake was inspired by an interaction with a guy at a bar who pointed out the obvious. The “obvious” is a reference to the fact that she did not necessarily need a boyfriend to find fulfillment in life.
As a compliment to the Ver ju, I was caught off guard with how light, aromatic and delicious the Sage Cake was. The cake itself was savory and when combined with the Ricotta Frosting, it made for a satisfying bite. One person even commented that it tastes like Thanksgiving Dinner. I would go so far as to say that I would gladly eat the Sage Cake for dinner on any evening during the year. I can only hope to get another taste at some point in my life.
At this point, Rob was ready to put on a show. He explained that every cocktail that uses ice is 40% water. His solution to this situation is to use liquid nitrogen so that the cocktail never see’s water and the result is a smooth and silky sorbet like texture that brightens the palate. Normally, when making a cocktail with ice, by using a blender, it creates ice chards and it becomes crunchy to taste. This is remedied by the use of the liquid nitrogen at a temperature of minus 359 degrees below freezing. This cocktail included Kettle One Vodka, pomegranate, and a kiss of ginger and lime.
Audrey then presented us with our final cake, what I originally thought was a German Chocolate Cake, turned out to be a Chocolate-Bananas Cake with Chocolate-Coconut frosting. In her book, this cake was inspired by an interaction with a guy who worked in IT and whose phone was cracked, which Audrey found profoundly ironic. This cake really threw me off kilter. Just by look, this cake has Chocolate written all over it, but with the first bite, the essence of banana is so powerful and pleasing, especially when combined with the complimenting Chocolate and Coconut frosting. I imagine if I was one of the lucky gentlemen who had the privilege of trying this particular cake at the bar, I would have probably made a fool out of myself simply because the cake was that damn good.
By the end of the evening, I realized that these two amazing people have uniquely special stories to share. Stories that might be bittersweet, but they inspire others to keep moving forward despite adversity. The message is that success is obtainable through hard work, determination to finish what one starts and having passion for a cause. Audrey and Rob deserve the spotlight with a night of Cakes and Cocktails and I feel extraordinarily lucky to have been in the same room as these two. I will remember their stories not only as motivation to move towards my own dreams, but to help inspire others to live out their dreams as well.
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