Chef pours her heart into bakery

As a pastry chef, I always have strived to live my career as I have lived my life; do everything I can to prove that "they" are wrong. "They" could be anyone -- my mom, the waiter who I swear got my order wrong, my teachers, the government ... you get the point.

This lifestyle has had many ups and downs, but I believe that I have learned more by choosing to try and possibly fail rather than just follow the rules and never create waves.

For a while, I outright refused to make any pastry recipe the way an instructor, boss or book told me. "There has to be a better way" was my motto for so long -- long enough for me to lose a few jobs and make more than a few people angry.

It was a rough while, but, wow, did I learn a ton.

One thing I learned -- and probably the most important thing -- is that you really cannot argue with classic technique. I tried so hard to bust certain pastry myths, but in the end, I still needed a delicious pastry cream (that was delicious to more than just me). This led me to build a solid platform of classic recipes using classic techniques, which are the base for all pastry I make today.

The most important recipe, I believe, is lemon curd.

In a professional pastry kitchen, there are a lot of shortcuts you can buy to fake your baking skills (not that I do this). You can buy pastry cream, chocolate glaze, pre-fabricated tart shells. But the one thing not readily available is lemon curd!

Upon realizing this many years ago, before I opened Bleeding Heart, I became determined to create the most awesome lemon curd that was both sweet and tangy, could hold up to some heat and some cold and was not at all grainy.

I believe I did it, and I believe that once I got over myself, this recipe was my key into many pastry kitchens for which I was so proud to work. It also made me truly respect pastry and how it all began.

I haven't changed my ways very much. I still strive to prove everyone wrong, but now I am armed with some great recipes -- and a bit of humility.

Michelle Garcia, owner of Bleeding Heart Bakery, 1955 W. Belmont, just returned from competing in a Food Network baking challenge to air later this year.