Bio

My name is Kiara O’Donnell Riley.  I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts and have been for about seventeen and a half years.  I live with my mother, father, and two cats, Cleo and Zoey.  I was adopted from Yibin, China when I was about eighteen months old and I’m an only child.  My hobbies include Chinese dancing, shopping, and of course, baking.

Coming to culinary school never crossed my mind when I was younger.  Yea I love food, but I had bigger and better dreams.  I wanted to be an actress in Hollywood.  I was involved in drama at school and I sang almost everywhere I went.  As I got older that dream became more and more distant.  When I got to high school, I needed to start thinking about my future.  Did I still want to keep chasing this dream that never seemed realistic, or do I choose something else that I can have fun with and do for a career? 

       I got into the culinary program at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.  I realized my love for baking and it stuck with me for the rest of my high school career.  At the end of my sophomore year, I made it clear that I wanted to attend culinary school.  My two options were Johnson and Wales and Culinary Institute of America.  I toured both campuses and chose Johnson and Wales because I like the location and it has a great baking program. Moving to Providence was not really a huge adjustment for me because I’ve lived in a big city all my life.  Boston is right next to Cambridge.

I want to have a great experience here at Johnson and Wales.  I will have to work hard and that’s ok with me because it creates a good work ethic and discipline.  I chose baking and Pastry because it is an art form.  Making food into art is so clever and I want to create something to make others happy.  I want to do an internship somewhere amazing because I love to travel.  If I have to stay in the USA, I want to go to Hawaii.  If I can go outside of the USA I want to go to Tokyo, Japan.  My lifetime goal is to someday open my own bakery.

Apple Strudel- This is made with a Filo dough and the filling is apples coated with cinnamon sugar and rum.  The apples were sauted and there is 5 layers of filo dough being used.  It was until the outside was golden brown and crispy. It was then garnished with powdered sugar, caramel, and Chantilly cream.

Apple Crisp-  This apple crisp is made with granny smith apples, butter, and cinnamon sugar.  They apples were sauted until they became a little tender, but not caramelized.  It was topped with a streusel topping made with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt and bread flour.  I plated it with a French Vanilla ice cream.  I designed the plate with caramel and a mango sauce.  Powdered sugar was used as a finish.

Sorbet-  This is an orange sorbet made with orange juice concentrate and water.  There is also sorbet syrup added.  This is served in a honey tuile cup and garnished with fresh mint leaves.

Granita Coupe- This is an Earl Grey granita garnished with fresh mint leaves and a candied pear slice.  The granita is made from simple syrup and an infused liquid.  It is then put in the freezer to harden then a fork is used to get the desired texture.

Cheery Jubilee- Dark cherries, Kirschwasser liqueur, Peter Herring Liqueur, lemon, sugar, and cornstarch were boiled in a pot then plated over vanilla ice cream.  A raspberry sauce is drizzled over the top.