Detour to Freed's

On the return from the trip to Las Vegas, I popped into Freed's Bakery.  Through some lucky connections, I was able to have a tour of the facilities, and it was truly mind boggling to see the size of production here!

Freed's is a Las Vegas institution, making cakes for many of the big hotels and weddings and with a line out of the door for their famous cookies.

It seemed that in years past there was a small bakery owned by the Freid family on every corner, but in recent times, they have decided to consolidate to one large operation.

Any bakery tour starts with a good look at what is on offer, and the case is just a beauty to behold!

We bought some of the yummy cookies to savor on our long drive back home, and they were wonderful, I especially remember the pecan shortbread and the magic bars!

We started by looking at the consultation suite, where up to 6 couples could discuss their wedding cakes at any one time.  Amazing! 

The tour continued to an entirely separate area where cakes are 'built', torted, filling added and a crumb coat of icing added.

It was good to see all the fresh ingredients in the fridge, so many bakeries these days rely on shelf stable fake ingredients these days.

We took a look at where the decorators sit, the bakery has 7 talented artists who finish the cakes off with their amazing designs. 

We also took a look at the giant rotating convection oven, which just boggles the mind!

The giant hobart mixers all in a line were stunning, it took a moment for me to realize that they were more than twice the size of even the largest mixer I've ever used, and they dwarfed the teeny little hobart mixers that I normally use to make the mousse filling at my internship!

For me it was a window into another world.  My dream was that I made cakes for people, which I do now, I dont have aspirations past maybe having my own small kitchen and studio with small fridges that hold beautiful custom cakes that I have created for people, but we'll see what the future holds...

So if you're passing through Henderson on your way back to San Diego, pick up some cookies here to make your journey that much sweeter.

Freeds Bakery 9815 S. Eastern Ave Las Vegas, Nevada 89183 Bakery Hours: Monday - Saturday 8:00am -8:00pm PST Sunday 9:00am-6:00pm

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Neon Boneyard

One of the most fun things we did in Vegas was visit the Neon Boneyard, a museum of neon signs dating back to the beginning of the gambling scene in Las Vegas. Its a great place to visit at the moment as the signs are all stacked around the place and you can get really close.

They are slowly getting themselves organised as a museum, so my feeling is that they will have barries up so that you cant get too close to the signs and there will be plaques and signs.

For the moment, the only way you can check out these wonderful pieces of art is to book yourself a tour. I found this to be a really fun way to aquaint myself with the history of Las Vegas and learn a bit about those flashy signs. It was really interesting to learn about what goes into making the signs and designing them.

Sturdy shoes are a requirement, and you're really only allowed to bring yourself, a camera and a bottle of water. No backpacks or tripods.

Oh and dont trust google maps to get you there, it wont. Trust the directions on their website!

At the moment it appears they do tours every day from Tuesday to Saturday at 10am. Be ready for the heat and don't drink too much the night before, really not a fun time with a hangover!!