Recipe to Riches Australia - Something Sweet - Karen Marshall - Macarons made with Edible Perfume!

Soooo thrilled to bits that I made it on to Recipe to Riches Australia in the 'Something Sweet' category! To make it into the top 3 within my category and to appear on national TV was crazy, exciting and one of the best experiences I've ever had... loved every minute of it!  A big thank you to Darren Robertson (Chef), David Nobay (Ad Man) & Carolyn Crewel (Entrepreneur).  I'd also like to thank Fremantle Media and Channel 10.

Assembling my French macaron

Violet Parfum French Macaron

My friend and competitor Garth Midgley won the show with his product Chocorn.  Garth's product was very innovative and creative and is now available for purchase at Woolworths supermarket.

I taught myself how to make perfumed French macarons and experienced failure after failure before finally mastering them. When the going got tough, however,  I would remind myself of Oprah Winfrey's quote below: 

Think like a Queen.  A Queen is not afraid to fail.  Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.

I love making French macarons because I can create wonderful colours, flavours and textures.  For me, making them is more than just cooking it's also about science and art.  

There is a market for luxury perfumed French macarons but it's not in the supermarket!  

My daughter Ruby who is only ten helped me considerably in the kitchen and I think that she is the most amazing taste tester in the whole world! Ruby Marshall I love you to bits! 

Here's what the Recipe to Riches Contestant page said about me:

Week 6 Contestant

Karen Marshall
State: Canberra
Occupation: Public Servant
Product: Violet French Macaron

Karen's chocolate ganache-filled, violet macarons are much more than a mouthwatering sweet.  For Karen, they symbolize her power to overcome adversity.  The mum-of-two lost her sense of smell and taste after a mild head injury. Violet is important to her as it's one of the scents she can sometimes detect.

And, to the guy that took a bite of one of my macarons at auditions and said,'... it just felt like I'd been kissed...' - thank you as you made my day!