Food Network star Gale Gand is nicer than your Mom
Gand is the Executive Pastry Chef/Owner of TRU and host of Sweet Dreams on Food Network
One day a few months back my mom was at the library in our hometown north of Chicago and found out Gale Gand, pastry chef extraordinaire, was talking there. I’ve always wanted big things for this blog, so I did some investigative reporting, turns out she’s a sweet woman and had no problem talking to me between her discussions as part of a panel at Robert Morris College’s Culinary Symposium on Friday, March 27 in downtown Chicago.
First things first, I’m not gonna run down all the things she’s accomplished, a quick Google search will tell you she’s insanely accomplished, and that’s not why I was interviewing her; in fact I generally asked her the same questions I’d ask any chef. After meeting Tyler Florence last weekend though, I was sparked in curiosity about the idea of being a celebrity chef, and the dynamic of not only proving your prowess in the kitchen, but the ability to sell yourself too.
Robert Morris College students ask Gand for advice on success in the culinary industry
Does she ever feel nervous doing cooking demos, meeting dignitaries, or even have a rough night in the kitchen? Nope. Never. Ok, once, she said. It was a cooking demo really early on in her career, it lasted two minutes and then it was over. How could she not get nervous meeting presidents, other legendary chefs, etc? Gale Gand’s father, Bob Gand, owns a music store in my hometown, and in fact, I took guitar lessons there in 7th grade, purchased a few mouthpieces for my trombone and got all my piano sheet music there as well. Needless to say, Gand was performing on stage from an early age. She credits this to giving her the confidence to once tell President Clinton she was the most important person in the room at Mayor Daly’s birthday party. It worked, as she got to sit next to him the rest of the night.