Chef Gale Gand is a Chicago-based pastry chef, cookbook author, television personality, and winner of the 2001 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
The heady scent of chocolate still hung in the air of my kitchen, the morning after I participated in a virtual “Chocolate 101" dessert class with renowned Chef Gale Gand. This event, which was held on February 12, was organized by the Wescott School PTO to raise funds for a new playground.
It was well-attended via the Zoom platform, and included PTO members, residents, teachers, school administrators, Principal Dr. Chris Brown, and Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley and his wife Kathy!
During her presentation, Ms. Gand instructed participants on how to make Chocolate Bouchon, or as the French call them “Corks," with white chocolate ganache and curls, a dash of powdered sugar, and fresh raspberries.
Chef Gale Gand is a Chicago-based pastry chef, cookbook author, television personality, and winner of the 2001 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Gand was the host of the Food Network show Sweet Dreams for over 10 years.
Gand is also a partner and was the founding Executive Pastry Chef at Tru, a contemporary fine-dining restaurant affiliated with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. In addition, she is the Co-Owner and Co-Founder of Kitchen Sisters Cooking School with Chef Jessica Dawson, and teaches a cooking class on Facebook on Thursday mornings.
The Riverwoods’ resident also discussed the history of chocolate, i.e., how it’s grown, harvested, and made into bars.
She shared the following facts about chocolate:
Chocolate was discovered in 1500 BC; 60 billion pounds is consumed annually(!); and chocolate comes from the Theobroma cacao tree, where cacao beans or seeds grow inside pods surrounded by white fleshy pulp. Ms. Gand then displayed a cacao pod, which resembled a squash shaped like a football.
She briefly explained, "The seeds look like toasted almonds or lima beans, but after they are roasted, the outer shell of the beans is removed, and the inner cocoa bean meat is broken into small pieces called cocoa nibs. The nibs are then ground and turned into liquid, which is mixed with cocoa butter and sugar. The last step involves blending the cocoa liquor with sugar, milk, cocoa powder or liquor, lecithin, and vanilla. Molding the chocolate is the final procedure for processing chocolate."
When asked what her favorite dessert was Ms. Gand replied, “The three dessert categories are chocolate, custard, and fruit. My favorite is custard desserts!"
For more information about Gale Gand, go to http://www.galegand.com/
