Francois Behuet is the Executive Pastry Chef of the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles. Since 2022, Behuet has overseen pastry food & beverage outlets at both The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, which includes the signature Californian trattoria Savoca, Glance Lobby Bar, Illy Caffé, The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge, in-room dining and Sendero, including three signature dining experiences (Corteza, Leña and The Agave Library).

With extensive luxury hospitality experience and a deep understanding of the industry landscape, Behuet brings 20 years of pastry experience, most recently playing a pivotal role at Pendry West Hollywood with Chef Wolfgang Puck. There he worked alongside the team on creating the entire pastry program for the property’s three restaurants, developing a pastry boutique and overseeing the kitchen design. Behuet was a member of the USA Pastry Team that won the silver medal at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie’s Americas Continental Selection in Santiago, Chile in 2022. The team went on to compete at the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie  in Lyon, France in 2023.

In this episode we discuss:

• Francois’s roots and how he became interested in pastry
• His apprenticeships in pastry and chocolate
• Honing his chocolate skills in Paris
• His holiday in NYC that led to a move to the U.S. and a job with Payard
• Moving to L.A. to work for Bottega Louie and then Pendry West Hollywood
• His current position at the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE
• His involvement with the U.S. Pastry Team
• Teaching bi-monthly Chocolate Master Classes
• His best kitchen tips and career advice
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by Republica Del Cacao

This podcast is sponsored by Republica Del Cacao. Say hello to this authentic Latin American Chocolate! They are a local brand with a global impact! The value of their products begins in the hands of their allied farmers, whose raw materials reach their team. Through processes of excellence, they transform them to create fine origin chocolate enjoyed by Chefs and Chocolate enthusiasts in more than 20 countries, as a community and a brand, they are changing the world, one cacao bean, at a time! Visit https://republicadelcacao.com to learn more. 

Chef Stéphane Chéramy is currently the Executive Pastry Chef at The Ritz-Carlton & JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, a role he has held since 2006. In this capacity, Chef Chéramy has led the pastry team at this AAA 5-Diamond, Michelin-award-winning resort, managing various aspects of the pastry and bakery operations. 

Chef Chéramy is also the President of Club Pastry World Cup Team USA, a member of the Académie Culinaire de France and the James Beard Foundation. From 2006 to 2012, Chef Chéramy was the Chairman of the Ritz-Carlton Pastry Advisory Board - Global.

Prior to his tenure in Orlando, Chef Chéramy held several notable positions, including Executive Pastry Chef and preopening team member at The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, and Assistant Pastry Chef at The Ritz-Carlton Naples. He also served as an Assistant Pastry Chef and member of the opening team at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Before coming to the United States, Chef Cheramy worked in a number of restaurants and patisseries in the south of France. 

He has judged multiple competitions including the United States tryouts for the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, US Pastry Chef of the Year, and others. Chef Chéramy won the gold medal at the National Plated Dessert Competition (USA), and multiple silver medals include one at the National Chocolate Competition in France. 

Club Coupe du Monde Team USA is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is dedicated to promoting transmission, exploration, vision and advancement of both the artistic and scientific realms of the Pastry Arts. The Club seeks, recognizes and support America’s best pastry chefs to represent the United States in the Pastry World Cup. With 50 participating countries, this biannual event is considered to be the most prestigious pastry competition in the world.

In this episode we discuss:

•    How Stéphane first became hooked on pastry •    His training and honing pastry skills in France  •    The job that brought him to the U.S. •    His career with the Ritz-Carlton •    Being named President of Team USA Club Coupe du Monde •    His goals for Team USA •    Stéphane’s top kitchen tip and advice for aspiring pastry chefs •    And much, much more!

Upon completing an AAS in Culinary Arts from Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, Andy Chlebana attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park to study baking and pastry. He began his career working for the Four Seasons Chicago, focusing on fine-dining desserts. Chef Chlebana’s career has included positions at The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island Grill Room, opening team of the Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C., and Pastry Chef/Corporate Account Manager at Albert Uster Imports, Inc. Chlebana has spent the past 18 years teaching baking and pastry at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, where he is now Pastry Chef/Professor. Most recently, Chlebana was the coach of Pastry Team USA, which competed at the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, and has completed revising the second edition of his book The Advanced Art of Baking and Pastry (Wiley, 2017), due out later this year. He resides in Plainfield, Illinois with his wife Heather and four children.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Andy first got hooked on baking
• Taking an alternate route: community college and pastry at the C.I.A.
• Landing his first job at the Four Seasons Chicago
• Opening the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.
• Joining the sales team at Albert Uster Imports
• Finding his true calling: beginning his teaching career at Joliet Junior College
• The challenge of earing his CMPC certification
• Coaching Team USA for the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie
• And much more!

Susan Bae is the Executive Pastry Chef and founding member of Moon Rabbit restaurant in Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Bae is a 2024 James Beard Foundation Semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Before coming to Moon Rabbit, Bae worked as Pastry Chef at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, Texas, and the Michelin-starred Kali in Los Angeles, among other restaurants. Chef Bae draws inspiration from nature, and uses it as a reference point in her desserts. She adores herbs, often employing them to switch up standard pastry flavors.

Once an aspiring school teacher, Chef Bae likes to mentor, and believes it is important to make everyone’s voice heard. She feels that cooks are so important, and that things could not get done without them. It is her opinion that collaboration is key. In her words, “Pastry is not necessarily about the food; it’s about methodical science.”’

In this episode we discuss:

• How she learned to bake by reading blogs
• Changing course from teaching elementary school to working in a kitchen
• Getting a formal culinary degree
• Honing her skills at a succession of restaurants
• Landing her dream job with Kevin Tien at Moon Rabbit
• Her unique dessert menu and what inspired it
• Being nominated for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef
• Susan’s kitchen tip and advice for pastry chef wannabes
• And much more!

Amy Guittard, Chief Marketing Officer at Guittard Chocolate Company, is the great-great-granddaughter of Guittard's founder. As the fifth-generation of the family business her great-great-grandfather started in 1868, Amy has an innate passion for cocoa and chocolate. In addition to leading Guittard's marketing department and spearheading the development of the brand, Amy’s involvement at Guittard also includes sourcing and sustainability, serving on several committees for the World Cocoa Foundation, and traveling to origin to meet with farmers, buyers, and traders. She continues Guittard’s long-standing tradition of collaborating on the ground with those closest to the source.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How and why Amy’s Great-Grandfather started the company
• The changes Amy’s father Gary gradually introduced into Guittard
• Guittard’s process of sourcing cacao beans
• The company’s involvement in pre- and post-harvesting processes
• How Guittard develops a new chocolate product
• The significance of chocolate percentages
• Guittard’s involvement in heirloom cacao preservation
• Sustainability and long-term company goals
• And much more!

Martin Sorge is a baker, recipe developer, and food writer based in Chicago, IL. A tried-and-true Midwestern native from Fort Wayne, IN, Martin’s passion for baking dates back to his early childhood when he accidentally set a microwave on fire while attempting to make a “biscuit” out of a few simple ingredients. Despite that setback, Martin forged ahead with his love of food to become a self-trained home baker, educating himself on the variety of baking techniques through cookbooks, blogs, friends, learning from mistakes, and lots of eating. He started by baking simple breads and cookies before incorporating more complex dishes to his repertoire, which quickly garnered interest from his friends, family, and community. Looking to share his love for baking with the world, Martin competed in his first-ever baking competition, The Great American Baking Show, and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith named him the winner in 2023.

Today, Martin takes his approachable Midwestern roots, his homebase of Chicago, and his not-too-serious (sometimes corny) personality and combines those with his nerdy technical knowledge to create accessible recipes for the home cook. When he’s not in the kitchen baking up a storm, Martin enjoys board games, jumping in lakes, exploring places near and far with his husband, and his newfound hobby—pottery. (Now he can make the cake and the cake plate.) Follow along with Martin’s baking adventures via Instagram @martinsorge, TikTok @martinsorge, Twitter @martinsorge, his website martinbakes.com, and his Substack newsletter: Great Bakes.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Martin’s food-centric Midwest family nurtured his love of cooking
• How determination, research and hard work turned Martin into a talented baker
• Martin’s career as a consultant in economic development for small businesses
• His top survive-and-thrive tips for owners of small food-related businesses
• Surviving the application process for The Great American Baking Show
• The dirty details: what it’s really like to compete on The Great American Baking Show
• Some of the things Martin's working on now, from recipe development to his Substack newsletter
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by Republica Del Cacao

This podcast is sponsored by Republica Del Cacao. Say hello to this authentic Latin American Chocolate! They are a local brand with a global impact! The value of their products begins in the hands of their allied farmers, whose raw materials reach their team. Through processes of excellence, they transform them to create fine origin chocolate enjoyed by Chefs and Chocolate enthusiasts in more than 20 countries, as a community and a brand, they are changing the world, one cacao bean at a time! 

Based in Los Angeles, California, Chef Mario Bacherini is the West Coast Pastry Chef of L’École Valrhona, where is he is in charge of conducting classes, demonstrations and workshops for professionals, providing one-on-one culinary consultations and bringing Valrhona’s expert touch to the West Coast. After graduating from culinary school in Florence, Italy, Chef Bacherini went on to do his apprenticeship as a chocolatier. He began working in Michelin-starred restaurants across Italy and France until he decided to settle in Perpignan, France, where he trained under Olivier Bajard (Meilleur Ouvrier de France). In 2008 he moved to Paris, where he worked at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée with French Pastry World Champion Christophe Michalak. Four years later, Bacherini left Paris for New York City, where he took on the role of Executive Pastry Chef at Nobu, managing three restaurants. While in New York, he also traveled the world to teach pastry masterclasses in various countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Italy and France, as well as the United States. In 2017, he moved to Los Angeles where he began his own consulting company, providing consulting for bakeries, pastry shops and restaurants, and later on had the opportunity to work side by side with one of the best pastry chefs in the world, Amaury Guichon, in his newly opened school in Las Vegas. Chef Bacherini continued to deliver his expertise across the United States and abroad until he got the call from Valrhona to join their North America team at the beginning of 2023.

In this episode we discuss:

• Bacherini’s challenging childhood and how he became interested in pastry
• Attending culinary school in Florence
• How he snagged his apprenticeship with a top-notch chocolatier
• Moving to France to work for Olivier Bajard, M.O.F.
• Working with French Pastry World Champion Christophe Michalak at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée
• Landing the position of Executive Pastry Chef at Nobu in NYC
• His experience teaching masterclasses around the globe
• How he became West Coast Pastry Chef for L’École Valrhona
• A typical day at the office for Chef Bacherini
• The importance of using high quality ingredients and staying “authentic”
• And much more!

Born and raised in the south of France, Didier Saba started his career as an accountant, but his love for creating French pastries eventually led to training at the famous pastry school Lenôtre. With the help of a renowned pastry chef from Lenôtre, he relocated to the United States and opened his first Le Macaron French Pastries Cafe in 2009. Didier and his family founded Le Macaron with the mission of bringing authentic macarons to the States. Educating and delighting customers about how macarons are truly “the gem of pastries” in France, the company has grown over the years through franchising with more than 70 locations nationwide. Today, Le Macaron is the #1 macaron franchise in the nation. Didier, who is the owner and CEO of Le Macaron, is often told that he has mastered the savoir faire of the macaron, which is one of the most difficult pastries to make.

lemacaron-us.com or on Instagram @lemacaronfrenchpastries

In this episode we discuss:

• How Didier came to specialize in macarons
• Coming to the U.S. to open a macaron shop in Florida
• Achieving success in a bad economy
• Adding more French products to the line
• Franchising Le Macaron
• Tips for making perfect macarons
• Most popular macaron flavors in the U.S. vs. France
• Didier’s advice for prospective pastry chefs
• And much more!

Chef Gonzo Jimenez was born in Northern Argentina and raised in a Spanish household surrounded by good food and long family meals. At the age of 17, he started working in restaurants and fell in love with the culinary world. He enrolled in pastry and culinary school in Buenos Aires. After completing his studies, he traveled around the country working for five-star hotels and celebrity chefs.

From 2009 to 2013, Chef Gonzo worked for large hotels in the United States, including the St. Julien in Boulder, CO, and The Hyatt Corporation in New Orleans and New York. Most notable amongst his various accomplishments throughout this period was the launch of his personal line of chocolates, providing different hotels throughout Manhattan, NY with high-end confections.

In 2013, he moved back to South America to work at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Santiago de Chile. Soon after he accepted a highly coveted position with Barry Callebaut as a Corporate Chef for the South American Region and Director of the Chocolate Academy in Chile.

Chef Gonzo is República del Cacao’s Corporate Pastry Chef for the United States and North America. He travels North America representing the brand by teaching classes, giving demos, and providing technical assistance to all its customers. Visit Gonzo’s Instagram page at @chef.gonzo.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How a young rebel got his intro to the culinary world
• The moment he became hooked on the art of chocolate
• Honing his skills at hotels and restaurants
• Learning about chocolate on an industrial level
• Opening a chocolate and pastry shop in Arizona
• His current position as Corporate Pastry Chef for North America at Republica del Cacao
• Running ultra-marathons as a hobby
• And much more!

Philip Khoury is the award-winning Head Pastry Chef at Harrods in London and the author of the newly released book A New Way to Bake: Re-imagined Recipes for Plant-Based Cakes, Bakes and Desserts (Hardie Grant, 2023). Chef Khoury started his career at Australia’s most awarded restaurant, Quay in Sidney, before becoming Adriano Zumbo’s head of R&D, launching hundreds of patisserie lines in his native Australia. After a number of years spent realizing the food industry’s unsustainable reliance on animal exploitation, he decided to begin tackling an area he had previously thought impossible: vegan pastry. He has launched a collection of plant-based and allergen-friendly patisserie at Harrods, as well as overseeing the production of their iconic made-in-house pastries and desserts. To learn more about Philip or to purchase his book, visit philipkhoury.com.

In this episode we discuss:

• Tasting a Pierre Hermé pastry and realizing he wanted to pursue a career as a pâtissier
• What he learned while working at Quay, Australia’s most acclaimed restaurant
• From production kitchen to R&D at Adriano Zumbo and what he learned there
• How he landed his dream job at Harrods
• What motivated him to become vegan and how he introduced vegan desserts at Harrods
• Writing his first book and sharing a collection of approachable vegan dessert recipes
• Philip’s top tip for making a whipped ganache
• And much more!

Affectionately known by her fans as the ‘Queen Of Cakes’, Yolanda Gampp is a self-taught cake artist with more than 24 years of experience and half a billion views on YouTube. With her quirky personality, obsession with organization and commitment to perfection, Gampp has shown the world that even the most unexpected items can be turned into cake. She entertains while she teaches, laughs at her own mistakes and is one of the most respected and celebrated celebrity cake artists in the world. She has been featured as a judge on “Crime Scene Kitchen”, “Cake Wars,” “Best Baker in America” and “Nailed It,” to name a few. She is also the author of two cake books and recently released first children’s book. Gampp is the co-founder of How To Cake It, a content commerce company inspiring a community of more than 14 million people to become better bakers through live classes, courses, and more. www.howtocakeit.com

In this episode we discuss:

• The moment that Yolanda fell in love with cake
• How she taught herself to craft sculpted cakes
• How she launched How To Cake It on YouTube
• Featured judging gigs on TV dessert competitions
• Writing projects: two cake books and a children’s book
• Expanding the How To Cake It brand
• Yolanda’s top tip for cake decorating
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by

The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley

This podcast is sponsored by The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. Get complimentary samples of The Perfect Puree to experience flavor, first-hand, delivered directly to your business. Samples are available to food service professionals in the United States to sample the robust flavor line-up of fruit puree, concentrates, zests and blends. Visit www.perfectpuree.com/pastryarts to request your samples now.