Baking's In Her Blood By Nancy Ross Ryan
|
Gale Gand and Her Vanilla Bean Bakery Baking's In Her Blood By Nancy Ross Ryan |
|
|
Vanilla Bean Bakery in Northfield, Ill., opened its doors ve-r-ry quietly in December on a tongue-in-cheek date: Friday the 13th. "We thought we'd just unlock the doors-about three hours before the press got here-and see if any customers showed up," says celebrated Pastry Chef-Owner Gale Gand. Despite the winter's first snow, the whisper-soft opening and the last-minute press releases sent to only a baker's dozen of the media, the 2,000-square-foot Vanilla Bean Bakery was jumping. All 32 seats in the cafe were filled. Customers stood in line scanning the hand-written menu boards above the counter and peering into the display case at pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, coffee cakes, scones and brioche, freshly made sandwiches, soups and deli salads-all for eat-in or carryout. Of special interest were the handmade focaccia and the dozen varieties of signature breads (five from Gand's own natural starters). And while it was too early in the day for much traffic in champagne, beer or wine, cups of Gand's special vanilla bean coffee and glasses of Gale's RootbeerTM on tap were in big demand. Part of the crowd came because of Gand's reputation: She and her husband Rick Tramonto became nationally famous for their food and her pastry at Trio, their previously owned four-star Evanston, Ill. restaurant. Many who came to the opening were also customers of the couple's second award-winning restaurant, Brasserie T, just four doors down. In 1995, Gand and Tramonto sold their interest in Trio to open Brasserie T. Gand prepared the desserts but could not continue to bake the breads in the restaurant. "There was no room in the Brasserie T kitchen for bread ovens, and you can't bake bread in an 800°F wood-fired pizza oven," explains Gand. "I thought, 'If we had a bakery, we could do our own breads and produce other things the neighborhood really needs." One of those "things" was a convenient take-out place. "People with no time for lunch and less time to make dinner can pick up a really good meal for $5 here," says Gand. "Baking is in my blood," she continues, "I love it and it loves me." She found out that the kitchen was her calling when she was a 19-year-old college art student and got a job in her favorite restaurant. Her parents, however, saw her not as a blue collar cook but as a fine artist. "Twenty years ago," explains Gand, "baking was pretty much an all-male occupation and bakers were not viewed as artists." To help finance art school, she worked as a cook, opened her own catering company, and worked as a hotel pastry chef for three years in Rochester, N.Y. There she met her husband. Before getting her bachelor of fine arts degree, Gand studied pastry in France. After graduation, she opened her art studio and was successfully selling paintings and jewelry. But something was missing. "As a present to myself on my 27th birthday, I decided to let myself do what makes me happy." And what makes her happy? "Baking. I can't not do it!" She has done it in restaurants from New York to Chicago to London. She has baked on television in the 1996 PBS series "Baking with Julia," and on the Food Network's current "Baker's Dozen" programs. What's next? In the case of Gale Gand and Rick Tramonto, better ask "What's not?" Among their many fine food pursuits, they plan to wholesale their breads to other restaurants and area supermarkets. And this spring, Gand will move into more custom cakes for weddings and special occasions. "It's a very exciting time to be in baking in America today. There's a renaissance going on and it's great to be part of it," says Gand. She points out that the breads she makes from her own natural starters (rye, wheat, and white sours and biga, the only starter made with yeast) are not super-sour. "When sourdough bread first became popular in the '70s, it was very, very sour. But now we are ready to enjoy the depth and complexity that comes from breads made with more subtle starters." From this vantage point, it looks like nothing's about to go sour on Gand. |
BACK TO INDEX
To access this article on the Progressive Baker website click here:
Pass-it-on! Software Supplied by:
Gale Gand and Her Vanilla Bean Bakery
