What were your favorite desserts growing up?
Any dessert with fruit

When did you decide you wanted to be a pastry chef?
While working my way (in a local bakery) through music school

Where and when did your cooking career begin?
At home

If you didn't become a pastry chef, what would you be?
An Astronomer

Who/what has shaped your baking the most over the years?
Ewald Notter and Joe MeKenna (both master pastry chefs)

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Good quality ingredients

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Sweeteners besides sugar

What are some recent dessert trends that you have noticed?
Using less sugar in desserts and sugar substitutes

What was the most challenging dessert you had to make? Why?
Once in did a banquet for 200 people. 20 tables of ten and each person had a different dessert at each table! A lot of damn work!

What is your least favorite food?
Store bought anything

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
People are spending less money and looking for value items. Casual dining is a big, big trend.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant….where are you eating?
Trying other establishments (the competition!)

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
France of course

What was the most spectacular meal or dessert you have ever had?
Best dessert was a homemade apple-caramel pie my youngest sister makes every year. She sends a frozen unbaked one to me every year!

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Learning to use a scale and avoid cups and teaspoons

What do you eat when you are home?
Everything!!!