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Chef Gabriel starts rattling off steps while speaking about the ingredients he is using. I take in every single thing like a brand new baker who is learning how to properly crack an egg for the first time.
Together, Chef and I get to work on Cal’s birthday cake. It’s one thing to see Gabriel’s techniques on TV, but it is a whole other experience to witness someone as talented as him firsthand. Everything about him is incredible.
The way he turns granules of sugar into decorations that rival the best restaurants in Las Vegas.
His technique for glazing, which makes what happens on TV look amateur.
Him finding the balance between passion and perfectionism while he turns Cal’s birthday cake into a work of art.
“Fini.” He spins the cake tray in a circle, showing off his creation.
“Wow.” I take in Cal’s cake from all angles.
The skills Gabriel picked up during his twenty years of baking speak for themselves, and I itch to have even a fraction of his experience.
You could if you wanted to.
Instead of shoving away the thought like I usually do, I sit with it. A bit of the money from the house could pay for me to receive some formal training. It could help finance a few trips around the world so I can learn from chefs of all backgrounds, although those kinds of vacations would have to wait until Cami is out of school for the summer.
An idea starts forming. I could do anything I want to, so long as I am willing to take the risk.
“What do you think?” he asks, pulling me back from my thoughts.
“That my cake is going to look like it was made by a child compared to yours.”
He laughs to himself. “So long as it tastes good, who cares?”
“Says the man who just spent the last hour working on a single sugar art flower.”
He laughs to himself. “The chef I worked with in Las Vegas was a bit of a perfectionist.”
“You worked in Vegas? When?” I don’t remember that being part of his introduction on the show.
“Last year at the Dahlia.”
“The Dahlia?” I suck in a breath. That’s one of the most exclusive hotels in all of Vegas.
“Oui.”
“Where do you find the time? Don’t you have like ten restaurants to run and a million things to do?”
“When I was still a student, I told myself that once I made enough money, I would spend one month in a different city every year, learning about new techniques and skills to improve my craft.”
I lean forward on my elbows. “Wow. What inspired that?”
“Working for a stubborn chef who never wanted to branch out and experiment beyond what he was good at.”
I busy myself with clearing the counter of the all the dirty bowls and baking tools. “I always wanted to travel and eat my way around the world.”
His grin stretches across his face. “You need to. Some of the best experiences I had baking are from my time traveling.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes. It brought the food I loved to life and taught me to appreciate the culture and people behind the recipes.” He clears the station to prepare for my tres leches layer cake, leaving me to consider what he said.
What would it be like to spend summers traveling the world, learning new recipes while exploring cities and cultures?
You could find out.
