Recognized in 2001 as “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation and in 1994 as one of Food & Wine’s “Top Ten Best Chefs,” executive pastry Chef Gale Gand was schooled at La Varenne in Paris before opening Trio, Brasserie T and then later the renowned 4-star Mobil 5-diamond AAA Relais & Chateaux Relais-Gourmand restaurant Tru with culinary partner Rick Tramonto. Her most recent cookbook Brunch was released last year. Gand is the host of the long-running Food Network’s “Sweet Dreams” and has judged Bravo’s hit series “Top Chef.”
A lifelong root beer aficionado, Gand has her own root beer company and also produces a vanilla cream soda. A supporter of sustainable agriculture, eating locally and the environmental movement, Gand is a member of the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve Initiative Action Council and forages annually for local ramps and mushrooms with her son for her restaurants. She is involved in many community causes, including Art Smith’s foundation, Common Threads, which teaches children racial and cultural diversity through the culinary arts.
