How was the transition to working with Rocco di Spirito at Union Pacific?
Rocco’s establishment was very old-style work. Everybody washed dishes, not just the dishwashers. I liked getting yelled at while working for Jean Georges. I liked being scared in the kitchen at Union Pacific. That fear makes you a better chef. You have a separate business of event planning and wedding cake production. How many wedding cakes do you do, how did you get involved in that aspect of pastry? We have a website, www.partistry.com, for wedding cakes, party favors, and catering. I don’t advertise it as much because we have so much on our hands, but we are doing events and parties in homes from 20-250 people. I would say it is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job at this point. At this point I would like to do both, but I would really like to focus more on event planning in the future. I like making their invitations, thank you cards, arranging taxi services for them… the whole event. What are your favorite seasonal ingredients? Probably fennel – it is supple and very nice t
