WEBVTT
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I'm Christina Mueller.
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Hello.
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And I'm here today with Molly Cohen, who is a pastry chef at Carmel Valley Ranch, which is in just outside Carmel and Monterey, and I call that the central coast of California.
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But before we dig in on that, I just want to say huge congratulations because you just won Food Networks, the ultimate baking championship.
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I did.
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Hello, everybody.
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This is crazy.
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Yes, I I just rapped.
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I guess we rapped a while ago, but um it's it's finally public knowledge that I won the show.
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It's just out of this world.
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It's awesome.
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Yeah.
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Um are there any takeaways from the experience that you want to share?
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I think just the experience as a whole.
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It was my first show that I had ever been on.
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So I definitely took it day by day, minute by minute.
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Um but I think the biggest the biggest takeaway for me is like don't be afraid to follow your dreams.
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I was so close to not taking the show as an opportunity because I had a um, I had a like it's called Bridge Fest in Colorado.
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It's like a food show that I competed in every year and I was gonna miss it.
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And my hotel manager said, Molly, this is so much bigger than a local food show.
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I think you need to do it.
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And I said, I don't know.
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I feel bad.
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And hindsight's always 2020.
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I think the biggest takeaway I have is if something feels right in your gut, you should just do it because you never know what the outcome is gonna be.
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You never know.
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You never know.
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You started, I want to say, with 11 contestants on the show.
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Uh 16.
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Oh, 16.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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Big elimination episode one.
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We eliminated six contestants episode one.
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Holy moly, that is very shocking.
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It was very shocking.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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And how long was it in between when you knew that you had won to the day that you were allowed to talk about it?
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About six months.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, it was really tough.
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I was so excited the night that it happened, and then I had to just go back to work three days later and pretend like one of my biggest dreams in life had not just come true.
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I'm sure people could read it all over my face, but I was like, I can't say anything.
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Sorry.
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Oh man.
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That's hard.
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It's very tough on your mind, but you know, I think it gives you a sense of confidence that I can't even explain because you just know in yourself that you you did it and you're proud of yourself.
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And I think you just walk a little taller and a little stronger.
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And I think um that was awesome for me.
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It it was good for me as a person.
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How I mean, it's only been a short time since you were able to publicly share the news about your championship.
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But how has your life changed?
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I mean, you were you were doing pastry before.
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You know, you you have a long history, well, not a very long history, but a long enough history of doing pastry.
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Um you know, where where were you before?
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Where are you now?
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Where are you going?
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What's what's changed?
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What's shifted?
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What's so in the past physically in the past uh four days since the news broke, I've got a lot of Instagram followers and my social media is blowing up, but I think I've gotten a lot of um encouragement and love and um praise from my peers and from past cooks and past bosses.
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Um, it's been nice to reconnect with people.
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Um, and I'm sure that there will be a lot more change in the future too, in terms of opportunity um and more connections with more people.
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Um, so I'm really looking forward to what comes of this.
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I think it the future's bright and it's bright for Karma Valley Ranch and it's bright for me, and it's just kind of all-encompassing.
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So I'm looking forward to it day in and day out.
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Day in and day out.
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Do you want to step us through a little bit of your background and your history, like how you got where you are?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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So this is a great story.
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I decided in seventh grade that I was gonna be a pastry chef.
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Um, and then in eighth grade, I decided I was gonna go to Johnson O'Reilly's University.
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Um, and I did.
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So I ended up getting a bachelor's in pastry and, or I guess it's an associate's making a pastry and a bachelor's in food service management.
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Um I didn't have to stop you there.
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So yeah.
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How did you know at 12 that or 11 even that you were gonna be go into pastry?
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Yeah, that's a good question because it's not normal.
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Um, so my older brother really liked to cook when I was younger.
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He's three older, three years older than I am, my older brother Seth.
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And he had two or Dawnson and Wales.
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We had one in Colorado where I was born, and he really liked it.
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And then his his path kind of just changed and he wanted to do something else.
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And my mom had kind of invested some gadgets and some other things in him.
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And so I started kind of playing around with them.
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Um, I always baked with my grandma growing up, so I always loved to bake at this time too.
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Ace of Cakes and um Cake Boss were really big on television, and kids my age would watch it all the time.
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And I thought to myself, that's what I'm gonna do.
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I'm gonna make cakes for the rest of my life.
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I think that's it.
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I figured it out.
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And so I had to do, I was in a class, I had to do, you know, a whole thing on what you're gonna be when you grow up and research the hours and the salary and the expected education.
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And the more that I and looked into it, I was like, this actually seems like something I could do.
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You know, it's not 13 years of school, but it's not two years of school.
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Right.
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And I think this could be interesting.
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Yeah.
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So um, I did some classes in high school that were culinary related through a program called Pro Start, and it got me some scholarship to go to Johnson Wales.
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And I remember walking into my freshman year thinking, I've got this.
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And then I walked into my first class and I was like, this is, I am in over my head.
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Like this is crazy.
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My first class was a baking science class where we basically test every leavening agent, every sugar, every type of flour, and you learn how each individual ingredient works.
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And I thought to myself, oh my gosh, if I have to do this with every recipe, like what am I getting myself into?
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And then slowly I got to cakes and other fun things.
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So then, so then I really liked cakes class and I decided I'm gonna go work at a bakery all summer long.
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So I went and worked at a bakery in Denver.
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Um, I'm pretty sure that I worked for free for the whole summer, which I don't know if that was illegal or legal, but no one holds hold me accountable.
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Back then, no one was nobody was worried about it.
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I think she was actually thrilled to not pay me for the summer, which is how I would probably feel too.
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Um and I learned a lot.
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And I and I did a lot of decorating and a lot of piping and cake decorating and fond at dyeing, and and I learned that I don't want to be a pastry, that I don't want to be a cake decorator.
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That is not where my passion is.
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Three months in the shop was good enough for me.
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And so from then on out, I really kind of just looked into plated desserts and I fell in love with flavor pairings and uh composed desserts on a plate and different textures and different elements of uh of flavors on a plate coming together and being all-encompassing.
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So I started as an intern at a hotel in North Carolina.
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I went to Johnson Wells in North Carolina and worked there for a few years.
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And then I worked for the school as a teaching assistant.
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That was a lot of fun kind of going back into labs and teaching um the other students.
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Yep.
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And then after I graduated, I took a year off and I decided I'm gonna do some traveling because I know that this industry tends to be heavy on the in-the-kitchen time and not on the out-of-the-kitchen time.
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Um, so that was lovely.
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And then I got my first big girl job at the fig tree restaurant in North Carolina, and I got a call about four weeks before I moved from the current pastry chef, and she said, You might want to sit down.
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And I said, Okay.
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And she said, I just resigned and we would like to give you the pastry chef position.
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Oh, geez, yeah.
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And this is, I mean, this is a year out of college, and I had done a lot of plated desserts and a lot of working in the restaurant at the first hotel, so it wasn't lost on me what I was stepping into, but it did feel much bigger than what I was capable of doing.
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And I just took it one day at a time.
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Yeah.
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I had eight desserts on the menu that I changed seasonally and a ton of wine dinners.
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I got to play around with a lot of stuff.
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I got to fail quite a bit, and I got to learn from those failures and be better.
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And uh yeah, I stayed there through COVID.
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Um, and then about a year after COVID, my best friend and I, who I met in college, decided it was time for us to move home.
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We just missed family.
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So we split ways and she went to Pittsburgh and I went to Colorado and I started working at Four Seasons Denver.
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Um, and I started as a cook and I worked my way up to pastry chef, and that's where I just left in September.
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Ah, so you've had some savory side too.
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No, I was a pastry cook.
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So I worked as a pastry cook.
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I came in as a line level, even coming from being like an executive pastry chef at my last job.
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I came in as a line cook because I wanted to get into hotels again.
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Um, that was one of the bigger luxury brand hotels in Denver.
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So I have my eyes set on luxury hospitality.
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That's kind of where I like to be.
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Um, and I kind of worked my way up through the ranks there.
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And I was a pastry chef when I left.
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Um, and then I filmed the show.
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I worked for one week and I moved to Carmel Valley.
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Wow.
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You did all the filming before I tasted your desserts.
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So exciting.
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So crazy.
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I know it's just wild.
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And it sounds like that idea of seasonal pastry uh came at a fairly early stage of your career where you were working with local ingredients and really getting to know, you know, from an identity standpoint, you know, where you stood with the seasons.
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Yeah.
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Absolutely.
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And I think coming from living in Colorado to then moving to North Carolina is two very different types of seasonality.
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Colorado's summer season is quite small.
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And although there's great things that grow in the summer, you don't really get them until July when the rest of the world is two, two-thirds of the way through summer season.
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So uh being in North Carolina was great for that.
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We had a ton of local produce, a ton of outreach to local farmers.
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Uh, and so I really kind of got to play around with a lot of cool things and build the foundation of what I, you know, appreciate.
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And I think that that sort of circles all the way back here to Carmel Valley Ranch, where I get to do it, but with literally stuff from our property, which is pretty amazing.
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Yeah, I wanted, let's start with um, because there's so much to dig in on what you're doing with Carmel Valley Ranch, which if you're not from California, so if you've been to Carmel, which is uh the central coast of California, probably an hour and a half maybe from the Bay Area, like with Silicon Valley, um, to the south of Silicon Valley.
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Um, but then if you're if you go inland from the coast, that's where Carmel Valley is.
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And I would say the climate is quite different.
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It's much warmer, um, less fog.
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Um, it's sort of like the difference between um, like I call it like, you know, the coast is like broccoli and artichokes, and inland is crops that can tolerate heat, like tomatoes and basil.
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So you've got everything right where you are.
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Um and coming off the Ultimate Baking Championship, um, have you transitioned?
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I I heard about a program that you might have launched this week, which might be called Episode Encore.
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What's that all about?
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So we actually launched it week one of the show.
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So basically, I knew that my last um challenge was gonna be related to a rock and roll after party.
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And so I kind of wanted to Easter egg that throughout the whole experience for everybody.
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I don't know if anyone ever caught on, but it kind of went two and two.
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Um, but the episode Encore was the encore to the show, the the the follow-up to what I did.
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And it was a smaller individual plated dessert version of whatever I made on the show for that week.
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Okay.
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Um, so yeah, we did it every single week.
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We changed the menu every week.
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It was an experience.
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Um, but we did it and it had great success.
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And we had a lot of people come back every week just to try that one dessert, which is awesome.
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Um, and I think going forward, we will episode encore um maybe every semester, not semester, every quarter, every season.
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Yeah.
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So the first one to go on will be the s'mores dessert, which is from episode seven.
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Yeah.
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And so you were able then to make desserts based on what you were making in the show, but without revealing what was going on in the show.
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And I couldn't reveal it until the day after the show aired.
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So I had to make all of this myself.
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I couldn't tell my team, I couldn't tell anybody, and then the night right after the show would air, we would put it out to the team and then um post it on social media.
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So it was an interesting way to promote desserts.
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Um, but it was great fun because you could watch the show Monday night and then come in for dinner Tuesday night and have the exact dessert.
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That sounds that sounds perfect, actually.
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Um so when you're not uh competing on TV baking competitions, do you spend your time dreaming up seasonal desserts or like is that what is that what a pastry chef does with their with their free time?
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I think I always have desserts going through my mind.
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I have I have multiple notes in my phone, spring, summer, fall, winter.
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And when something pops in, I just plug it in there.
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And then six months before I have to write that menu, I'm I'm reading through there to get past inspiration to write my menus.
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Um, is kind of what I've done my whole life.
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But being here in California is quite interesting because I was just in Denver and now I have all of this amazing produce and access to nuts and things.
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Um when I drove here from Colorado, we drove through Salinas and I got to see the tomatoes and the lettuce and the basil for the first time.
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And I literally was on my phone, my boyfriend, and I was just like typing, typing, typing, typing, like strawberries, strawberries grow right here.
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This is unreal.
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And basil and tomatoes, and it's just it's pretty cool.
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I come from a lineage of farmers in eastern Colorado.
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My family has a lot of farms, a lot of alfalfa and cow feed and things like that.
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So I'm used to seeing brown and grain.
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And I mean, it's beautiful, but this was a different type of beautiful to be able to see the food that we eat every single day grown, you know, 25 minutes from where I live, is it's a treat, really.
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So yeah.
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More strawberries, more, yeah.
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It's uh yeah, there's a lot more of the the day-to-day produce that grows along uh where we live out here in California.
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Um, so did they give you any?
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I'm wondering, because I live the gluten-free life.
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Um, I'm wondering if they gave you any gluten-free or vegan challenges on the show.
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Um, I was able to watch a couple episodes, but not all of them.
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I'm wondering, you know, since that's become more central to, you know, restaurant life, like understanding some of these different needs for people, if that's worked its way into competitions.
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Because I remember years ago on Top Chef, they would bring on like a vegan chef just as like chuff so that they could move them out as soon as possible.
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And I think the food world has changed.
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You know, they didn't do one, but it would have been really smart because I don't know, I don't know what some of us would have done.
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I think it actually could have been really cool.
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Yeah, but that was not a challenge on the show.
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Um But I I do think that maybe they should listen to this and take some notes, and maybe if there's a second season, they should do that because I agree with you that this the world has completely changed when it comes to dietary restrictions, and you kind of have to be able to appease the masses at all times, no matter what.
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You can any day you have a group of eight sit in the restaurant, odds are one of them is gluten-free, probably, if not two, and at least one person doesn't eat dairy.
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:32.880
And so you one want everybody to enjoy their experience, and two, as a business owner, you want to be able to sell your product to everybody who sits at the table, right?
00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:38.640
So it's kind of a catch-22 when you want to be able to appease everybody at the table.
00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:50.319
So do you feel like that's something a little bit more specific to the luxury space, or is that something that you're experiencing as sort of filtering through sort of the broader um restaurant economy?
00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:51.599
I think it's everywhere.
00:17:51.759 --> 00:18:00.319
My grandma is celiac and has had gluten um gluten intolerance her whole life.
00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:06.079
And she she's gonna kill me for saying this, but she loves to go to Olive Garden.
00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:16.559
And like even Olive Garden, like they have an entire, it's a huge Italian restaurant with a lot of wheat and flour, and they're putting out a gluten-friendly menu with gluten-friendly desserts.
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:19.200
You see gluten-friendly a lot, not gluten-free.
00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:19.680
Yeah.
00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:25.920
Um, but I do think that this is something that is going into all areas of restaurant and food and beverage.
00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:26.400
Absolutely.
00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:35.599
Yeah, I would say the gluten-friendly thing is more around like if you're the majority of people are probably not celiac, but they're experiencing some sort of symptoms.
00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:44.559
So, for example, I've been tested twice for the IgG antibody for celiac, and it's come back negative both times, but I can't properly digest gluten.
00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.319
And with that could be a whole other show.
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.519
We're not gonna dig in on gluten-free specifically.
00:18:49.759 --> 00:19:00.400
But I it's interesting though, on the same point, though, is I was in middle school and I have terrible ADHD, like probably most chefs do, because that's how we thrive.
00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:10.559
Um, and my mom put me on a dietary, uh, like restriction-based diet, and I couldn't have gluten because of the sugar and the processing in my body.
00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:20.079
Yeah, and I will say that gluten-free has come such a long way in the past 12 years, but used to get the worst brownie mix, and my mom would be like, You have to, this is what we have to eat.
00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:23.279
And I'm like, it tastes like sand, like it's so nasty.
00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:34.559
I posted a piece to my site recently about gluten-free pasta and just the amazing experience of gluten-free pasta and pizza and in the Bay Area and how it didn't do that way.
00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:34.799
Yeah.
00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:35.680
No, it didn't.
00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:39.039
It used to be mushy, gross, brown rice pasta.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:43.839
And so I think it's good that it's getting better because now there's more options for all people.
00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.960
And even if you aren't gluten-free, you're still enjoying gluten-free desserts.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.640
And I guarantee you you don't even know it.
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:50.000
Yeah, that's exactly right.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.960
So that leads me right to the discussion about your desserts.
00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:53.759
Thank you very much.
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.200
You're welcome.
00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:04.559
Um, so when I visited Carmel Valley Ranch, it was a little bit of time ago, but I don't know if these desserts are still on your menu.
00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:06.480
We can talk about any dessert.
00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:12.640
Um, but I tried the Proline Torte, the Chevrolet cheesecake, and the orchard apple.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:13.200
Okay.
00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:27.759
And each of the desserts featured a product that was made at Carmel Valley Ranch from either um fruits, vegetables, honey that was uh grown or husband-duced.
00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.680
Yeah, like we have a ton of these, we call them artisans on the property.
00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:32.160
Yeah.
00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:36.240
From honey to cheese to garden.
00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:37.920
So what was your question?
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.319
What do you want, like, how did I come up with that?
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:40.880
Yeah.
00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:45.839
So usually, like oftentimes when I talk to chefs, like the ingredient is the inspiration.
00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:51.440
And I think each of those desserts has something different from the garden or from the farm.
00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.519
Um, but wanted to hear a little bit about your process about how you, and it doesn't have to be those three desserts.
00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:07.680
You can pick what you want to talk about, but um, how the garden sort of or the the farm inspires you and then where you go from like take that through the process of developing.
00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:17.680
I remember when I got off the call, I was filming the show when I signed for this job, and I got off the call, signed for the job, and I started writing.
00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:24.400
I wrote down all of the different things that were here, just from what I could see from the website and what I remembered for my tour.
00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:32.480
And I that I said, you know, honey is an option and goat cheese is an option, and honey and goat cheese go together, but also honey is great by itself, and so is goat cheese.
00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:38.079
And then there's the um the garden where there's uh endless options.
00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:42.000
I I tried not to think about it all because it probably would have gotten a little overwhelming.
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:45.359
Um, but I arrived in the fall and I said apples are great.
00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:51.759
Um salt, I think is a really underrated artisan that we have here.
00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:53.359
So, and then olive oil.
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.920
Um, those are the ones that I was most excited about first.
00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.599
And so I I just started to kind of flavor.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:09.200
Pair with those things, making sure that the shining star of each individual dish was the item that came from the property.
00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:11.200
And that is how I came up.
00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:15.599
That was my first menu that you have the orchard apple, the chevra cheesecake, and the praline tour.
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:21.359
And I'm I'm very proud of that menu because I think it does show a bit of the ranch in each one.
00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:21.839
Yeah.
00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:28.240
I think the apple is the one that hit harm hit home the most because I think it was my first month here.
00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:29.599
I went to all the apple trees.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.759
Our farmer said they were going to start going bad.
00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:38.400
So I pucked all the apples off the trees and I peeled apples and I made apple butter for like two days.
00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:40.240
So much apple butter.
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:47.119
And we packed it away and we kept it for winter time so that we could have it all throughout the winter for the orchard apple.
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:55.839
But I really wanted sort of that story of, you know, picking the apple off the tree, coming into the restaurant, biting it and for it to taste like that.
00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:03.039
So well, and the the dish presents uh for people who haven't experienced it at the restaurant, it looks like an apple.
00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:05.440
The cake looks like an apple on the plate.
00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:20.480
So we take it and we put it in the mold, and then we use cocoa velvet spray and ombre from blue to red to orange, um, white, not white, sorry, yellow, and then a little stem on top.
00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.000
And it comes in a little pile of dirt, like the apple just fell off the tree.
00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:27.200
And it tastes like uh like a caramel apple pie.
00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.880
It really does, and it's a gluten-free dessert as well.
00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.000
So, but it had this amazing loft in it.
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:44.960
And I'm wondering, you know, first of all, you know, is there a certain balance of flour that you use to achieve that loft, or is it all about flax, or is it all about egg, or how do you get that?
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.960
I often use just a blend of flowers.
00:23:49.119 --> 00:24:02.799
Um, I've always found the most successful blend is something with rice and then something with like white and brown rice, but also um a blend of others as well.
00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:06.960
I often use a pre-blended mix sometimes.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:10.480
I've had a lot of success with Bob's Red Mill cooking for my grandma.
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:12.000
I think it's a great product.
00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:15.359
I whenever I have to make her birthday cakes, I always use that one.
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:22.160
And I've cooked the altitude with it, which I think is the ultimate test to a gluten-free um, like one for cup for cup flour.
00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:23.200
I think it's great.
00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:35.920
Um, but I also try to do gluten-free baking without using flour at all, because then you're not trying to make something that was already great great again with flour that is never going to be wheat flour.
00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:41.119
And I think that that's when the praline cake comes in because that cake is just naturally gluten-free.
00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.200
And honestly, it just tastes like a brownie.
00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:50.160
And I also use those as brownies too, because it tastes really great without the flour.
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:57.440
Um, so back to your question, I try I do a little bit of both, but I like a cup for cup that's already kind of manipulated on my behalf.
00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:57.680
Yeah.
00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:04.240
And then trying to kind of push the limits and create um desserts that don't need flour at all.
00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:05.519
They can just be flourless.
00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:08.640
They can be beautiful without that aspect at all.
00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:09.119
Yeah.
00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:14.960
And I, and that's also, I haven't done any vegan yet here, but I did some pretty cool ones back in Denver.
00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:26.240
Um, that's our next thing on this menu is to get a nice vegan dessert on the menu that, in my words, I don't want people to look at and say, Oh, I have to get the vegan dessert.
00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:30.079
You know, I want someone to read it and say, wow, I think that this sounds delicious.
00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:31.359
Have a few bites.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.319
This is so good.
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.759
Oh, also it's vegan.
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:34.559
Oh, wow.
00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:35.839
That's that's my goal.
00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:42.319
I don't want the dietaries to feel left out, especially at a resort at the at the number that we do here.
00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.559
Tons of families, tons of kids.
00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:45.039
Yeah.
00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:55.359
It has to be a menu that an adult's gonna want for a night out, and that mom and dad are gonna want to give to their kiddo at dinner at 5 30, you know, to get them to eat their food and let's go, right?
00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:59.039
So you kind of have to you have to play to all sides of the spectrum.
00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:05.119
And in that, in that group of people, there's the opportunity to have a ton of dietary restrictions.
00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:08.960
Are you getting a lot of pushback um from clientele?
00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:12.160
Like do people, because I know there's a form you fill out before you stay at the hotel.
00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:14.000
Do people say no butter?
00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:21.119
Um, are they they is there a cow's milk thing that people are pushing back on, or are you finding it mostly that it's gluten-free?
00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:30.079
I think I think there's definitely a pushback on dairy, but I've seen it mostly in liquid dairy, not necessarily with cooking dairy.
00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:31.440
I'm sure it's coming.
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:35.920
I think the other thing that I've seen a lot is soy and seed oils are a big one.
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:40.400
Um, but not so much with dairy as a whole.
00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:49.680
I think in coffees in that aspect, there's a lot less whole milk lattes going out and a whole lot more oat milk and almond milk lattes.
00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:56.720
Um but when I cook with vegan, I just use coconut milk because it's sort of the best option.
00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:02.000
And, you know, make sure everybody who's has an allergen is taken care of.
00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:03.200
It works.
00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:03.839
Yeah.
00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:16.000
Um, when you're putting together um desserts for people with you unique dietary needs, well, I guess it's not so unique anymore, but I should say, you know, something specific that they have to keep out of their diet.
00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:19.839
Um, do you look for something specific when you're putting that together?
00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:25.440
Like I know oftentimes desserts that don't have eggs, you know, you can't get that same loft.
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:34.720
So I know you mentioned like not cooking with um gluten-free flours and just eliminating the the need for that and just focusing on a clean ingredient.
00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.920
And you know, is it the same thing when you're looking at at vegan?
00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:40.240
Again, I'm I'm trying to.
00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.039
It's tough.
00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:51.519
You know, fat and egg are huge when it comes to structure in pastry, mousses and creams, that's pastry and um butter.
00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:57.599
I mean, thinking of a croissant, it's like 50% dough, 50% butter, you know?
00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:04.079
And the crazy thing is, is there's people out there making gluten-free vegan croissants that look and taste great.
00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:13.119
And thank goodness for those people that are putting in the work and the time to figure out how to do it, because it is something that will trickle down to the rest of the industry at some point.
00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:20.480
Um, but in terms of vegan, again, I'm I'm gonna try and make something that isn't packed with a bunch of additives and chemicals and stuff.
00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:29.519
I I've had a lot of luck subbing oils and butter for coconut oil and cocoa butter, um, vegan butter when you need to use it.
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:35.599
But again, trying to keep things clean and um find alternative ways to do it.
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:50.960
A lot of trial and error, a ton of trial and error with using agar agar versus gelatin, um, two very different gelling agents that create two very different textures and seeing how you can um manipulate those to make one look like the other.
00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:58.000
Yeah, well, even ghee versus butter, you just take out the you know the casein and you have a completely different product.
00:28:58.079 --> 00:28:59.039
So absolutely.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:05.519
It's just in and especially in the baking world, you can't just throw some of this in and throw some of that in.
00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:07.519
It's dunked to the gram.
00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:14.400
And so it's uh it's been very interesting, but I have learned a ton about ingredients that I even use on a daily basis.
00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:15.759
So it's very interesting.
00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:16.160
Yeah.
00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:21.599
Um, Molly, would you say that you have a signature or something that you're known for at this point?
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:28.480
Um, I for a while it was goat cheese cheesecake, and I brought that here since we have the goats.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:33.279
Um, I think I've had a signature at every place that I've worked, I guess you could say.
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:36.720
And I feel as though the apple might become that here for me.
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.640
Uh in North Carolina, it was definitely goat cheese cheesecake.
00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:44.000
Um, I would make that all the time, and that was a loved one.
00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:47.599
Uh, in Denver, it was a pistachio raspberry tort.
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.920
And anybody who has followed me for a while will know exactly what I'm talking about.
00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:55.039
I actually did it on episode one of the TV show.
00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:58.640
Um, we had to recreate a dish that we were most proud of.
00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:02.319
And so I recreated that in no spoilers here, but one episode one.
00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:03.440
So that was cool.
00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:11.039
Um, and then here I have a feeling it might be the apple, but we'll see once I get through a whole season here at the ranch what what that becomes.
00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:13.279
Well, and the trends change too, right?
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:20.880
Like this has been so trendy now for I don't even know how long, but yeah, soon we'll be on to some other flavor profile.
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:23.279
The macadamia nut or something crazy.
00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:23.759
Yeah.
00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:24.480
So we'll see.
00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:28.000
I think I'm known for hyper-realistic desserts, like the smash.
00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:39.440
I've done uh my chef before me in Denver, we did banana and coconut together, and then we did pumpkin after that, like a pumpkin cheesecake that looked like a pumpkin.
00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:46.319
Um, so maybe that's more of my signature is taking the Trumloid kind of dessert and putting it into a plated dessert option.
00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:46.880
Yeah.
00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:55.920
Um the shape of the pumpkin or the shape of the apple, and then turning it to like more of like a sliced dessert as opposed to a shaped dessert.
00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:57.440
Is that a good translation?
00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:07.359
I I think the opposite, taking the sliced version and plugging it into the shape and figuring out how to serve that on a plate and not make it just look like a piece of fruit on a plate.
00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:08.720
Ah, okay, gotcha.
00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:09.039
Yeah.
00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:09.680
Fun.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.480
Sorry, my my really long way of going around what I'm trying to say.
00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:20.400
Well, and I must admit to not knowing every single pastry term because I tend to live more on the savory side of things.
00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:25.039
So um and I live in the pastry world and assume everybody knows what I'm talking about.
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:28.480
So it's good for you to to say, well, break that down for me a little bit.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:28.960
That's great.
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:30.480
A little bit of that.
00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:35.759
Um, any final thoughts about you know what's coming up or things you're looking forward to?
00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:39.680
Or I'm really looking forward to the summer season here in California.
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:42.960
I'm looking forward to seeing yet another season at the ranch.
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:47.839
We're headed into our busiest season, so I'm sure there'll be a lot of good things coming out of it.
00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.160
I'm really excited for the strawberry season.
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:53.359
I cannot wait for Watsonville and strawberries.
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.119
So it's just beginning.
00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:55.839
The cherry.
00:31:56.079 --> 00:31:56.720
I know.
00:31:57.359 --> 00:32:00.480
I drove through last week and I was like, pull over.
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.000
We have to get all the things.
00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.359
They were the strawberries, they were good, but they're they're gonna get better.
00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:06.079
I know they are.
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:10.240
Yeah, and I should tell people we're recording this uh at the end of the first week of May.
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.519
So there you go.
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:16.000
California, that's um I it's the beginning of fog season.
00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:20.559
So it's the May, what do they say now here?
00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:25.119
The May or the Gray May, May, Gray, and the June glue marijuana's.
00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:25.759
Yes.
00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:27.119
Yep, here it comes.
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:32.240
Coming from Colorado, where we had 300 days of sunshine, that will be an interesting part.
00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:33.200
I'm looking forward to it.
00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:34.079
We'll see how it goes.
00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:35.680
Yeah, you'll figure it out.
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:37.119
Uh well, thank you, Molly.
00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:39.680
It's been so having you on the podcast.
00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:41.839
And I look facing more of your work.
00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:44.640
It's um everything I've ever had from you has been so special.
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:45.920
So amazing.
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.759
Well, thank you so much for having me.
00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:52.160
It was a delight to talk to you and kind of revisit the past and talk about the future.
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:53.440
So yeah, it was awesome.
00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:54.160
Thank you so much.
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.679
I'm Christina Mueller.
00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:02.479
Hello.
00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:14.800
And I'm here today with Molly Cohen, who is a pastry chef at Carmel Valley Ranch, which is in just outside Carmel and Monterey, and I call that the central coast of California.
00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:25.839
But before we dig in on that, I just want to say huge congratulations because you just won Food Networks, the ultimate baking championship.
00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:26.960
I did.
00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:28.640
Hello, everybody.
00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:29.760
This is crazy.
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.560
Yes, I I just rapped.
00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:38.240
I guess we rapped a while ago, but um it's it's finally public knowledge that I won the show.
00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:39.920
It's just out of this world.
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:40.719
It's awesome.
00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:41.359
Yeah.
00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:46.079
Um are there any takeaways from the experience that you want to share?
00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.960
I think just the experience as a whole.
00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:51.679
It was my first show that I had ever been on.
00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.679
So I definitely took it day by day, minute by minute.
00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:04.319
Um but I think the biggest the biggest takeaway for me is like don't be afraid to follow your dreams.
00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:18.239
I was so close to not taking the show as an opportunity because I had a um, I had a like it's called Bridge Fest in Colorado.
00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.760
It's like a food show that I competed in every year and I was gonna miss it.
00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:29.920
And my hotel manager said, Molly, this is so much bigger than a local food show.
00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:31.040
I think you need to do it.
00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:32.640
And I said, I don't know.
00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:34.000
I feel bad.
00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.239
And hindsight's always 2020.
00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:42.560
I think the biggest takeaway I have is if something feels right in your gut, you should just do it because you never know what the outcome is gonna be.
00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:43.599
You never know.
00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:44.560
You never know.
00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:48.400
You started, I want to say, with 11 contestants on the show.
00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:50.079
Uh 16.
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:51.040
Oh, 16.
00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:51.439
Okay.
00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:51.840
Yeah.
00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:52.159
Wow.
00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:54.159
Big elimination episode one.
00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.920
We eliminated six contestants episode one.
00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:00.959
Holy moly, that is very shocking.
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.400
It was very shocking.
00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:03.200
Yeah.
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:04.319
Wow.
00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:11.439
And how long was it in between when you knew that you had won to the day that you were allowed to talk about it?
00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:13.039
About six months.
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:13.919
Wow.
00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:14.639
Yeah.
00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:18.879
Yeah, it was really tough.
00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:29.120
I was so excited the night that it happened, and then I had to just go back to work three days later and pretend like one of my biggest dreams in life had not just come true.
00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:33.599
I'm sure people could read it all over my face, but I was like, I can't say anything.
00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:34.479
Sorry.
00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:37.599
Oh man.
00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:43.360
That's hard.
00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:54.479
It's very tough on your mind, but you know, I think it gives you a sense of confidence that I can't even explain because you just know in yourself that you you did it and you're proud of yourself.
00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.199
And I think you just walk a little taller and a little stronger.
00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.479
And I think um that was awesome for me.
00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.800
It it was good for me as a person.
00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:09.680
How I mean, it's only been a short time since you were able to publicly share the news about your championship.
00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:11.360
But how has your life changed?
00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:14.240
I mean, you were you were doing pastry before.
00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:20.000
You know, you you have a long history, well, not a very long history, but a long enough history of doing pastry.
00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:24.159
Um you know, where where were you before?
00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:24.800
Where are you now?
00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:25.520
Where are you going?
00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:26.719
What's what's changed?
00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:27.439
What's shifted?
00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:52.240
What's so in the past physically in the past uh four days since the news broke, I've got a lot of Instagram followers and my social media is blowing up, but I think I've gotten a lot of um encouragement and love and um praise from my peers and from past cooks and past bosses.
00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:54.639
Um, it's been nice to reconnect with people.
00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:04.319
Um, and I'm sure that there will be a lot more change in the future too, in terms of opportunity um and more connections with more people.
00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.520
Um, so I'm really looking forward to what comes of this.
00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:14.879
I think it the future's bright and it's bright for Karma Valley Ranch and it's bright for me, and it's just kind of all-encompassing.
00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.360
So I'm looking forward to it day in and day out.
00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:18.480
Day in and day out.
00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:24.000
Do you want to step us through a little bit of your background and your history, like how you got where you are?
00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:25.199
Yeah, absolutely.
00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:27.040
So this is a great story.
00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:31.600
I decided in seventh grade that I was gonna be a pastry chef.
00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:35.920
Um, and then in eighth grade, I decided I was gonna go to Johnson O'Reilly's University.
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:36.720
Um, and I did.
00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:45.759
So I ended up getting a bachelor's in pastry and, or I guess it's an associate's making a pastry and a bachelor's in food service management.
00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:47.439
Um I didn't have to stop you there.
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:48.160
So yeah.
00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:53.839
How did you know at 12 that or 11 even that you were gonna be go into pastry?
00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.959
Yeah, that's a good question because it's not normal.
00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:04.160
Um, so my older brother really liked to cook when I was younger.
00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:07.600
He's three older, three years older than I am, my older brother Seth.
00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.040
And he had two or Dawnson and Wales.
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:15.680
We had one in Colorado where I was born, and he really liked it.
00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:20.879
And then his his path kind of just changed and he wanted to do something else.
00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:25.279
And my mom had kind of invested some gadgets and some other things in him.
00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:27.920
And so I started kind of playing around with them.
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:32.639
Um, I always baked with my grandma growing up, so I always loved to bake at this time too.
00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:40.480
Ace of Cakes and um Cake Boss were really big on television, and kids my age would watch it all the time.
00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:42.720
And I thought to myself, that's what I'm gonna do.
00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:44.399
I'm gonna make cakes for the rest of my life.
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:45.199
I think that's it.
00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:46.399
I figured it out.
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:57.439
And so I had to do, I was in a class, I had to do, you know, a whole thing on what you're gonna be when you grow up and research the hours and the salary and the expected education.
00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:01.920
And the more that I and looked into it, I was like, this actually seems like something I could do.
00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:05.759
You know, it's not 13 years of school, but it's not two years of school.
00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:06.319
Right.
00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.279
And I think this could be interesting.
00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:09.759
Yeah.
00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:20.720
So um, I did some classes in high school that were culinary related through a program called Pro Start, and it got me some scholarship to go to Johnson Wales.
00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:24.240
And I remember walking into my freshman year thinking, I've got this.
00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:28.480
And then I walked into my first class and I was like, this is, I am in over my head.
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.160
Like this is crazy.
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:42.240
My first class was a baking science class where we basically test every leavening agent, every sugar, every type of flour, and you learn how each individual ingredient works.
00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:47.519
And I thought to myself, oh my gosh, if I have to do this with every recipe, like what am I getting myself into?
00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:50.480
And then slowly I got to cakes and other fun things.
00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:56.319
So then, so then I really liked cakes class and I decided I'm gonna go work at a bakery all summer long.
00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.800
So I went and worked at a bakery in Denver.
00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:06.959
Um, I'm pretty sure that I worked for free for the whole summer, which I don't know if that was illegal or legal, but no one holds hold me accountable.
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.319
Back then, no one was nobody was worried about it.
00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:15.680
I think she was actually thrilled to not pay me for the summer, which is how I would probably feel too.
00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:16.879
Um and I learned a lot.
00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:27.040
And I and I did a lot of decorating and a lot of piping and cake decorating and fond at dyeing, and and I learned that I don't want to be a pastry, that I don't want to be a cake decorator.
00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:28.480
That is not where my passion is.
00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:30.879
Three months in the shop was good enough for me.
00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:50.319
And so from then on out, I really kind of just looked into plated desserts and I fell in love with flavor pairings and uh composed desserts on a plate and different textures and different elements of uh of flavors on a plate coming together and being all-encompassing.
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:55.519
So I started as an intern at a hotel in North Carolina.
00:07:55.600 --> 00:08:00.319
I went to Johnson Wells in North Carolina and worked there for a few years.
00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:03.040
And then I worked for the school as a teaching assistant.
00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:08.000
That was a lot of fun kind of going back into labs and teaching um the other students.
00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:08.480
Yep.
00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:20.240
And then after I graduated, I took a year off and I decided I'm gonna do some traveling because I know that this industry tends to be heavy on the in-the-kitchen time and not on the out-of-the-kitchen time.
00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:22.160
Um, so that was lovely.
00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:36.159
And then I got my first big girl job at the fig tree restaurant in North Carolina, and I got a call about four weeks before I moved from the current pastry chef, and she said, You might want to sit down.
00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:37.679
And I said, Okay.
00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:43.360
And she said, I just resigned and we would like to give you the pastry chef position.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:44.639
Oh, geez, yeah.
00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:59.200
And this is, I mean, this is a year out of college, and I had done a lot of plated desserts and a lot of working in the restaurant at the first hotel, so it wasn't lost on me what I was stepping into, but it did feel much bigger than what I was capable of doing.
00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:01.120
And I just took it one day at a time.
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:01.440
Yeah.
00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:06.799
I had eight desserts on the menu that I changed seasonally and a ton of wine dinners.
00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:08.559
I got to play around with a lot of stuff.
00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:13.919
I got to fail quite a bit, and I got to learn from those failures and be better.
00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:16.480
And uh yeah, I stayed there through COVID.
00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:23.120
Um, and then about a year after COVID, my best friend and I, who I met in college, decided it was time for us to move home.
00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.480
We just missed family.
00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:31.120
So we split ways and she went to Pittsburgh and I went to Colorado and I started working at Four Seasons Denver.
00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:38.000
Um, and I started as a cook and I worked my way up to pastry chef, and that's where I just left in September.
00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:41.039
Ah, so you've had some savory side too.
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:42.879
No, I was a pastry cook.
00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:44.639
So I worked as a pastry cook.
00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:50.559
I came in as a line level, even coming from being like an executive pastry chef at my last job.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:54.399
I came in as a line cook because I wanted to get into hotels again.
00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:57.679
Um, that was one of the bigger luxury brand hotels in Denver.
00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.200
So I have my eyes set on luxury hospitality.
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:02.960
That's kind of where I like to be.
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.720
Um, and I kind of worked my way up through the ranks there.
00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.279
And I was a pastry chef when I left.
00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:11.759
Um, and then I filmed the show.
00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.639
I worked for one week and I moved to Carmel Valley.
00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:15.440
Wow.
00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:19.600
You did all the filming before I tasted your desserts.
00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:21.519
So exciting.
00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:22.559
So crazy.
00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:24.080
I know it's just wild.
00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:40.879
And it sounds like that idea of seasonal pastry uh came at a fairly early stage of your career where you were working with local ingredients and really getting to know, you know, from an identity standpoint, you know, where you stood with the seasons.
00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:41.279
Yeah.
00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:41.919
Absolutely.
00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:49.200
And I think coming from living in Colorado to then moving to North Carolina is two very different types of seasonality.
00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:51.759
Colorado's summer season is quite small.
00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:00.720
And although there's great things that grow in the summer, you don't really get them until July when the rest of the world is two, two-thirds of the way through summer season.
00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.759
So uh being in North Carolina was great for that.
00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:07.919
We had a ton of local produce, a ton of outreach to local farmers.
00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:14.960
Uh, and so I really kind of got to play around with a lot of cool things and build the foundation of what I, you know, appreciate.
00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:23.759
And I think that that sort of circles all the way back here to Carmel Valley Ranch, where I get to do it, but with literally stuff from our property, which is pretty amazing.
00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:44.799
Yeah, I wanted, let's start with um, because there's so much to dig in on what you're doing with Carmel Valley Ranch, which if you're not from California, so if you've been to Carmel, which is uh the central coast of California, probably an hour and a half maybe from the Bay Area, like with Silicon Valley, um, to the south of Silicon Valley.
00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:50.000
Um, but then if you're if you go inland from the coast, that's where Carmel Valley is.
00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.320
And I would say the climate is quite different.
00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.120
It's much warmer, um, less fog.
00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:07.120
Um, it's sort of like the difference between um, like I call it like, you know, the coast is like broccoli and artichokes, and inland is crops that can tolerate heat, like tomatoes and basil.
00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.320
So you've got everything right where you are.
00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:18.320
Um and coming off the Ultimate Baking Championship, um, have you transitioned?
00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:23.840
I I heard about a program that you might have launched this week, which might be called Episode Encore.
00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:26.399
What's that all about?
00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:30.320
So we actually launched it week one of the show.
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:38.559
So basically, I knew that my last um challenge was gonna be related to a rock and roll after party.
00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:44.080
And so I kind of wanted to Easter egg that throughout the whole experience for everybody.
00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:47.679
I don't know if anyone ever caught on, but it kind of went two and two.
00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:54.080
Um, but the episode Encore was the encore to the show, the the the follow-up to what I did.
00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:59.840
And it was a smaller individual plated dessert version of whatever I made on the show for that week.
00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:00.399
Okay.
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.039
Um, so yeah, we did it every single week.
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:04.399
We changed the menu every week.
00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:06.399
It was an experience.
00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.679
Um, but we did it and it had great success.
00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:14.159
And we had a lot of people come back every week just to try that one dessert, which is awesome.
00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:24.720
Um, and I think going forward, we will episode encore um maybe every semester, not semester, every quarter, every season.
00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:25.200
Yeah.
00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:30.960
So the first one to go on will be the s'mores dessert, which is from episode seven.
00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:31.759
Yeah.
00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:45.679
And so you were able then to make desserts based on what you were making in the show, but without revealing what was going on in the show.
00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:50.559
And I couldn't reveal it until the day after the show aired.
00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:53.440
So I had to make all of this myself.
00:13:53.600 --> 00:14:03.759
I couldn't tell my team, I couldn't tell anybody, and then the night right after the show would air, we would put it out to the team and then um post it on social media.
00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:08.799
So it was an interesting way to promote desserts.
00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:18.960
Um, but it was great fun because you could watch the show Monday night and then come in for dinner Tuesday night and have the exact dessert.
00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.799
That sounds that sounds perfect, actually.
00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:39.279
Um so when you're not uh competing on TV baking competitions, do you spend your time dreaming up seasonal desserts or like is that what is that what a pastry chef does with their with their free time?
00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:44.720
I think I always have desserts going through my mind.
00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:48.320
I have I have multiple notes in my phone, spring, summer, fall, winter.
00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:50.879
And when something pops in, I just plug it in there.
00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:57.519
And then six months before I have to write that menu, I'm I'm reading through there to get past inspiration to write my menus.
00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.919
Um, is kind of what I've done my whole life.
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:08.399
But being here in California is quite interesting because I was just in Denver and now I have all of this amazing produce and access to nuts and things.
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:16.320
Um when I drove here from Colorado, we drove through Salinas and I got to see the tomatoes and the lettuce and the basil for the first time.
00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:23.600
And I literally was on my phone, my boyfriend, and I was just like typing, typing, typing, typing, like strawberries, strawberries grow right here.
00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:24.399
This is unreal.
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.639
And basil and tomatoes, and it's just it's pretty cool.
00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:32.559
I come from a lineage of farmers in eastern Colorado.
00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:37.440
My family has a lot of farms, a lot of alfalfa and cow feed and things like that.
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:41.679
So I'm used to seeing brown and grain.
00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:52.320
And I mean, it's beautiful, but this was a different type of beautiful to be able to see the food that we eat every single day grown, you know, 25 minutes from where I live, is it's a treat, really.
00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:52.879
So yeah.
00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.159
More strawberries, more, yeah.
00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:08.000
It's uh yeah, there's a lot more of the the day-to-day produce that grows along uh where we live out here in California.
00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:10.720
Um, so did they give you any?
00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:13.120
I'm wondering, because I live the gluten-free life.
00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:18.080
Um, I'm wondering if they gave you any gluten-free or vegan challenges on the show.
00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.679
Um, I was able to watch a couple episodes, but not all of them.
00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:32.240
I'm wondering, you know, since that's become more central to, you know, restaurant life, like understanding some of these different needs for people, if that's worked its way into competitions.
00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:40.639
Because I remember years ago on Top Chef, they would bring on like a vegan chef just as like chuff so that they could move them out as soon as possible.
00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:43.600
And I think the food world has changed.
00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:50.799
You know, they didn't do one, but it would have been really smart because I don't know, I don't know what some of us would have done.
00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:52.799
I think it actually could have been really cool.
00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.000
Yeah, but that was not a challenge on the show.
00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:14.240
Um But I I do think that maybe they should listen to this and take some notes, and maybe if there's a second season, they should do that because I agree with you that this the world has completely changed when it comes to dietary restrictions, and you kind of have to be able to appease the masses at all times, no matter what.
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:23.119
You can any day you have a group of eight sit in the restaurant, odds are one of them is gluten-free, probably, if not two, and at least one person doesn't eat dairy.
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:32.880
And so you one want everybody to enjoy their experience, and two, as a business owner, you want to be able to sell your product to everybody who sits at the table, right?
00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:38.640
So it's kind of a catch-22 when you want to be able to appease everybody at the table.
00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:50.319
So do you feel like that's something a little bit more specific to the luxury space, or is that something that you're experiencing as sort of filtering through sort of the broader um restaurant economy?
00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:51.599
I think it's everywhere.
00:17:51.759 --> 00:18:00.319
My grandma is celiac and has had gluten um gluten intolerance her whole life.
00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:06.079
And she she's gonna kill me for saying this, but she loves to go to Olive Garden.
00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:16.559
And like even Olive Garden, like they have an entire, it's a huge Italian restaurant with a lot of wheat and flour, and they're putting out a gluten-friendly menu with gluten-friendly desserts.
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:19.200
You see gluten-friendly a lot, not gluten-free.
00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:19.680
Yeah.
00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:25.920
Um, but I do think that this is something that is going into all areas of restaurant and food and beverage.
00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:26.400
Absolutely.
00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:35.599
Yeah, I would say the gluten-friendly thing is more around like if you're the majority of people are probably not celiac, but they're experiencing some sort of symptoms.
00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:44.559
So, for example, I've been tested twice for the IgG antibody for celiac, and it's come back negative both times, but I can't properly digest gluten.
00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.319
And with that could be a whole other show.
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.519
We're not gonna dig in on gluten-free specifically.
00:18:49.759 --> 00:19:00.400
But I it's interesting though, on the same point, though, is I was in middle school and I have terrible ADHD, like probably most chefs do, because that's how we thrive.
00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:10.559
Um, and my mom put me on a dietary, uh, like restriction-based diet, and I couldn't have gluten because of the sugar and the processing in my body.
00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:20.079
Yeah, and I will say that gluten-free has come such a long way in the past 12 years, but used to get the worst brownie mix, and my mom would be like, You have to, this is what we have to eat.
00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:23.279
And I'm like, it tastes like sand, like it's so nasty.
00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:34.559
I posted a piece to my site recently about gluten-free pasta and just the amazing experience of gluten-free pasta and pizza and in the Bay Area and how it didn't do that way.
00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:34.799
Yeah.
00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:35.680
No, it didn't.
00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:39.039
It used to be mushy, gross, brown rice pasta.
00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:43.839
And so I think it's good that it's getting better because now there's more options for all people.
00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.960
And even if you aren't gluten-free, you're still enjoying gluten-free desserts.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.640
And I guarantee you you don't even know it.
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:50.000
Yeah, that's exactly right.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.960
So that leads me right to the discussion about your desserts.
00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:53.759
Thank you very much.
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.200
You're welcome.
00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:04.559
Um, so when I visited Carmel Valley Ranch, it was a little bit of time ago, but I don't know if these desserts are still on your menu.
00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:06.480
We can talk about any dessert.
00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:12.640
Um, but I tried the Proline Torte, the Chevrolet cheesecake, and the orchard apple.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:13.200
Okay.
00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:27.759
And each of the desserts featured a product that was made at Carmel Valley Ranch from either um fruits, vegetables, honey that was uh grown or husband-duced.
00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.680
Yeah, like we have a ton of these, we call them artisans on the property.
00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:32.160
Yeah.
00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:36.240
From honey to cheese to garden.
00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:37.920
So what was your question?
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.319
What do you want, like, how did I come up with that?
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:40.880
Yeah.
00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:45.839
So usually, like oftentimes when I talk to chefs, like the ingredient is the inspiration.
00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:51.440
And I think each of those desserts has something different from the garden or from the farm.
00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.519
Um, but wanted to hear a little bit about your process about how you, and it doesn't have to be those three desserts.
00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:07.680
You can pick what you want to talk about, but um, how the garden sort of or the the farm inspires you and then where you go from like take that through the process of developing.
00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:17.680
I remember when I got off the call, I was filming the show when I signed for this job, and I got off the call, signed for the job, and I started writing.
00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:24.400
I wrote down all of the different things that were here, just from what I could see from the website and what I remembered for my tour.
00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:32.480
And I that I said, you know, honey is an option and goat cheese is an option, and honey and goat cheese go together, but also honey is great by itself, and so is goat cheese.
00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:38.079
And then there's the um the garden where there's uh endless options.
00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:42.000
I I tried not to think about it all because it probably would have gotten a little overwhelming.
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:45.359
Um, but I arrived in the fall and I said apples are great.
00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:51.759
Um salt, I think is a really underrated artisan that we have here.
00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:53.359
So, and then olive oil.
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.920
Um, those are the ones that I was most excited about first.
00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.599
And so I I just started to kind of flavor.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:09.200
Pair with those things, making sure that the shining star of each individual dish was the item that came from the property.
00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:11.200
And that is how I came up.
00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:15.599
That was my first menu that you have the orchard apple, the chevra cheesecake, and the praline tour.
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:21.359
And I'm I'm very proud of that menu because I think it does show a bit of the ranch in each one.
00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:21.839
Yeah.
00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:28.240
I think the apple is the one that hit harm hit home the most because I think it was my first month here.
00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:29.599
I went to all the apple trees.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.759
Our farmer said they were going to start going bad.
00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:38.400
So I pucked all the apples off the trees and I peeled apples and I made apple butter for like two days.
00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:40.240
So much apple butter.
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:47.119
And we packed it away and we kept it for winter time so that we could have it all throughout the winter for the orchard apple.
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:55.839
But I really wanted sort of that story of, you know, picking the apple off the tree, coming into the restaurant, biting it and for it to taste like that.
00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:03.039
So well, and the the dish presents uh for people who haven't experienced it at the restaurant, it looks like an apple.
00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:05.440
The cake looks like an apple on the plate.
00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:20.480
So we take it and we put it in the mold, and then we use cocoa velvet spray and ombre from blue to red to orange, um, white, not white, sorry, yellow, and then a little stem on top.
00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.000
And it comes in a little pile of dirt, like the apple just fell off the tree.
00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:27.200
And it tastes like uh like a caramel apple pie.
00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.880
It really does, and it's a gluten-free dessert as well.
00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.000
So, but it had this amazing loft in it.
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:44.960
And I'm wondering, you know, first of all, you know, is there a certain balance of flour that you use to achieve that loft, or is it all about flax, or is it all about egg, or how do you get that?
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.960
I often use just a blend of flowers.
00:23:49.119 --> 00:24:02.799
Um, I've always found the most successful blend is something with rice and then something with like white and brown rice, but also um a blend of others as well.
00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:06.960
I often use a pre-blended mix sometimes.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:10.480
I've had a lot of success with Bob's Red Mill cooking for my grandma.
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:12.000
I think it's a great product.
00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:15.359
I whenever I have to make her birthday cakes, I always use that one.
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:22.160
And I've cooked the altitude with it, which I think is the ultimate test to a gluten-free um, like one for cup for cup flour.
00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:23.200
I think it's great.
00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:35.920
Um, but I also try to do gluten-free baking without using flour at all, because then you're not trying to make something that was already great great again with flour that is never going to be wheat flour.
00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:41.119
And I think that that's when the praline cake comes in because that cake is just naturally gluten-free.
00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.200
And honestly, it just tastes like a brownie.
00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:50.160
And I also use those as brownies too, because it tastes really great without the flour.
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:57.440
Um, so back to your question, I try I do a little bit of both, but I like a cup for cup that's already kind of manipulated on my behalf.
00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:57.680
Yeah.
00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:04.240
And then trying to kind of push the limits and create um desserts that don't need flour at all.
00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:05.519
They can just be flourless.
00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:08.640
They can be beautiful without that aspect at all.
00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:09.119
Yeah.
00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:14.960
And I, and that's also, I haven't done any vegan yet here, but I did some pretty cool ones back in Denver.
00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:26.240
Um, that's our next thing on this menu is to get a nice vegan dessert on the menu that, in my words, I don't want people to look at and say, Oh, I have to get the vegan dessert.
00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:30.079
You know, I want someone to read it and say, wow, I think that this sounds delicious.
00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:31.359
Have a few bites.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.319
This is so good.
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.759
Oh, also it's vegan.
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:34.559
Oh, wow.
00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:35.839
That's that's my goal.
00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:42.319
I don't want the dietaries to feel left out, especially at a resort at the at the number that we do here.
00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.559
Tons of families, tons of kids.
00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:45.039
Yeah.
00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:55.359
It has to be a menu that an adult's gonna want for a night out, and that mom and dad are gonna want to give to their kiddo at dinner at 5 30, you know, to get them to eat their food and let's go, right?
00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:59.039
So you kind of have to you have to play to all sides of the spectrum.
00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:05.119
And in that, in that group of people, there's the opportunity to have a ton of dietary restrictions.
00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:08.960
Are you getting a lot of pushback um from clientele?
00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:12.160
Like do people, because I know there's a form you fill out before you stay at the hotel.
00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:14.000
Do people say no butter?
00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:21.119
Um, are they they is there a cow's milk thing that people are pushing back on, or are you finding it mostly that it's gluten-free?
00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:30.079
I think I think there's definitely a pushback on dairy, but I've seen it mostly in liquid dairy, not necessarily with cooking dairy.
00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:31.440
I'm sure it's coming.
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:35.920
I think the other thing that I've seen a lot is soy and seed oils are a big one.
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:40.400
Um, but not so much with dairy as a whole.
00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:49.680
I think in coffees in that aspect, there's a lot less whole milk lattes going out and a whole lot more oat milk and almond milk lattes.
00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:56.720
Um but when I cook with vegan, I just use coconut milk because it's sort of the best option.
00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:02.000
And, you know, make sure everybody who's has an allergen is taken care of.
00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:03.200
It works.
00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:03.839
Yeah.
00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:16.000
Um, when you're putting together um desserts for people with you unique dietary needs, well, I guess it's not so unique anymore, but I should say, you know, something specific that they have to keep out of their diet.
00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:19.839
Um, do you look for something specific when you're putting that together?
00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:25.440
Like I know oftentimes desserts that don't have eggs, you know, you can't get that same loft.
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:34.720
So I know you mentioned like not cooking with um gluten-free flours and just eliminating the the need for that and just focusing on a clean ingredient.
00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.920
And you know, is it the same thing when you're looking at at vegan?
00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:40.240
Again, I'm I'm trying to.
00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.039
It's tough.
00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:51.519
You know, fat and egg are huge when it comes to structure in pastry, mousses and creams, that's pastry and um butter.
00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:57.599
I mean, thinking of a croissant, it's like 50% dough, 50% butter, you know?
00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:04.079
And the crazy thing is, is there's people out there making gluten-free vegan croissants that look and taste great.
00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:13.119
And thank goodness for those people that are putting in the work and the time to figure out how to do it, because it is something that will trickle down to the rest of the industry at some point.
00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:20.480
Um, but in terms of vegan, again, I'm I'm gonna try and make something that isn't packed with a bunch of additives and chemicals and stuff.
00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:29.519
I I've had a lot of luck subbing oils and butter for coconut oil and cocoa butter, um, vegan butter when you need to use it.
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:35.599
But again, trying to keep things clean and um find alternative ways to do it.
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:50.960
A lot of trial and error, a ton of trial and error with using agar agar versus gelatin, um, two very different gelling agents that create two very different textures and seeing how you can um manipulate those to make one look like the other.
00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:58.000
Yeah, well, even ghee versus butter, you just take out the you know the casein and you have a completely different product.
00:28:58.079 --> 00:28:59.039
So absolutely.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:05.519
It's just in and especially in the baking world, you can't just throw some of this in and throw some of that in.
00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:07.519
It's dunked to the gram.
00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:14.400
And so it's uh it's been very interesting, but I have learned a ton about ingredients that I even use on a daily basis.
00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:15.759
So it's very interesting.
00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:16.160
Yeah.
00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:21.599
Um, Molly, would you say that you have a signature or something that you're known for at this point?
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:28.480
Um, I for a while it was goat cheese cheesecake, and I brought that here since we have the goats.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:33.279
Um, I think I've had a signature at every place that I've worked, I guess you could say.
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:36.720
And I feel as though the apple might become that here for me.
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.640
Uh in North Carolina, it was definitely goat cheese cheesecake.
00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:44.000
Um, I would make that all the time, and that was a loved one.
00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:47.599
Uh, in Denver, it was a pistachio raspberry tort.
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.920
And anybody who has followed me for a while will know exactly what I'm talking about.
00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:55.039
I actually did it on episode one of the TV show.
00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:58.640
Um, we had to recreate a dish that we were most proud of.
00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:02.319
And so I recreated that in no spoilers here, but one episode one.
00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:03.440
So that was cool.
00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:11.039
Um, and then here I have a feeling it might be the apple, but we'll see once I get through a whole season here at the ranch what what that becomes.
00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:13.279
Well, and the trends change too, right?
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:20.880
Like this has been so trendy now for I don't even know how long, but yeah, soon we'll be on to some other flavor profile.
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:23.279
The macadamia nut or something crazy.
00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:23.759
Yeah.
00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:24.480
So we'll see.
00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:28.000
I think I'm known for hyper-realistic desserts, like the smash.
00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:39.440
I've done uh my chef before me in Denver, we did banana and coconut together, and then we did pumpkin after that, like a pumpkin cheesecake that looked like a pumpkin.
00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:46.319
Um, so maybe that's more of my signature is taking the Trumloid kind of dessert and putting it into a plated dessert option.
00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:46.880
Yeah.
00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:55.920
Um the shape of the pumpkin or the shape of the apple, and then turning it to like more of like a sliced dessert as opposed to a shaped dessert.
00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:57.440
Is that a good translation?
00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:07.359
I I think the opposite, taking the sliced version and plugging it into the shape and figuring out how to serve that on a plate and not make it just look like a piece of fruit on a plate.
00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:08.720
Ah, okay, gotcha.
00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:09.039
Yeah.
00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:09.680
Fun.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.480
Sorry, my my really long way of going around what I'm trying to say.
00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:20.400
Well, and I must admit to not knowing every single pastry term because I tend to live more on the savory side of things.
00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:25.039
So um and I live in the pastry world and assume everybody knows what I'm talking about.
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:28.480
So it's good for you to to say, well, break that down for me a little bit.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:28.960
That's great.
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:30.480
A little bit of that.
00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:35.759
Um, any final thoughts about you know what's coming up or things you're looking forward to?
00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:39.680
Or I'm really looking forward to the summer season here in California.
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:42.960
I'm looking forward to seeing yet another season at the ranch.
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:47.839
We're headed into our busiest season, so I'm sure there'll be a lot of good things coming out of it.
00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.160
I'm really excited for the strawberry season.
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:53.359
I cannot wait for Watsonville and strawberries.
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.119
So it's just beginning.
00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:55.839
The cherry.
00:31:56.079 --> 00:31:56.720
I know.
00:31:57.359 --> 00:32:00.480
I drove through last week and I was like, pull over.
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.000
We have to get all the things.
00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.359
They were the strawberries, they were good, but they're they're gonna get better.
00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:06.079
I know they are.
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:10.240
Yeah, and I should tell people we're recording this uh at the end of the first week of May.
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.519
So there you go.
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:16.000
California, that's um I it's the beginning of fog season.
00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:20.559
So it's the May, what do they say now here?
00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:25.119
The May or the Gray May, May, Gray, and the June glue marijuana's.
00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:25.759
Yes.
00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:27.119
Yep, here it comes.
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:32.240
Coming from Colorado, where we had 300 days of sunshine, that will be an interesting part.
00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:33.200
I'm looking forward to it.
00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:34.079
We'll see how it goes.
00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:35.680
Yeah, you'll figure it out.
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:37.119
Uh well, thank you, Molly.
00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:39.680
It's been so having you on the podcast.
00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:41.839
And I look facing more of your work.
00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:44.640
It's um everything I've ever had from you has been so special.
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:45.920
So amazing.
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.759
Well, thank you so much for having me.
00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:52.160
It was a delight to talk to you and kind of revisit the past and talk about the future.
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:53.440
So yeah, it was awesome.
00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:54.160
Thank you so much.
