LIVE Magazine Issue #253 February 24, 2017

LIVEMAGAZINE.TV
exclusive
by Juli Ragsdale
www.palmdesertfoodandwine.com
Zac Young
ZAC YOUNG
Pastry Director of Craveable Hospitality Group
Juli: You went to college for musical Theatre. How did that lead to baking?
And how did Radio City Music Hall play into this?
Zac: It was all one big accident. I moved to New York to sing and dance,
while performing, I constantly found myself hanging out in the costume
shop. I ended up working in the wig department at Radio City. I wanted
to make christmas cookies, but had never done it. My mother is vegan
so we didn’t really do the holiday sweets thing. I bought a Kitchenaid and
a cookie book and started baking my way through it. I kept bringing the
fruits of my labor into work. One day, someone asked if she could buy
some as a Christmas present. Cash for cookies? Now we are talking!
After the Christmas season ended, I enrolled in culinary school, purely because
I wanted to spend my days making cookies.
JR: You are the Pastry Director for Craveable Hospitality Group. How
many restaurants is that and how do you handle all that?
ZY: We operate 7 full service restaurants with 2 more opening this year
as well as 6 fast casual concepts. Technology is my best friend. Not only
can I talk to our kitchens we can facetime and share pictures and ideas.
It’s pretty amazing. Earlier this year, I was in Aspen Kitchen facetiming
with Bloomingdales to approve packaging and shipping for Valentine’s
Day… welcome to 2017!
JR: Yes, thank goodness we have come a long way! I want to congratulate
you on your success on Top Chef: Just Desserts! What was the
show like and how was it working with Gail Simmons?
ZY: The show was a marathon, physically and emotionally exhausting,
Gail made it all worthwhile. She was so encouraging, so smart with her
feedback, and, of course, her wardrobe and shoes were En Pointe. We
all looked forward to her walking into the kitchen. The collective experience
of the show was a bonding experience for both the chefs and the
judges.
JR: We’ve heard about your Frozen Margarita Pie. Tell us about that.
ZY: I’ll use any excuse to keep a bottle in the kitchen. I don’t drink at
work, but I’ve been known to make a “to go” beverage for my subway ride
home* *Drinking in public is illegal and subject to various local punishments.
I do not condone it… however… if it looks like juice….
JR: You have been known to say “I bake outside of the box!” What do
you mean by that?
ZY: My whole life I’ve colored outside the lines, I have always found my
own way of doing things.
Meet Zac!
JR: I’d like to thank Tony Marchese of TRIO Restaurant and Co-Producer
of the Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival for this fun and informative festival.
It will be great to meet you Zac!
Friday, March 24, 2017
11:30am – 2pm
James Beard Gourmet Four-Course Luncheon Hosted
by Gail Simmons, Food Expert, Food & Wine Special
Projects Director, and judge on Bravo’s Top Chef
JR: That’s fun! So what is some of the best knowledge you took from
Walnut Hill? Tell us how you discovered baking is science?
ZY: The head of the theatre department at Walnut Hill told us, “If there
is anything else you would be remotely happy doing, do it, because this
industry is too darn hard.” He was talking about theatre, but I find myself
saying this when I teach or have new cooks.
In the early cookie-making days, I kept experimenting with flavors and
ingredients. Swapping chocolate covered pretzels for chocolate chips
worked really well. Putting fresh blueberries in an oatmeal cookie was a
failure. I came to love the creativity within the bounds of science. There is
only so far you can stretch a recipe before the ratios no longer work.
photos: Melissa Hom