by Prerana Sharma, December 21, 2017

I had the pleasure of working with Chef Della Gossett, Executive pastry chef at Spago, Beverly Hills, earlier in the Fall quarter at Kendall College.

Chef Della owes a lot of her success to the late Charlie Trotter as she worked with him at his restaurant in Chicago for many years.

I volunteered at the annual event conducted by the Charlie Trotter foundation to honour all the Chefs who have worked with Chef Charlie over the course of his outstanding career. I took a lot from this event. Working up close with a Chef with the kind of calibre as Chef Della really opened my eyes to a world of possibilities when it comes to baking and pastry. The technique and skill with which she executed the dish she had planned for the evening was something out of the ordinary. I assisted Chef Della and her team with producing over 200 plates of desserts for the guests at the event over the course of two days.

Apart from gaining experience with understanding the skills and planning it takes to produce a dessert plate for a large number of people, I learned something that can’t be taught in culinary school. I learnt about how important it is to nurture the relationships you make in a workplace. Charlie Trotter passed away over 10 years ago and ever since the year of his passing, the foundation has conducted an annual event in Chicago where all the chefs who had worked for Chef Charlie came together from different parts of the country as well as the world to honour their former employer by showcasing their skills by means of serving their signature dishes to a large number of guests. I know it is common to say that “Food brings people together” but this experience truly made me understand the meaning behind those words.