30 May A Spoonful of Sugar
That’s the best way for me to describe Monica Glass.
In 2004 I received an e-mail from a lovely young woman who liked the way I talked about food. She wondered if she could help out as an editorial intern, and I said yes without hesitation. There was something that came through her words — I could tell she was a kindred spirit.
When she began to create recipes for us, I nearly fell off my chair.
I’ve worked with a lot of chefs in my life, and I’m talking about the very best, from Bocuse to Keller and everyone in between. This girl was special; there was a complexity to her recipes I hadn’t seen before in pastry. There were layers of subtlety and contrast that really got my mental mouth going, and I soon dubbed her the “Pastry Princess”.
There was a delicate, intense beauty to her work, and a poetry to the way she wrote about it. Within the first few months I declared that she would one day be one of the best pastry chefs in America. That day has come.
Today, Food & Wine magazine announced their Best Pastry Chefs for 2013, and Monica is in the top 5.
When she told me the news I had a good little cry; not just because I’m proud of her, but also because today is my birthday, and I can’t think of a better gift than being able to be part of someone’s journey to finding their own greatness, their own voice.
Monica, my life is richer, sweeter, more decadent and even a little bit spicy with you in it. Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world.
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See all of the Pastry Princess’ creations
See what Food & Wine has to say about Monica: Food & Wine’s Best Pastry Chefs 2013