NCIFT Holiday Gala 2012

Renowned French-born pastry chef, Jean-Yves Charon was the guest speaker for the NCIFT Holiday Gala at the Round Hill Country Club in Alamo on December 6th,2012. Jean-Yves had just returned from his annual trip to Paris where he searches for new ideas and recipes for his company, Galaxy Desserts.

Located in a 52,000 square foot facility in Richmond, with more than 200 employees, Galaxy turns mounds of butter, sugar and chocolate into hand crafted French-inspired desserts and baked goods. Galaxy’s very buttery French Butter Croissants and Molten Chocolate Lava Cake Batter have each been on Oprah’s “Favorite Things” show and are featured by customers like Williams-Sonoma and Neiman Marcus. Delicious and all natural multi-flavored mousses and bite-sized Parisian macarons were provided for our Gala’s desserts, though we were equally inspired by Jean-Yves’ from rags-to-riches story.

Starting 25 years ago as a one man operation, Jean-Yves sold his croissants to office workers in San Francisco working 17 hour days; baking at night and delivering and selling during the day…. He responded to the many questions about what it took to succeed with the following recipe for success…
-Know who you are and don’t stray from what you know best.
-Do something you love and have passion for it.
-Know your limitations and bring in help with the proper skills.
-Be honest with your customers.

Chef Charon loves to create and he loves to sell what he creates. He likes to see his customers eat and enjoy a personalized product experience. Some have called him an “Organoleptic Entrapeneur” and when asked which product is his favorite, Chef Charon answered, “The last one I am creating” because “Innovation is the life blood of our company.”

NCIFT members were generous with their donations for the raffle prizes to benefit the UC Davis food science undergraduates and graduates – many people left with great door prizes!

Happy Holidays to all!!