Garry Larduinat: Crafting Red-Carpet-Worthy Desserts for the Oscars and Beyond

Pastry chef Garry Larduinat is known for his whimsical and inventive desserts, creating masterpieces that are as beautiful as they are delicious. Born in Limoges, France, to parents who were both chefs, Garry started his career at age 14 with an apprenticeship at the Michelin two-star French restaurant, La Chapelle Saint Martin, followed by a formal culinary school education back in his hometown. After working in top kitchens throughout France, Garry's dream of moving to New York City came true when in 2010, he assumed a position working with renowned pastry chef Francois Payard. Garry served as Executive Pastry Chef at Payard Patisserie, one of the country's best pastry shops, for close to six years before heading west to California to become Executive Pastry Chef at Los Angeles' famed Hotel Bel-Air. In 2017, Garry joined Wolfgang Puck Catering which provided him with an opportunity to create with no boundaries, taking advantage of California's seasonal ingredients and the team's breadth of parties and events to produce an ever-changing arrange of visually stunning desserts. Garry's style showcases classic flavor combinations with an unexpected twist in flavor, texture or presentation. His creative process begins by visualizing the colors and shapes before crafting the flavor profile. His work has cultivated an audience of over 180,000 followers on Instagram, where he provides an inside look at his process for creating edible art. In this episode we discuss: Garry's apprenticeship at a Michelin-starred restaurant Taking a chance and a job in NYC What he learned working at Payard Patisserie Moving to Los Angeles to become Executive Pastry Chef at Hotel Bel-Air Discovering the challenges of working in a restrictive environment Landing his dream job at Wolfgang Puck Catering What it's like to craft desserts for Hollywood's biggest event of the year And much more!