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Q&A with Bill Yosses in New York magazine:
A lot of little boys dream of growing up to be the president. Did you want to be the president’s pastry chef?
You know, I won’t say I didn’t. Roland Mesnier, the pastry chef here for 25 years, was such a presence in our industry.
When did you start thinking about cooking?
Not until I had moved to France after my college days. I couldn’t afford the three-star meals, but I could afford the cakes at Fauchon. That’s probably what made me a pastry chef.
How did the president and First Lady find out about you?
The White House sent out some invitations to people and asked for résumés. They invited me to come here and do a tasting.
What clinched it for you?
I have no idea. There was good feedback from the beginning. There were still a lot of great peaches around. I used some Frog Hollow peaches, which are superb.
Those are from California. How did you get them, mail-order?
Yes. I maybe had a leg up since there were all these great fruits still around and lemon verbena and lemon balm, and I always love that stuff, matching that with fresh summer fruits.
Do the farmers’ markets come into play as much there? Do you have time to explore them?
Well, no. We have people who source the food. We don’t really get into that because that’s a big security no-no. We don’t talk about that. Read the rest at NY mag
