Stephanie Boswell is a world-renowned pastry chef who is a judge and host on the Food Network. Her big break came from her creation of the Faberge Egg, a signature dessert that led her to receive many opportunities that helped further her career.
Greenwich Lifestyle was lucky enough to speak with the successful pastry chef for our foodie issue. We found out why she chose to pursue her career path and what has helped lead to her many accomplishments.
GL: Why did you decide to become a pastry chef? Who inspired you?
SB: I “decided” to become a pastry chef on a family vacation to Capri when I was 11. During that trip, I tasted gelato for the first time and my life was forever changed. You see, my mother was very big into the macrobiotic movement and thus I didn’t really eat sugar as a child so that gelato was an eye opener. In college, I was always attracted to studying arts and sciences only to drop out and start culinary school. It was a big moment in my life as my mother had planned on me being president of the United States at some point. My brother Sam told me, “It’s better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb, than halfway up one you don’t.” That gave me the strength to do the risky thing that I loved.
GL: What do you love most about your job?
SB: I love the process of teaching! I am not precious about guarding my recipes or methods. I want my cooks, friends, family, and followers on social media to walk away with useful tools to make themselves better and more comfortable in the kitchen.
GL: What helped lead to your success?
SB: Stubbornness! If I am not good at something I will repeat the task over and over and over again until I am comfortably perfect at it. I once painted the same watercolor goldfish 50 or 60 times until it was perfect. I am a firm believer in the magic of practice. There is no substitute for hard work. It’s how you get to Carnegie Hall!
GL: Can you share any tips for aspiring chefs and pastry chefs?
SB: Yes! Don’t be afraid to fail! It sounds cliche, but I really believe that one should never give up! “If at first you don’t succeed...” is really applicable to the world of cooking. So many people try baking and fail and then decide that they “aren’t good” at baking. Nobody’s good at anything the first time they try it! If you want to be good at something, you have to practice! And you should try different techniques of the same recipe and see which one works best for you!
GL: Your signature dessert, the Faberge Egg, gets a lot of attention. How did you create that dessert and why?
SB: I wanted to make something beautiful that was designed to be destroyed. I grew up spending a ton of time in museums which meant that I heard the words “DON’T TOUCH THAT” a lot! I wanted to create a piece of art that you could touch, you could interact with, could smash into tiny bits. And that became the art. The diner became a part of the art and the artist. I wanted to make something so beautiful and singular that it would feel indulgent, verging on wrong, to destroy it - but that is what you had to do. You had to live in a reckless childhood for a brief instant in order to bring yourself to eat it.
You can follow Stephanie on her Instagram: @stephanie.boswell