10 Thoughts from Gale Gand

One thing you don't know about me is that I never set long-term goals. I'm grateful for all the good luck that befalls me as I let life happen.

I'm most proud of the balancing act I do with owning restaurants, being an executive pastry chef of notoriety, writing cookbooks, doing TV [Food Network's Sweet Dreams] and generally being happy with my work, which earned me a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Oh, and I do all that while raising a family and having a loving marriage.

My fondest food memory is sneaking into my grandma Elsie's freezer in the basement and eating frozen oatmeal cookies.

If there were no fried chicken, I'd have no reason to live.

My greatest inspiration is penny candy and ice cream novelties.

If I were on death row my last meal would be heirloom tomato slices with burrata and basil, frisee salad with lardons and a poached duck egg, cold fried chicken, braised celery root, some Brillat-Savarin, a glass of sparkling rose, buttermilk pie with raspberry rhubarb compote, a root beer float and a cup of tea with milk.

The thing I hate most about this business is misspellings on menus.

If I could change one thing about me I'd love to be thin or tall or both.

My idea of a perfect day is waking up my family with the smell of bacon. We'd have homemade blueberry buttermilk pancakes, poached eggs and fresh-squeezed juice. Then I'd buy ingredients for a picnic lunch at the beach on Lake Michigan. At home I would cook dinner with my kids and then take a walk in our woods.

If I could do it all over again I would live in France for a year or two rather than a few weeks at a time.