Meet Holly Gale | Pastry Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Holly Gale and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have always been a creative person and I absolutely love that I have the ability to make art- edible art for that matter- for a living. My brain is always finding an artistic angle in life. My parents encouraged my creativity and let us kids explore the world that way. I went to college for a fine arts degree and left with a BFA in photography and minor in graphic design. I soon after worked in a coffee shop making baked goods. I loved it so much I wanted to learn more and excel in the food industry. I went to The French Pastry School to study french pastries and then started in working in fine dining in Chicago. It seems each job I done in life keep leading me to this point of my life and career to combine both the joy of art and creativity in food and flavor.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
If someone asked 10 years ago where I would be and what I would be doing in the world I would have never said I ran a boutique wedding cake and small bite business in Cleveland, Ohio. Ten years ago I would have either told you I would be traveling doing food photography or living in Chicago working in a Michelin starred restaurant making elegant plated desserts. But the funny thing is, both of those elements of my life I use now, here in my business. I am so grateful I can take all my years of schooling, classes, and work in elevated restaurants and apply it to my business.

I love the creativity the restaurant industry allowed me to present to the world but it was tough, long hours and just I needed a sense of consistency in my life and wanted to have a little more ownership in my work.

I quit my job in Chicago and moved here to Ohio in late 2019 with my husband to open up a french style bakery. And then Covid hit in 2020 as we all know so I had to adapt my life goals. It was tough as it was on everyone- I jumped into this idea and started just making desserts and doing wholesale with different restaurants and coffee shops around here that were already established. Cleveland people are so kind! Seriously the fact they allowed me to show people what I can do in their shops was critical. I also did popups and farmers markets. Just, you know, grinding away trying to find my niche in Cleveland.

My real secret or I guess plot twist to all of this is in all honesty I initially hated making celebration cakes. Least favorite subject in school and I just felt I wasn’t good enough. I knew I could make a great tasting cake, I just didn’t have the skills yet to make it look good. It didn’t come natural to me. But something changed during the pandemic. People wanted speciality small cakes to celebrate holidays and birthdays and other events but we weren’t going anywhere or throwing big parties. I was forced to get better at this part of my craft or lose a great opportunity to make money. Customers were excited to do something special and before people really knew me, they just said- make and design however you want. Having that creative flexibility is what freed me from the anxiety of failure. I could just express my artistic side via buttercream and thankfully customers loved it. And next thing you know I am making 4 tier wedding cakes for 200+ guests for a living ha.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Right around Rocky River, I love The Wine Bar, Bigmouth Donut (when I was pregnant I would go almost every weekend), Tartine Bistro, and I love The Lakewood Dog park. I have a Great Dane named Cookie that is almost 2 and loves it there. Our family also loves to go on hikes so the Rocky River Reservation is great for that. I also love Mills Stream Run in Strongsville. Doggies are a big fan of that area.

For drinks, I love Flight in Gordon Square and The Buckeye Beer Engine. Thyme Table in Bay Village is a must for food and cocktails and for coffee we love Troubadour on Lorain in Fairview. It’s literally the owner and one barista. He visits the farms were he gets the beans from and knows his stuff. Oh, we love Mason’s Creamery and Leavened too!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow. I love this! So many strong and uplifting people in my life. My mama, my sister, Maria my boss at Metropolis Coffee, the instructors at The French Pastry School, my Pastry Chef Mike Taeuber at Everest (the first Michelin star restaurant I worked at), my friend and amazing chef Kyleen Grey who has always had my back.

Website: www.hearthpatisserie.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearth.cle

Image Credits
Portrait of me was Tayna Rosen-Jones. 3 tiered blue cake was photographed by Jenny Haas Photography. The rest I took