Despite attending culinary school at LaVarenne in Paris, Gale Gand believes her fine arts background has probably had the greatest influence on her culinary style. “I tend to look at food and plating surface similar to how I think about art,” says the two-time James Beard Award winner who holds a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she majored in metalsmithing and minored in painting. “I consider line, shape, negative space, texture, and also complimentary and contrasting flavors,” she continues. “It’s complicated — and I love it!”

A prolific cookbook author, the Chicago-based pastry chef hosted Sweet Dreams, Food Network’s first dessert-centric show, and has appeared on such series as Top Chef and Iron Chef. A regular presence at Palm Desert Food & Wine, Gand says: “Sharing food is one of the most connective things a person can do. I want my audience to get a sense of the possibilities, so as they watch me demonstrate and explain in detail what I’m doing and why, they think to themselves ‘Hey, I could do that.’ ”