Hey, everybody, and welcome to Life is a Gamble.

My guest today is Nicholas forty and Nick is the corporate pastry chef for the West Coast of TAO Group.

And so Nick, thank you very much for being here with me today.

Yeah, thank you for having me my first podcast so very exciting and I appreciate you having me on.

Oh absolutely.

So.

The story that first caught my attention was you getting out of pastry school and going to the only three three Michelin star restaurant in Nevada at that time and somehow talking your way in.

But before we get to that, and the reason that that interests me is because sort of the theme of this show is that we take big or we are faced with big gambles in our life and we either choose to take a risk or not and how that affects us going forward.

But before we get to Joel Robashan, I wanted to go back to the beginning and find out how did you get involved in basically making cake?

Right?

Yeah?

I mean so even from an early age I was interested in baking.

I have pictures when I was I think like ten years old, dressing up as a patio chef for Halloween, and I really grew up watching cake bob Us, watching him build these crazy cakes, and started making cakes at home with my mom and we would sell them on the weekends to our family and friends.

But at the time we would sell like a three tier wedding cake for forty dollars, So we didn't really know what we were doing, but we were enjoying it, and it just kind of slowly turned into a really big hobby of mine, and then of course later it became my profession.

But the funny thing is is that throughout high school and then I went to college, I went to I went for kinesiology, which was like totally on the opposite ends of baking.

You know, it's all about human body movement, and I wanted to be a personal trainer and all of this stuff.

So kind of talking about that big life gamble was being in college going for kinesiology, also working as a cake decorator at the time, and eventually having to pick one of the other because it was a lot for me to do both.

Sure, And I mean that when you say a trainer, a sports trainer, I mean you're not talking about a guy at LA Fitness that you're talking about like for a sports team or something.

No, no, no.

So I played lacrosse my whole middle school in a high school, and at the time, I had a personal trainer Byron Ross, So I grew up with him and I wanted to be like him, like a personal trainer, which is why I went to school for it.

Because I was always in the gym, I was always playing lacrosse, but then I was baking at you know, at the same time.

So it was just like a weird combo that I had going on.

And yeah, I mean it came down to a point and I told my parents, like, I think we're going to drop out of college and be like a gag decorator.

So it's it's really like a kind of a funny story.

I'm sure they weren't so happy at the time, but you know, it seems to be going all right.

So well, hey, you know, I told my parents I was going to be an actor and a professional gambler.

So you can imagine how that went over with them.

But obviously I'm sure they supported you in your decision.

And so you went to school in Chicago, is that right?

Yep?

So I was working a couple of little pastry jobs in Vegas, and I decided that I really wanted to go to pastry school, not only to have it under my resume, but to really get a good basic French pastry knowledge.

So I went to the French Pastry School in Chicago.

I had a ton of famous French chefs teaching there, made a lot of connections.

It was the only school where we only did pastry, so I had no interest in savory.

I didn't want to touch a frying pan or make anything like that.

I only wanted to do pastry.

And this was the best school in the country.

My parents helped me go out there.

I lived there for about seven months.

But the funny, the funny story about Joe Robashon is that when I got accepted to go to the school, my parents said, all right, well, we'll take you out to dinner anywhere you want to go, like as a celebration.

And I said, all right, let's go to Joe Robashon.

And which is funny because it's extremely expensive.

You know, it was about one thousand dollars per person when you go there for dinner.

And I remember taking a tour through the back during dinner and the guy that was giving us a tour.

He I turned to him and I said, I'm going to work here when I come back from Patry School.

And I'm sure he was like, okay, kid, like you know whatever you say.

And it's funny because when I came back from Patry School and I went there, he was still there and he remembered me.

So it was kind of a cool moment of like, you know that that was my dream before I went to Patry School, always to work in a Michelin restaurant and get that fine dining experience.

So that's exactly what I was able to get.

So, which is pretty cool.

And how did you do that?

I mean, did you just suit up, show up and say, hey, I want a job?

At first I did.

I put on a nice tie and I walked up with a portfolio of cakes, like birthday cakes.

And at the time that's really what I had.

But what I what I had on was on the resume, I had the French Patry School and luckily the executive patri chef of Robashon was actually one of the people, one of the first people that went to the school, so we had that in common.

And then back then we did stages, so you had to go and do like a tryout so they could see how you worked.

We don't do that as much nowadays with stages, but really I was able to go spend three four hours making some stuff so they see how you work.

And I walked back to my car in the parking lot and I had gotten a call like right then that that I was able to get the job.

So it's pretty cool.

Yeah, that's kind of amazing.

So so staging is not a thing anymore.

It's not a thing.

There's a lot of a lot of laws on it because it's unpaid, so you're pretty much just there as a slave.

Yeah, as a slave doing just random stuff for them.

But I think it's super important.

I wish we did it more often because then you really see before you hire someone how they work.

And so, yes, that's kind of a thing in the past, but that's how I started.

Yeah.

Yeah, and Chicago must have been quite a change if you were there at all in the winter growing up in Vegas.

Yeah, definitely, it's it was something I wasn't used to and I lived out there by myself too.

My wife was coming out there to visit.

But yeah, riding the subway every day, and something I I'm really not used to is riding the public transportation because we don't have that as much in Vegas.

But the funny thing is making these big show pieces and crooking bouches and all this stuff and then having to take them back on the train back to my apartment.

And people are looking at you like You're like, you're crazy.

You know, they've never seen anything like that.

Why are you taking them home?

You know, because you spend all day working on them, and they tell them like, they tell you take them home and enjoy them with your family, And so I would have to take them back to my apartment, but I would ride the train, so you know, I'm just there with like three foot tall crook and bouche and sugar roses and people are and then sitting alone in an apartment Chago pretty much just eating yourself.

Exactly did you gain fifty pounds or no?

I'm I mean I had a good routine.

It was just like school gym and then you know, back to it, so you know, when you're just leaving there by yourself, you get into a good routine.

But it was a lot of fun.

It was a great experience and and I made a lot of great connections that that have helped me throughout my career there.

So what was it like then at jil Robaschon?

How How long did you stay there?

I was there for two years.

I started as a pastry cook and then I got promoted to a sous chef.

And I mean it's very good.

It's very structured.

You you come in and you you do the same thing every day, but you do it perfectly, and and it's I think it's a really great place to learn the techniques and to learn the professionalism that you need in a kitchen, because they don't they don't put up with a lot there.

You know, you have to be very professionally, you have to be very robotic, and you're in what you do.

But after two years, I felt like I had I had gained what I needed and I was ready.

You know, I have I have a a creative bug and me and I and I left to to practice and do other things.

So it's you know, after you do the same thing for two years, it's it's time to to move on a little bit.

Sure was was Robuchon still alive when you were working there?

He he was I had never I never met him.

We had a thing called robuchon week and all the corporate chefs would come down and and check if everything was fine.

But he never came down while I was there.

But I do remember when he passed.

It was it was an eerie, eerie setting in the kitchen, so I'm sure, So where did you go from there?

So I left.

It's funny because one of my teachers in the French pastry school, he ended up moving to Boston and he's he opened up the Encore Boston Harbor Hotel.

So I saw that he was opening it and and I started talking to him, and he pretty much offered me a job in Boston, and obviously that's a big move, but I ended up doing it.

So I moved from Vegas all the way to Boston to open this hotel with him.

So I was the chocolate tier.

I did all of the chocolate work, show pieces, candies, chocolates, anything like that, which you know, my dad's from Boston, so it was I have a lot of family there and and it was kind of cool to go back and see, you know, where he grew up and all of that stuff.

But that was I was there for less than a year before I decided to come back to Vegas.

You just didn't like Boston or it was there was some some some stuff happening in life.

And fortunately it was right before COVID hit.

So I got back to Vegas kind of in the perfect time because COVID hit and there was a lot of layoffs, and you know, yeah, I feel like it wouldn't have been a great situation if I would have stayed much longer.

So you know, everything happens for a reason.

So I'm glad that I came back in time.

And are you Are you still here in Vegas or are you in California?

Now I'm in Vegas.

Yeah, So how did you get to Tau Group?

And also, I mean when I first heard Tau Group, my initial reaction was I thought, that's a nightclub and I wouldn't think you'd be eating pastry in a nightclub.

But yeah, so I mean, how we have nightclubs?

We have about eighty locations globally.

Oh wow, So that's restaurants, nightclubs, bars, speakeasies, you know, you name it.

Tao has something in there, a ton of different brands.

So when I first started Hakkasan and tow were different companies, so they actually merged, which is why they brought me on to help manage the West Coast.

Yeah, and does that mean when you're so West coast covers what how many properties?

So I have about eleven restaurants that I kind of oversee pastry and menu changes and training staff.

But I've been lucky enough to work on a lot of projects globally, so menu development for new restaurants in Dubai and Mexico and Turkey and you know, we have restaurants all over the world.

So my chef he lets me kind of be on those projects and work on new desserts.

So it's been it's been a really fulfilling, really a creative space for me.

So it's been great.

Oh that's that's excellent.

So you still get to cook.

Yeah, No, I'm in the kitchen every day.

I mean it's like, you know, when you think corporate chef, it's you know, more computer work and stuff like that.

But yeah, management of other chefs.

Yeah, so there's definitely that.

But no, I'm in the kitchen every day.

I'm helping in, you know, with big parties and going in and teaching new desserts.

So I think I would be very bored if I was at a computer all day.

I don't know if that's for me, So yeah, yeah, sure.

So what's the what's the ultimate goal?

Where where do you want to end up eventually?

You know, I always had a dream to open up my own bakery, and and now being in the profession, I have friends who have opened them up and heard so so things about it.

It's it's a brutal business.

You know, it's like you're there all day long, your your family's there all day long.

So you know, I think I think being able to travel the world and and sharing you know what I like to do, teaching classes, I think that's the ultimate goal because the people, the chefs that I look up to, that's that's kind of what they're doing.

And they're traveling around and they're teaching their desserts in different countries and getting to experience that, and I think that's the ultimate goal.

So I have a lot of work to get there, but I think that would be pretty cool.

Yeah, yeah, it sounds like it.

Well, okay, yeah, this has been great.

I appreciate your doing it, and I just want to say to the listeners that they should look at your Instagram page, because your your desserts are really works of art there.

They are amazing to look at.

I'm assuming that they're that they taste great, but it's it's something just kind of through Instagram that you know, I took a lot of time in the pictures.

I got like a nice camera and and you would come in on like all my day off.

My wife would find me just on the floor like taking hundreds of pictures of a random dessert, you know, with different lighting, and it's it's kind of what social media is.

But having that portfolio has has really helped me.

And it's like you know, when you're when you're going for a job and you can send someone there and give them kind of an idea of what what you like to do.

It's it's helped me a lot.

So yeah, sure, And what is your Instagram It's going to be fo r t E n J.

So it's my last name in my initials.

Okay, f r T T n J.

And I will put a link to that in the show notes for the episode.

So, okay, perfect one?

Last two last things?

One?

What's the best restaurant in Las Vegas currently?

So not only because I work out of this kitchen every morning.

But I would definitely recommend Hakkasan in Las Vegas.

It's in the MGM Grand really high end Chinese food, but we have a great street program, So if you wanted to experience some of the more intricate, fun desserts that that you kind of see, I would definitely recommend Hawkissan.

But it's funny that just reminds me that I saw David Chang for people who don't know, is a big chef, but he he said currently the best Chinese food in the United States is Las Vegas, which you know, I'm sure New York and San Francisco are you know, up in arms about him saying that.

But there is tremendous Chinese food here in Las Vegas right now.

So yeah, I mean, especially with Hakissan.

We have I think we have twelve Hawkissans globally, and when you when you look at London, we have Michelin stars for our Hakissan.

It's a really high end restaurant and there we take it very serious over there.

So even with you know, Chinese food, or if you're going specifically for the desserts, I would recommend that restaurant for sure.

Cool and The other thing that just came to mind was, I'm sure you watched the show The Bear.

Mm hmm, I've seen I've seen it some snips.

Yeah, oh, you haven't watched the whole thing.

Oh there's a guy the pastry the pastry chef in the restaurant is well trying to become the pastry chef.

Anyway, and it's in Chicago, and I don't know most restaurant people, I think like that show, So I just know that there's a that there's a lot of yelling, is what I've seen, which is slightly true but not so much in But also remember this is like a family restaurant where you know it's a family that doesn't get along while that great, but clearly loves each other.

So anyway, again, thank you for doing this, Nick, and I will put up that leg to your Instagram in the show notes and that'll be it awesome.

Thank you so much for having me.

Should absolutely