Huntin’, Fishin, Bikin’, Bakin’

Pastry Chef David Guas

Sitting in a freezing goose blind at 5am with three or four buddies and a thermos of hot coffee is what David Guas calls fun.  So is bass fishing, and long road trips on his highly customized Harley Davidson.   He is, after all, a native of New Orleans, in the state that is nicknamed “Sportsman’s Paradise.”  

In fact, in 2007, when Guas exchanged his ten-year tenure as a corporate pastry chef for an entrepreneurial path that includes private consultation, boutique catering, cookbook authoring, and a   new retail bakery and eatery on the horizon, he was actually reverting to his own independent business sense that is rooted in these outdoor gear-intense passions. He grew up cutting grass after school and on weekends, sinking his earnings into his adolescent fishing habit: rods and reels, a huge tackle box filled with all sorts of jigs and poppers, and a little boat with two electric trolling motors.  Now within easy reach of the Chesapeake, he’s always game to be first mate on a friend’s boat for a day of Rock fishing.   

Out on the Eastern Shore, he’s also rediscovered an early passion for hunting waterfowl, which had been a way of life growing up in Louisiana.  The hunting and fishing seasons have reconnected him to the natural rhythms of the outdoors, much as he is innately aware of the growing seasons of the fruits and herbs he cooks with, and the lifecycles of the area honeybees.  On his leisurely Sunday rides through the northern Virginia countryside on his Harley [“very subtle; the color of a Japanese eggplant,”] he is always on the lookout for new farm stands and other possible sources of natural honey, another longtime fascination.

A chef with any less experience, drive, and creative force would have a hard time finding room for anything outside the kitchen, let alone such fulfilling hobbies and a busy family with two young boys. But Guas’ full life, hard work and particularly appealing dessert style, best described as ‘elegant comfort food,’ are clearly a successful combination. His first cookbook, DamGoodSweet - Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth New Orleans Style [Taunton Press, 2009] was named one of Food & Wine’s “Best New Dessert Cookbooks” of the year; was a finalist for the prestigious International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in the American Category; and was been nominated for a James Beard Award in the Baking and Dessert Cookbook category.  And since November 2010, the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia has been getting its fill of sweet Southern goodness from David’s long awaited community coffee house and gathering spot, Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery.  

He has earned accolades and recognition from such exalted sources as The Washington Post, The New York Times, Esquire, Pastry Arts and Design and Food Arts magazines. His most recent honor in 2011 was David being selected as one of 10 chefs in the Mid-Atlantic region as “The People’s Best New Chef,” by Food&Wine magazine. He was featured in Oprah Magazine as one of the country’s best pastry chefs in its May 2010 Tenth Anniversary issue.   In 2004, he was named “Pastry Chef of the Year” by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.  In 2003,

Bon Appétit featured him as one of eight “Dessert Stars” in the country.  His comfortable, down home persona gets him regular invitations to appear on The Today Show and was a guest host on the PBS series, Chef’s A Field.  Guas also serves on the board of Best Buddies of Virginia and Southern Food and BeverageMuseum in New Orleans; is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance; Slow Food USA; Share Our Strength; and is a founding member of District Hogs – that’s right: a group of local restaurant professionals who ride their motorcycles for fun, research, and charity.

Guas comes by his passion for good food naturally.  It would be easy to say “It’s a New Orleans Thing,” but even in such a food-conscious town, the Guas family had the advantage of a Cuban grandfather, “Abuelo,” who was his grandson’s first culinary mentor, and “Granny” on the other side, a down-home cook from Amite, Louisiana, who taught her grandson to appreciate the bounty of Louisiana’s seasonal produce, berries and a little boudin thrown in the mix!

This reverence for good, nurturing food -- and the joy in preparing it -- propelled young Guas towards his career as a chef.  When he began to investigate how to go about it, his Granny made a call to one of her kinfolk who was none other than Justin Wilson, the legendary Cajun cooking guru, cookbook author, and one of the first PBS personalities locally to host several of his own shows.  He recommended a few specialized classes with his friend Frank Sclafani, a man that was like a good gumbo— a blend of Italian and Cajun heritage, who runs a small culinary school in New Orleans. And can he cook! Frank was most instrumental at teaching Guas the basic, classical preparations, as well as certain cutting-edge techniques needed to secure a job in a high-profile kitchen.  As an associate pastry chef at the acclaimed WindsorCourtHotel in New Orleans with renowned chef, Jeff Tunks, at the helm, Guas churned out thousands of desserts each week.  Tunks took notice of this talented and driven young member of his staff and invited him to Washington, DC where he was opening a new restaurant.  DC Coast was launched in 1998 to critical and popular acclaim, with David Guas in the pastry kitchen.  As corporate pastry chef for Passion Food Hospitality, he went on to develop the dessert menus for each of Tunks’ subsequent four restaurants over the ensuing decade. 

At this point in his life, Guas’ hunting-fishing-riding buddies aren’t just a random collection of friends; they’re all in the food industry: fellow chefs, restaurateurs, artisan producers, and the owner of a big seafood supply company.  “Our excursions are escapes, sure, from what can be a very high-pressure industry,” admits Guas, “we’re not out to brainstorm the next big culinary thing.  But as in any creative field, you can never plan when inspiration will strike.  With this crowd, when it does, I can always bounce it around a few experts.”