Natured beckoned Gand to Riverwoods
BY TAMMY CHASE Contributor September 7, 2011 1:16PM
Gand relaxes with her dog, Panda, at her home in Riverwoods. | Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media
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Updated: November 2, 2011 2:17PM
When superstar pastry chef, restaurateur, author and Food Network TV host Gale Gand thinks back to her childhood in Deerfield, it’s not surprising that one strong childhood memory has a lot to do with who she is today.
That’s because Deerfield was home to Sara Lee bakeries and its tantalizing aromas.
“It always smelled good,” Gand recalled. “I’m not saying that’s why I’m a pastry chef, but ...”
As a kid she had friends in Riverwoods, where the mom of three lives today.
“I loved going there to play because it was so untamed with no sidewalks, no cops and just a whole lot of nature,” she said. “I ended up having Riverwoods envy.”
Q. What do you love about Riverwoods?
A. I love living in the Lake County Forest Preserve in a 150-year-old oak forest. I love that my home visually works in harmony with the woods, as do most of the original mid-century houses built here 50 years ago. The residents are creative and love nature. I think it’s the perfect place to raise kids. It’s safe, beautiful and there’s room to have a treehouse or a horse.
Q. Surely you have nights where you just don’t want to cook. What is one of your favorite places to go out to eat?
A. I think my favorite place to eat in the area is Big Bowl in Lincolnshire. They are very environmentally conscious and the food is fresh and delicious. It’s perfect for kids with lots of Asian options for them and I can get my favorite rice noodles along with fun cocktails and killer hibiscus ice tea.
I also love to go to Max and Benny’s in Northbrook for the veal brisket sandwich. Order it on challah with a cup of mishandle mosh soup – the best! And we love to go to Caputo’s in Lake Forest for coffee and breakfast pastries and then go home with some Italian sausage, fresh pasta, perlencini (tiny mozzarella pearls made on the premises) and some of their little sandwiches filled with prosciutto and mozzarella.
Q. Your schedule is so hectic. What do you do to relax?
A. To unwind I do a couple things. I garden and love shopping for plants at Dideir’s Farm on Aptakisic Road in Buffalo Grove. We go to the Botanic Gardens a lot. Also, I just started baking at Elawa Farm in Lake Forest, so we like to take the dog there for a walk and then play on the playground and visit the garden there. We do the same at Ryerson Conservation Center in Riverwoods, where they have a farm where you can feed the animals or hike through the woods to the Des Plaines River. I also like to bike on the trails along the river all the way to Willow Road and up to Route 22.
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