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Two weeks of Lockdown. The salon is closed and Gaby hasn’t asked me to do any decorating yet. Gaby is a fitness and cake expert. I know. Not two skills you expect to see on the same CV.
She’s been a committed personal trainer for over 20 years, though since having our twins it’s been more personally for herself. She’s also an accomplished Marathon runner in her spare time having come second, first, and third in her three outings for the Royal Parks London Half Marathon. Gaby also managed fourth as a non-professional in the full London Marathon. When her brother met her at the finish line, he noted her lack of panting and castigated her for not trying harder.
So where did the cakes come in? Well, it started with biscuits. We launched a new large salon kitchen when the twins were nine months old, and Gaby wanted to do something at home. I suggested maybe homemade biscuits for the salon Deli to help Luis our new chef. I never liked the idea of shop-bought biscuits for our clients, and it was a big ask in extra time for Luis while he was finding his feet.
“But you hate cooking.” I said. “It’s not cooking it’s baking”. Gaby retorted. Which I never quite understood at the time as they both involve heat and an oven. “But you can’t dip in and dip out. We need a consistent flow of hundreds a week.” I explained. Thinking that would put her off and we’d move onto another topic. Not at all. Five years later she has become a pâtissier extraordinaire.
Her repertoire has blossomed from biscuits to an array of cakes, truffles and breads from various ethnic influences. She makes the best Cholla and Baklava I’ve ever tasted! And everything with a healthy slant. Like her new chocolate truffles with avocado, surrounding a whole hazelnut in the middle. Weird but delicious.
Gaby has decided to share her recipes and her workout routines in a series of blogs.
Michael Van Clarke
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