The California Raisin Marketing Board announces the hire of the award-winning Chef Della Gossett, Pastry Chef Instructor, French Pastry School (FPS) of Chicago, to serve as a pastry consultant for the board. In this newly created role, Chef Gossett will apply more than a decade of experience gained in some of the nation’s finest kitchens toward developing expanded uses of California Raisins in pastries and desserts.

“The California Raisin industry has a long and successful history of developing innovative applications for California Raisins in the baking, pastry and dessert categories,” said Larry Blagg, Senior Vice President of Marketing, California Raisin Marketing Board. “A consultant the caliber of Chef Gossett will help ensure we carry on this tradition, while creating new opportunities for the California Raisin industry and the nearly 3,000 growers we proudly represent.”

Prior to becoming an instructor at the FPS, Chef Gossett served as the executive pastry chef at the Chicago-based, James Beard award-winning restaurant, Charlie Trotter’s, and as pastry chef at Trotter’s to Go. Her earlier career experience included pastry chef positions at Atlas in New York, as well as at TRIO in Evanston, Illinois. Chef Gossett has traveled across the country and around the world to perfect her culinary craft. She was selected as one of only two American chefs to participate in Chef Ramon Morato’s elite pastry chef workshop at Escola Aula ChocoVic, Vic, Spain. She has also completed coursework at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute and the FPS in Chicago.

“As a pastry chef, I enjoy all aspects of the trade; from developing the simplest shortbread cookie to creating a complex plated dessert that pushes the boundaries of savory and sweet,” said Chef Gossett. “I am eager to further work with California Raisins – an all-time classic, supremely versatile ingredient – and to share the resulting innovation with others.” 

In her consultant role, Chef Gossett will develop new pastry recipes and curriculum, as well as teach courses about California Raisins in pastry to students at the FPS. She will also represent the California Raisin industry at special events throughout the country, while contributing to the board’s Chef Assist program – a comprehensive effort to further inspire use of California Raisins in high-volume foodservice settings, such as college dining and hotel/hospitality venues. 

About the California Raisin Marketing Board
A State Marketing Order in 1998 created the California Raisin Marketing Board and it is 100 percent grower funded. Its mission is to support and promote the increased use of California-grown raisins and sponsor crop production, nutrition and market research.  For more information about the California Raisin Marketing Board and to browse delicious recipes, visit LoveYourRaisins.com.