Patty Cakes

Since the day I opened my restaurant about 7 years ago I told myself that we would only offer desserts that were made "in house". Well, we're still doing it. You will never have a pre-made frozen dessert at Rovezzi's. I would love to say that I am the creator behind our sweets but I cant. There's only one person who can claim the title 'Pastry Chef" at Rovezzi's.

Patrick...a.k.a. Cap

We call him Cap because that's what he calls everyone else. Patrick is a self taught dessert maker. I guess that's why we work so well together. I'm a self taught Chef. He has had a varied life in the food service industry. Worked at several pubs and restaurants around Ma. but when I met him he was working at Cedar St. Restaurant which is located down the st. from my restaurant. He came to me looking for some extra hours to supplement his income.

I really didn't want to hire him, you see, I was working basically alone and I liked it that way. I didn't want to have to teach some stranger all my recipes and techniques. But, I gave in and the next day in walked a 5ft. tall, brown haired, kind of "husky" fellow wearing a clean white Chef coat and a "I'm ready to work"smile.

Immediately he picked up on how I did things and I was truly grateful because we had started to get very busy and I couldn't keep working day and night. After a couple of weeks Patrick told me that he was making all the desserts at Cedar St. "Can you help me with mine?" I asked.

The rest is history.

Patrick eventually left Cedar St. to work for me full time and for the past 6 years he has been responsible for ALL of the desserts that have ever been served here. The hair is a bit more grey, The Clean chef coat is gone replaced by a black t-shirt. The smile is still there, most of the time. Patrick never becomes complacent with his desserts. He constantly experiments and updates his repertoire. He is loved by everyone here. A true friend . He is like Switzerland. He remains neutral when arguments arise and does his best to comfort both sides.

He has become a brother to me. And consequently it is very hard to discipline him. We fight, we talk, we push through it and get the job done. It is a a very comforting feeling knowing that he is in the restaurant on the days when I am not. He is one of the few who takes ownership of the business and watches out for the common good.

His desserts speak for themselves. Describing them here wouldn't convey a fraction of the actual quality. You'll just have to stop down and taste.

Does he have any bad points...? Of course. Everyone does. But I will save those for a blog entry the next time we have a fight.