Gale Gand is a nationally acclaimed pastry chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, television personality, root beer maker, and mom.

Gand is the executive pastry chef and partner of the renowned four-star Mobil, five-diamond AAA, Relais & Chateaux Relais-Gourmand restaurant Tru, with Rich Melman and culinary partner Rick Tramonto. She was recognized in 2001 as Outstanding Pastry Chef by The James Beard Foundation and Pastry Chef of the Year by Bon Appetite magazine, and in 1994 as one of Food & Wine's Top Ten Best New Chefs. Gand has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology's School For American Craftsmen and attended culinary school at La Varenne in Paris before opening Trio, Brasserie T, Vanilla Bean Bakery and later Tru, which celebrates it's 10th anniversary in May of 2009. In 2006 she opened Gale's Coffee Bar, Osteria di Tramonto, Tramonto's Steak & Seafood and RT Lounge with Rick Tramonto. Most recently she consulted on and opened an upscale cupcake bakery, MORE, in Chicago.

Gand was the host of the long running Food Network's Sweet Dreams, the first all-dessert show produced by the Food Network. She is the host of The Answered Chef, an online educational cooking series at www.AnswersTV.com. She also has a show currently in production, The Heirloom Recipe Project for PBS. She has appeared on Martha Stewart, Oprah, Iron Chef America, the Today Show, baking With Julia (Child), judged Food Network Challenge and the 2008 season of Bravo's Top Chef. An accomplished cookbook author, Gale has seven titles to her credit, including her most recent, "Gale Gand's Brunch", released in spring of 2009. She also has her own root beer company which produces Gale's Root Beer, an artisanal cinnamon, ginger, vanilla infused root beer (now with real cane sugar!) and also produces a vanilla cream soda. In the summer of 2008 two of Gand's desserts were featured at the USA House at the Beijing Olympics and is an original member of the Macy's Culinary Council.

A supporter of sustainable agriculture, eating locally and the environmental movement, Gand is a member of the National Restaurant Association's "Conserve" Council and forages annually for local ramps and mushrooms with her son for her restaurant. She is involved in many community causes, including Chicago's Green City Market, Art Smith's foundation, Common Threads, which teaches children cultural diversity through the culinary arts, and she teaches pastry and baking at her son's middle school and daughters' Pre School. Gale also is an executive board member of the Chicago chapter of the AIWF, and a long time member of the James Beard Foundation and Les Dames D'Escoffier.

Gale is married to an environmentalist, Jimmy Seidita, has a 13 year old son Gio, and 5 year old twins, Ella and Ruby. For more information on Gand, visit http://www.trurestaurant.com.