Full Episode
It might be safe to say that most of us have seen the chocolate guy on social media. You know, the one who makes elaborate, gorgeous, intricate, edible structures all out of chocolate. The ones whose videos have amassed literally billions of views over the years. Well, we have a tasty treat for you on today's episode.
Omari Gishaw, considered by some as the world's most creative pastry chef, joins Lateef Nasser, co-host of Radiolab and a guest curator at TED 2025, for a talk and demonstration and the important role food plays in the creation of wonder. He shows us how he manages to captivate the entire world with only one ingredient and without ever speaking a word.
OK, chef, I think it's safe to say that the entire world is obsessed with your elaborate chocolate sculptures. Laliste recognized you as the world's most creative pastry chef. You have billions of views on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, that in addition to your Netflix show. But more important than all of that is that you are part of my four-year-old's bedtime routine. Yes.
We watch one of his videos every night. So we all watch your stuff. but none of us know anything about you. So where are you from? How did you get into pastries?
Originally, I come from France. I'm French and Swiss. I started in the culinary when I was 14 years old. I was not great academically speaking, so I was encouraged to go to trades. I picked culinary out of a hat, really. And after my savory training, I drifted away towards the sweet side, and I really fell in love with the transformation of raw, raw ingredients into elaborate products.
And so you started in France. How did you get here, to the US?
When I was 21, I wanted to learn how to speak English. I was like most French people. We don't speak English very well. So I thought I would take one year to learn how to speak English. I was not too picky on the destination.
And I got an opportunity to come to Vegas 12 years ago, and knowing that I don't party, I don't drink, I didn't think Vegas would be really home for me, but I found that in reality, the extravagance from Vegas was a perfect pairing with my ability to craft wonders.
Right, right. The wow factor. People are always, I've introduced your videos to so many people, they're always, there's two waves of wow. First, the first wow is, wow, look at those sculptures. And then the second wow is, he made that entire thing out of chocolate. The whole thing.
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