Ex malo bonum: many times, wonderful results can happen out of unlucky circumstances. Such is the case of Sara Maranzana, a former dyslexic child entrenched in her comfort zone, now a world-conquering traveling pastry chef.
The story
I am dyslexic. When we became aware of it at school, the teachers immediately recommended that I take up manual labor. I always liked to bake, and during open days with my parents, when it came time to choose, I happened upon Patisserie School in Neive: as I entered, I smelled chocolate and vanilla. And it was a flash of inspiration. I graduated as a Pastry Art Technician, with the certainty that I had found my way.
I've always loved traveling, too, though. So, after high school graduation and a couple of hotel work seasons, I flew to London to learn English. And I literally took the plunge. I started working for Gordon Ramsay’s The Greenhouse, a very tough and very intense training, which made me realize what I really wanted from my career: to travel and work hard. And it was my springboard into the world, as I met a lady who wanted to open a business in China and I stayed for two years in Shanghai, although it didn't work out for bureaucratic reasons. There I worked in an event company, where I talked to clients, did cooking classes and cooking shows. Inside I felt that I was no longer afraid of anything: that dyslexic child, locked in her little room, lived in a world that was no longer big enough.
In China, I even managed to write a book about my experience, titled My Dyslexic Universe, now being released as an e-book. Because if I made it, coming from a remote village in Piedmont, anyone can make it. I used to be someone who always came after others, I felt like a failure. Then at a certain point I realized that the sacrifice was paying off, and today I no longer feel dyslexia as a burden: it's true that even putting in all the effort, I struggle to learn a foreign language, but the fact that I must constantly try my hardest has been a school of life. And we dyslexics are special, we have artistic temperaments. The pandemic fortunately broke out when I was at home, but as soon as things calmed down, I left again for New York, which will certainly not be my last destination. On a J1 visa, which guarantees some rights, such as health care, practically as an apprentice despite my senior position, I worked the first six months at Alain Ducasse's Benoit Bistrot. Then I moved on to Dominique Ansel's, a French pastry chef who invented the cronuts, a fried doughnut made from croissant dough, the cookie shot (a small cookie glass to be filled with milk), and the frozen s'mores filled with vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
Now that my visa is expiring, I am trying to figure out if it is possible to renew it with the assistance of a lawyer, but I already have a very exciting plan B: I've always had a plan B. There will be a surprise, either in New York or by changing continents. I have seen many pâtisseries, and also ways of production. And it's not over: I think I'm not halfway there yet. As an Italian I am proud of our traditions and our food culture, but the best pastry chefs for me are French. They have a finesse all of their own. The most creative moment was the two years I spent at Magorabin in Turin, where Marcello Trentini gave me carte blanche; he was very excited about my creativity. I remember a dessert of passion fruit, white chocolate, wasabi and fried plantain; or arugula and shiso ice cream with raspberry.
With the big names, on the other hand, creativity takes on a secondary role. Ducasse had his iconic desserts, for example, which were always the same: the profiteroles, the tarte Tatin and the babà. But I found that where I can't use creativity to my favor, I can work with my superior organizational skills. And that's another kind of satisfaction. Otherwise I like to learn! To this day I prefer workshop baking, because there is too self-denial in a professional kitchen. It's endless hours from morning until late at night, like a spinning wheel. Instead, here the tasks change often, each time we look for ways to better organize ourselves and work faster. I can enjoy the afternoon like a normal person, I can create content on Instagram, but I would also like to start a blog and a YouTube page. All things that would be impossible in a restaurant kitchen.
My schedule is a bit derailed after Covid, of course someday I'd like to create something of my own, but I'm a traveling baker, like a TomTom that takes a wrong turn and recalculates the route. And I feel accomplished that way, on the road. I advise kids coming out of schools to jump in: it is better to go the extra mile, falling along the way than to proceed along the safe path. Gastronomy is a world of lions; we are full of passion and willing to give up a lot. Without wasting ourselves away, however. I recommend running after the great masters and sending lots of emails; the results will come with a bit of elbow grease.
