In September 2007, Pastry Chef David Guas exchanged his longtime corporate role for an entrepreneurial path that includes private consultation, boutique catering, his first cookbook, and, coming soon, his own Southern-style bakery. Damgoodsweet Consulting Group, LLC, the irreverent name he has given his company, is the perfect description of all his work.

In the beginning, odds were against the native New Orleanian having a culinary career at all. His family expected him to become a doctor. But, never underestimate the influence of grandparents on a child’s life.

Guas’ first mentor, his Cuban grandfather, inspired and taught him that being in the kitchen did not make him any less of a man. “Abuelo” (grandfather) opened Guas’ eyes to appreciate the cuisine of his Cuban heritage. “When Abuelo was visiting, my lunch changed drastically and my classmates knew from a single whiff of my lunch bag who had packed it that day.” Guas has fond memories of the pressed Cuban sandwiches with extra pickles and mustard. Whenever Abuelo visited, he prepared a new Cuban dish for his family to taste. “If only I had written down the recipes, I would have my first cookbook already,” Guas laments.

The strong female influence in his life was his aunt from Abbeville, Louisiana. “Aunt Boo” could often be found in the kitchen “burning” flour and butter in an iron skillet and promising that it was “goin’ to be good eatin’.” She taught Guas to appreciate the fruits of Louisiana’s soil, from cooking with seasonal blackberries, strawberries and even wild berries from the back woods, to fishing off the porch at her camp. “It was so much fun picking berries or visiting nearby fruit and vegetable stands with my cousins first thing in the morning,” remembers Guas. Unlike most native Louisianians, who used large amounts of sugar and butter in everything they cooked, Guas’ Aunt Boo stewed and puréed the fruits naturally, often blending them with savory herbs to flavor poultry and meats. Sunday morning breakfast was a ritualistic gathering, with buckwheat or cornbread pancakes and puréed fig preserves or fruit syrup, all natural and no sugar added. (But don’t think for a minute that Guas didn’t sneak any of the butter tucked away in the fridge, which was, after all, an acceptable sneak with Aunt Boo — because she got it from a “cousin,” who made it!) Unwittingly, the young Guas was learning techniques he would eventually incorporate into his future desserts.

The base provided by Guas’ family was strong. Add to that a natural talent and a passion for updating timeless desserts, and you have a recipe for success. Guas doesn’t boast a formal culinary degree, but a few specialized cooking classes at a small culinary school in New Orleans that taught him the basic, classical preparations, as well as certain cutting-edge techniques he needed to secure a job in a high-profile kitchen. As an associate pastry cook at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans with Executive Chef Jeff Tunks at the helm, Guas churned out thousands of desserts per week to the delight of locals and national critics alike. Tunks took notice of this talented young assistant and began courting him: Tunks was leaving New Orleans to open his own restaurant in Washington, D.C., and he needed a pastry chef.

Guas packed his bags and went off to Washington. DC Coast opened in June 1998 to critical acclaim. TenPenh followed two years later in August 2000, to more of the same, and Guas became Executive Pastry Chef, splitting his time between the two restaurants. In September 2003, he drew deeply from his Cuban heritage to create Latin American- and Caribbean-inspired desserts for Ceiba. And two years after that, in September 2005, with the opening of Acadiana, Guas developed sophisticated interpretations of his hometown dessert favorites from beignets to Bananas Foster.

During his 11 years in Washington, D.C., Guas’ desserts were recognized and praised by such publications as Food & Wine, Chocolatier, Santé, Cooking Light, Southern Living, Cottage Living, Coastal Living, Esquire, The Washington Post, USA Today, Food Arts, Restaurant Digest, Restaurant Business, National Culinary Review, and Nation’s Restaurant News. In September 2003, Bon Appétit featured Guas as one of eight “Dessert Stars” in the country. In 2004, the fourth year he was nominated, Guas was named Pastry Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. He is listed in The International Who’s Who of Chefs, and has appeared regularly on “The Today Show,” demonstrating his expertise on national television. He is also host in a PBS segment for the award-winning series, Chef’s A’ Field, “Saving the Honeybees.”

Of Guas’ sweets, the restaurant critic of The Washington Post writes, “I have yet to find a single dessert I can say no to,” and the critic of Washingtonian magazine states emphatically that Guas’ desserts are “worth saving room for.” Very sweet, indeed!

David’s first book, DAMGOODSWEET: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style will be published this November by The Taunton Press. It has been chosen as one of the Best Dessert Books of the year by Food & Wine magazine.