Chicago born and raised Zasha Gazder still remembers the day at the age of 11 when she made a shipwreck cake for her father’s birthday. While she had dabbled in baking before, the creativity she experienced with this cake – molding fondant, piping frosting, layering the cake with ganache, all made her really fall in love with baking. While still in high school, Zasha opened her own small business and enjoyed creating for many clients.  Later she attended The Culinary Institute of America in New York. While at the CIA she externed at Bittersweet Bakery where she worked on building and finishing cakes in Chicago under Mindy Gohr. After graduating with a bachelors in Business Management/ Advanced Baking and Pastry, Zasha moved back to the windy city. In early 2019, she began working at the fine dining restaurant Yugen in Chicago under Pastry Chef and Executive Chef Mari Katsumura where she later earned her stripes and became Pastry Sous Chef. Zasha left restaurants in 2021 and began working at Aya Pastry under Aya Fukai as a Pastry Sous Chef. Currently, Zasha works at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago as the Pastry Chef de Partie.

Zasha loves to travel and sample local cuisines. These flavors and experiences filter into her baking palette enabling her to come up with some amazing ideas and tastes. While working in the industry and honing her craft, Zasha plans to develop and grow her own client base by participating in artisan markets and fulfilling custom orders. Her dream is to one day open her own pastry shop.