Tallahassee’s only James Beard nominated chef leaving Kool Beanz Cafe after nearly three decades.
After nearly 28 years, Sylvia Gould will be leaving her role as pastry chef extraordinaire at Kool Beanz.
Her creative desserts have won so many accolades that in 2020, Sylvia was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Award — considered the Oscar of the food world — for outstanding pastry chef in the country. She’s the only Tallahassee chef to earn any James Beard nomination, as of now.
But now it’s time for Sylvia to leave her comfort zone, she told Tallahassee Table.
Sylvia Gould ready to serve her peanut butter mousse bombs for dessert at Kool Beanz Cafe. Photo provided by Sylvia Gould. Top photo / Tallahassee Democrat.
“It’s my next big step and I’m nervous but excited,” Sylvia said, just after her last night working at Kool Beanz on Jan. 4.
“I want to be more involved in the community,” Sylvia said. “I may do collaborations with other chefs. I want to see what grows organically.”
For starters, she’ll be presenting a “Dessert for Dinner” event, with sweet and savory dishes, as part of the 2025 Cleaver and Cork event at 6 p.m. Feb. 24.
“The sky’s the limit for Sylvia,” said chef Leon C. Brunson, a colleague and former co-worker with Sylvia at Kool Beanz. His own career has taken off as the chef of his own restaurant, Leon’s at Lake Ella and as a competitor on national culinary shows. “There are so many options for her.”
Mixed feelings
Sylvia leaves her job at Kool Beanz with mixed feelings.
“I’m very grateful to Kool Beanz and Keith,” she said, referring to Kool Beanz owner/chef, Keith Baxter. “Keith gave me the creative freedom to build my craft. I had the opportunity to do this in a wonderful atmosphere. I was fortunate to have so many bonds with my customers and coworkers.
Chef Leon C. Brunson and Sylvia Gould when they were both coworkers at Kool Beanz Cafe.
Photo provided by Sylvia Gould.
“Customers let me into their backyards to harvest fruit that would end up on the menu,” she added.
In her youth, Sylvia would pick fruit from her family farm in Bay City, Michigan. As a pastry chef, she has been able to tap into her own history while exploring new ideas.
“I like to bring other cultures into the desserts,” Sylvia said.
Artist and chef
She was born in Bay City, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and German-American father. She attended Florida State University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.
Sylvia came to work at Kool Beanz as a server five months after Kool Beanz opened on June 4, 1996. She was a server for seven years when the pastry chef left.
Sylvia Gould with Keith Baxter, owner/chef of Kool Beanz Cafe. Photo / Tallahassee Table. Top photo provided by Sylvia Gould.
“She came to me and said ‘I think I can do this,’ “ Keith said. “I thought that after seven years, she deserved a chance. She took off from there. Sylvia’s 100 percent self-taught.
“She is beloved by all our employees and our customers,” Keith said. “She is a stellar human being and a stellar chef. She’s like a sister. Sylvia knows the door is always open at Kool Beanz.”
Culinary career
She took a hiatus to work at a Jacksonville restaurant but she has otherwise spent her culinary career at Kool Beanz, never resting on her laurels.
One of her most popular dishes is Baked Alaska, among her torched treats, with some variations such as a Baked Alaska with Vietnamese coffee ice cream, hibiscus syrup, kumquat and lemon peel.
Latin and Asian-inspired desserts are on her hit parade, including sticky coconut cassava cake with brûléed bananas, pandan ice cream, Thai basil panna cotta with satsuma-habanero sorbet, and salt and pepper cashew brittle.
Pastry chef Sylvia Gould torches the meringue for her coconut meringue layer cake. Photo by Devante J. Carroll
Outside of Kool Beanz, Sylvia showcased some of her favorite confections at the four-course presentation, “Dessert for Dinner,” at the former Poco Vino wine and event shop in downtown Tallahassee.
“Keith allowed me to do venues outside of Kool Beanz through the KBC kitchen to push my boundaries,” she said.
A scrumptious chocolate tart ends the evening on a sweet note at Poco Vino. Photo / Tallahassee Table
To get an idea of her range, Sylvia’s courses at the Poco Vino dessert dinner included saffron poached pear with baklava, bleu cheese and Thai basil panna cotta; satsuma habanero sorbet and candied calamansi limes; cassava cake with pandan Ice Cream and salt & pepper cashew brittle, and a chocolate hazelnut cake with black pepper/black cardomon Crème Anglaise and popcorn.
They were all luscious.
Gus Corbella and Amanda Morrison, co-owners of the former Poco Vino wine shop with Sylvia Gould, center, after her Dessert for Dinner event. Photo / Tallahassee Table
At the time, Gus Corbella, co-owner of Poco Vino (now curating wine clubs, tastings and trips) with wife Amanda Morrison, posted this on Instagram: “We love Chef Sylvia Gould. Not only is she one of the kindest and most wildly talented pastry chefs in the South, but for anyone living under a rock these past few years, she is also a James Beard Award semi finalist – the first in Tallahassee history.”
We wish Sylvia all the best in her new ventures!
