At age 18, Ray Works began baking as a way to help pay his bills while he worked on achieving his dream of becoming a stand-up comic. He never imagined that he would one day retire his comedian’s microphone for a baker’s hat.
But, in a sentence, that is the story of Chef Ray Works, the award-winning executive pastry chef for UCLA Dining Services. He is a man who most students don’t know, and many will never know, other than through the pastries he creates.
From the amaretto cookies at the newly opened Café 1919, to the warm blackout cake and various cheesecakes served in each of the four campus dining halls, Chef Ray ““ as he’s called in the kitchen ““ has worked tirelessly for the past three years to find new recipes to complement the nearly 23,000 meals eaten daily in UCLA’s dining halls and residential restaurants.
But Works’ story was not always meant to happen. Had he been a little funnier, he may not have devoted himself to baking full time, he recounts with a chuckle.
“I came to L.A. to do stand-up comedy, but my girlfriend at the time told me that, “˜Maybe you’re a better pastry chef than you are a comic,'” he said.
From then on, Works fully adopted the title that would soon precede his name and went on an educational baking journey that would take him to meet pastry chefs with international specialties, from French to German to Polish. He would work for major corporations like The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and even had a stint in the kitchens at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino before finally arriving at UCLA in 2006.
But, in all that time and through all those different kitchens, Works never lost his signature sense of humor.
“He’s got a big job here, but there’s always a fun element to it when he’s back there working with his staff,” said Roger Pigozzi, executive chef at Dining Services.
We met Works as he was preparing his kitchen for the culinary experiment that would be Dining Services’ Chinese New Year-themed dinner. For the evening, Works had planned to bring to students the tastes ““ slightly modified ““ he had experienced on a recent vacation to China.
“I am always talking about (baking), and thinking about it,” he said.
So, when the theme for the evening’s dinner was announced to him, he was prepared to dig out the recipes he had acquired on his trip ““ he saves all of the recipes he has tried or received ““ and create each of the desserts to be served, from almond cookies to mango mousse cake, all from scratch. With the help of his 17-member team, Works was able to utilize the nearly 24-hour, three-shift system under which his kitchen operates to create four new Chinese-themed desserts for students to try.
In the commotion of it all, it hardly went noticed that a brand-new silver wedding band had made its way onto Works’ hand.
“I got married in Vegas this weekend,” he said, revealing his ring finger. And then, as if remembering the rules of timing from his comic days, he quickly added with a smile, “She’s a great girl. She lost a bet, and so she made good on it.”
But, from the man who jokingly described himself as the lover of two things: talking about himself and talking about what others think of him, it was just a small glimpse into his outside-the-kitchen life that was largely overshadowed, in a conversation that spanned a few hours, by his enthusiasm for talking about baking.
Works describes one of his favorite moments at UCLA as the time he was able to call the Otis Spunkmeyer cookie company to tell them that he had created a better cookie and that UCLA would “no longer be requiring (their) services.”
His enthusiasm and love for baking is evident in the relationship he has with his staff. “They say knowledge is power, so you want to teach your whole crew how to do things. That’s how Ray runs his bakery as well,” said Mike Hoag, assistant manager of bakery operations.
For Hoag, who has worked for Dining Services for the past 12 years, the bakery has developed a more collaborative atmosphere under Works, and younger bakers feel encouraged to present new ideas.
“Everybody works as a team in (the bakery),” Hoag said. “Ray listens to new ideas, and we’ve been able to come up with lots of different things that way.”
Ultimately, though, each of the bakers in Works’ kitchen knows that whatever they create has to satisfy one person ““ the student eating it.
From Hoag ““ who’s motto is to “Have an “˜ookla’ day” ““ to Works himself ““ who can often be found watching which of his pastries are and are not being eaten ““ there is a sense of pride in satisfying the tastes of their young patrons.
As Works said, “We believe that if people eat well here, if they’re happy about the food, then they’ll be happy about other parts of their day as well.”