Gregory Fryzel can’t remember how old he was – probably around 8 or 10 – when he approached his father and said, “I want to learn how to decorate a cake.”

Fryzel, 63, grew up in Detroit, where his parents ran a mom-and-pop grocery store in the inner city. While his sister, five years his junior, could be found playing in the yard, Fryzel was more interested in cooking.

He said his father went to a local hardware store and picked up a cake-decorating kit for his son.

“We made practice icing out of lard and powdered sugar. Found a glass light fixture and inverted it to serve as our cake,” he explains.

So down in the basement, Fryzel learned cake-decorating techniques – among the drills and hammers – on his father’s work bench.

After he graduated from high school, Fryzel attended Michigan State University, spent 23 years in the Franciscan religious order and then earned French degrees from Wright State University and Middlebury College in Vermont.

Fryzel’s teaching career has spanned 31 years. He began teaching French at Bishop Luers High School in 1979 and plans to retire this year from Homestead High School.

“I have the best kids in the world. I loved it,” he says. “Young kids refuse to let me get too old. They teach me things sometimes I don’t need to know but, in the long run, I’m glad to know.”

According to his biography on the school’s Web site, Fryzel was a pastry chef, a chef, a registrar, harpsichord maker and teacher while a Franciscan.

Back in his Fort Wayne kitchen, Fryzel has a signed photograph of Martha Stewart hanging on the wall. Not only has he met her, but he says he’s had the opportunity to meet other well-known cooks, such as Julia Child.

“Julia was just wonderful to meet. I went to see a mayonnaise demonstration in Cincinnati. She was doing the demonstration. She was gracious, funny and bigger than life,” he says.

“I mustered up the courage to go onstage and meet her. She bent from her waist to shake my hand and chirped ‘hello.’ It was lovely to meet her.

“When I met Tyler Florence in South Carolina, he was doing a cook-off with a local chef. I was waiting in the vestibule of the auditorium, and guess who walks in. I made a beeline over to him and said, ‘Hello, I’m Gregory from Fort Wayne, and I came to see you.’

“And he says, ‘Wow, you must really like me.’ It was so sweet. He couldn’t have been more kinder.”

Suddenly, Fryzel stops and says, “Can we focus on something that drives me nuts? We must get rid of the word ‘decadent’ from the culinary lexicon – because it carries with it implicit guilt. ‘Death by Chocolate?’ ‘Chocolate Suicide?’ Why not, ‘Chocolate Surprise?’ ”

Noting how much he enjoys good food, Fryzel discusses how he keeps meals healthy by eating everything in moderation.

“Food is not unhealthy,” he says slowly. “Mayonnaise doesn’t lead to the grave. Butter does not lead to death. But you have to do everything – everything – in moderation.

“I feel, to paraphrase Nigella Lawson’s words, ‘That some people have a tortured relationship with food.’ And to use Julia’s words, ‘The table is no longer a pleasure but a trap.’ ”

Although he considers Child his cooking idol, he wouldn’t choose her to go with him to buy groceries.

“I would like to take Nigella Lawson with me, because she would rhapsodize about color, fragrance and beauty,” he says.

Fryzel scoffs when asked his favorite vegetable. “Vegetable? Why don’t you ask me what my favorite cream sauce is? My favorite is the sauce from Julia Child’s fondue du poulet a la crème.

“It’s made with three tablespoons of butter and three cups of whipping cream, chicken and thinly sliced onions. It’s got curry powder, salt and pepper and lemon juice. It was just delightful.”

Chicken Pâté

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

8 ounces good-quality Braunschweiger

1 slice firm white bread

3 shallots

3 small cloves garlic

4 tablespoons cognac

2 pounds cubed, skinless boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

11 strips of bacon

1 bay leaf

In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine eggs, mustard, herbes de Provence, black pepper, salt, Braunschweiger, white bread, shallots, garlic and cognac. Pulse and process until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Add chicken breasts and pulse several times, keeping the chicken chunky, until combined. Remove mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in pistachios.

Line a 9-by-5-by-2 3/4 -inch loaf pan with strips of bacon. When lining the center of the pan, place one bay leaf between the bacon and the loaf pan. Spoon in the pâté mixture, making sure that it is distributed well into the corners. Rap the loaf pan on the counter several times to settle the mixture. With wet hands, smooth the top. Fold over any pieces of bacon that may have been hanging over.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. For baking, place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet because the bacon fat melts, bubbles over and drips.

While the pâté is still warm, remove it from the pan and chill overnight wrapped in foil or film wrap before attempting to slice it. Use a razor-sharp knife. Serve with a little Dijon mustard and cornichons. Makes 20 to 24

servings.

Beef Stroganoff

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

12 ounces beef, thinly sliced

8 ounces sour cream

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup chicken stock or broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 large shallot, finely minced

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 cup cooked noodles

Sauté the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until they are browned. Set aside. Cut the beef into one-inch-wide strips. Set out on paper towels and pat with more paper towels to dry. Mix sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, flour, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Using the remaining oil and in a very hot pan, quickly brown the meat on both sides – no more than a minute per side. Do this in small batches so the meat doesn’t steam in the frying pan. Set the browned meat aside. In the same pan, lightly sauté the garlic and shallots in the remaining butter. Do not burn the garlic.

Put the meat back into the pan along with the mushrooms and any juices that may have exuded. Turn up the heat and pour in the sour cream mixture. Cook this gently until thickened and bubbling. Once it starts to bubble, turn down the heat and let it cook for a minute or two more.

Serve over buttered noodles. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Coffee-Coconut Crème Brûlée

2 teaspoons instant coffee

1 tablespoon hot water

2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon coconut extract

4 tablespoons sugar (one tablespoon per ramekin)

Dissolve coffee in hot water. Scald the whipping cream. Add the instant coffee mixture. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add the scalded cream. Add the vanilla and coconut extract. Strain.

Pour the mixture into ramekins. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes in a hot water bath, covered with foil. Finish off by sprinkling each ramekin with a tablespoon of sugar and brown top with a blowtorch. Makes 4 servings.