If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked Saïd M’Dahoma — the French Comorian, Calgary-based pastry chef and former neuroscientist behind The Pastry Nerd, about the backpack, socks, and vanilla paste he can’t live without.
A polo is what I wear when I want to be classy and casual at the same time. It’s what I wear in all my videos on social media. Always short-sleeved and cotton. You’ll never be overdressed or underdressed in a polo. I own eight — red, pink, gray, black, blue — but my favorite is navy blue. I think chef coats are too much, and I don’t think people relate to me when they see a chef coat. I tried wearing an apron, but I don’t feel comfortable in it.
These are perfect when I’m cooking and baking and I just want to be in the zone, but even more so when I’m doing the dishes. When you’re developing recipes, most of the time you’re washing dishes. I have panic attacks when I forget to charge my earbuds. I really like the look of these Sennheiser earbuds. They’re black, they’re slick. I like their noise-canceling technology. They stay in my ears — except one time when I was biking and they fell out and I had to spend time looking for them in the grass.
I’m very sensitive to light, and I need to have a sleeping mask to make sure I don’t wake up as soon as there’s a ray of sunshine coming through my window. I prefer this Zizwe mask because it has a cushion around the eyes so the eyes do not touch the mask directly. There’s no pressure on my eyes while wearing this, which makes it more comfortable.
This coat is cheaper than the North Face or Canada Goose, but it keeps you very warm. I really love Calgary — people are so nice and warm, and you can ski the Rockies in the winter and hike them in the summer — but the Calgary winter is very long. It starts November 1 and goes to April 1. In the worst of winter, the temperature can go down to -35 C (or -31 F).
I love the fact that there are so many pockets, and they’re specific pockets for things. I hike with it in the Rockies. On one side, I have a water bottle, and on the other side, I have bear spray — because it’s the Rockies. You always have to have bear spray with you.
The great thing about vanilla paste is that it’s much cheaper than vanilla pods. And you still get a lot of the flavor you get in regular vanilla pods. I like to use it for pastry cream but mostly for cakes. The national dish of Comoros is langouste à la vanille (grilled lobster with vanilla cream sauce), and at home, I’ll make shrimp with vanilla using paste. I cook the shrimp in the pan, then remove them and make a broth with the heads. Into that broth, I add vanilla paste. Don’t put too much, otherwise it will taste sweet even though there’s no sugar in it. Just one teaspoon of paste will do, then I put the shrimp into the broth, and then eat them over white rice.
Calgary is super, super-dry. I always have to put cream on as I keep washing my hands and because I’m always washing dishes. My favorite scent is the Shea Butter Zesty Lime. I usually buy multiples once a month. I always have three: one in my car, one close to the kitchen, and one on my bed stand.
I love, love, love ginger. I love spicy, and obviously, I’m a pastry chef so I love sweets. This is the best of both worlds. As soon as I have a bag, I can’t stop eating it. I have to try not to buy it too often.
I’ve always been a gamer. I’ve played video games since I was a kid. It’s now my way to relax and disconnect and stop thinking about neuroscience or pastry. I can bring the Nintendo Switch anywhere I’m traveling, and I play it before I go to sleep to shut down my brain.
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