Gus Simpson adored birthday cake. Chocolate, coconut, lemon, strawberry, vanilla—she had a particular fondness for the classics. Even though she experimented with new flavors and frostings, drizzling with syrups and artfully arranging hibiscus petals, Gus more often took the retro route with piped-on flowers or a flash of candy sprinkles across the iced top. Because birthday cake was really about nostalgia, she knew; about reaching in and using the senses to remember one perfect childhood moment.
After twelve years as a host on the CookingChannel—and with three successful shows to her credit—Gus had made many desserts in her kitchen studios, from her creamy white chocolate mousse to her luscious peach torte, her gooey caramel apple cobbler to her decadent bourbon pecan pie. A “home cook” without culinary school training, she aimed to be warmly elegant without veering into the homespun: she strived to make her dishes feel complete without being complicated.
Still, birthday cake was something altogether different: one sweet slice fed the spirit as much as the stomach. And Gus relished that perfect triumph. She loved celebrating so much that she threw birthday parties for her grown daughters, Aimee and Sabrina, for her neighbor and good friend Hannah, for her executive producer (and CookingChannel veep) Porter, and for her longtime culinary assistant who’d recently retired and moved to California.
But Gus didn’t stop there. She always made a big to-do for the nation’s anniversary (which wasn’t so out of the ordinary for an American), and for December 25, which, again, wasn’t all that unusual for someone who’d been raised Catholic. Then she also made a fuss for saints Valentine and Patrick, for Lincoln, for Julia Child (culinary genius; August 15), Henry Fowle Durant (founder of her alma mater, Wellesley; February 22), and Isabella Mary Beeton (author of the famous Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management; March 12). No matter that those guests of honor were quite unavailable to attend, being dead and all.
Some hostesses love parties because they relish being the center of attention. Gus, on the other hand, found her greatest pleasure in creating a party world with a place for everyone and where she believed everyone would be made to feel special. “Let me fix a little something,” Gus said to her daughters, their friends, her colleagues, and her viewers. She truly loved the idea of taking care, of nurturing and nourishing. Especially those guests who found it hard to make their way in the crowd—Gus always looked out for those ones the most.
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