JANUARY 2022

Foodtastic Fun: Creative Chaldeans on Disney+
BY CRYSTAL KASSAB JABIRO
When a chance of a lifetime
comes your way, you have
got to go for it.
That is what Rachell Yousif told
herself when she was invited to
participate in Disney+’s new series
Foodtastic hosted by Keke Palmer.
It was her former teacher, Chef Ray
Duey, a produce artist in California,
who invited her to be his teammate
on the show. She happily accepted
the challenge.
When one of the three teammates
backed out on short notice,
Yousif was asked if she knew anyone
that would be willing to participate.
She thought of a certain “pastry
guru” she knew through the baking
world in metro Detroit. When she
mentioned Jonathon Elias, the second-place
winner of Food Network’s
“Halloween Baking Championship”
Season 3 to the producers, they hesitated
and said they would look into
it. She wondered why they were so
reluctant. Nonetheless, she flew out
to California to film for a week.
In the meantime, Jonathan Elias
had already wrapped up filming for
Foodtastic. Contracts and confidentiality
kept the producers from telling
Yousif they had already chosen
him.
Elias, who owns Pastry Guru in
Troy, had received a message on Instagram
from Disney’s casting department
last Christmas season and told
the company he would consider it.
Before he could even look at the details,
his former teammate on “Halloween
Baking Championship,’’ Tai
Davis from St. Louis, messaged him
to be part of his team. Then they
messaged another former teammate,
Jessica Scott from Las Vegas, and she
did not hesitate. Nearly two months
later they were off to Los Angeles to
film the show.
“We were competitors-turnedpartners
this time,” Elias said. “At
first, we were competing against each
other and now we’ve combined our
talents for something different.”
Foodtastic is a food art show, not
a baking show. Contestants create
scenes out of different kinds of food.
There is not even a tasting portion; it
is all about looks.
“I never in a million years thought
I would have the opportunity to be
on a show, let alone push myself out
Rachell Yousif (left) as part of Team “Two Foxes and a Relic” on Disney+’s Foodtastic.
of my comfort zone to do it,” Yousif
acknowledged.
After graduating from Warren
Mott High School in 2006, Yousif
enrolled in the pre-nursing program
at Macomb Community College.
Though she always loved to bake,
she was often discouraged by family
and friends from doing it as a career
because there was more financial stability
in nursing. At the time, Yousif’s
aunt was very ill in the hospital. She
saw how much her aunt suffered and
Rachell was not sure she wanted to
see that kind of affliction every day.
She changed her major and graduated
with an Associates in Culinary
Arts in 2012.
Around that time, Yousif took a
class with Chef Ray Duey, who came
to Michigan with the art of fruit and
vegetable carving. “Nobody ever inspired
me more to do something I
didn’t think I could do,” she said.
In 2013, Yousif started her small
business, Fruitful Art. She kept in
touch with Chef Ray over the years,
sending him pictures so he could critique
her carvings. She earned her
spot carving pumpkins live at the
Detroit Zoo’s Halloween Zoo Boo,
and Fox 2 even showcased her pumpkins
for KISS’s Farewell Tour.
Yousif then became a stay-athome
mom, putting her culinary
skills on the back burner. In January
2020, she started her cookie business,
Whisk & Crumble in Sterling
Heights. She had been watching
YouTube and Instagram videos on
cookie making to learn every technique
to make flawless cookies.
She is a self-admitted perfectionist,
which served her well in the show.
In episode 5, “The Avengers: Sorceress
by Day,” Yousif’s team, Two
Foxes and a Relic, which included
Chef Ray and home baker Sherry
Clarke from Connecticut, had to
imagine being in Central Park and
that the Avengers were coming to
save the city of New York.
They had to create a whole scene
out of food. Yousif’s job was to build the
body of Groot, never having worked
with gingerbread, modeling chocolate,
rice cereal, and fondant for a task like
this. She did not know if the materials
would adhere or fall apart.
But when she stepped back and
looked at the final product, she was
awestruck!
So was Elias when he looked at
his scene. His team, Project Alchemy,
is featured on the first episode,
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Introducing
Micro-Girl.” Their task was to
create a picnic scene where Ant-
Man intercepts Yellowjacket from
getting to Micro-Girl. Elias’ favorite
part was creating the ant army out of
melons, gourds, coconuts, and chocolate
– both modeling and real.
What are the chances that two
Chaldeans from metro Detroit would
end up on the inaugural season of a
new show on Disney +? Such a feat is
indicative of the fortitude that exists
in the Chaldean community as more
and more people answer their true
callings.
“It was great to prove myself in the
culinary world and to show my two
girls they could do anything they put
their mind to,” Yousif affirmed.
What did food art judges Amirah
Kassem and Benny Rivera think
of their scenes? Watch the show to
find out!
Follow on Instagram:
Jonathan Elias @pastryguru
Rachell Yousif @fruitfulart and
@whiskandcrumble
MITCH HAASETH/DISNEY
26 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2022