We’ve all dreamed up that cozy French kitchen: golden daylight, flour-dusted hands kneading dough, pastries glistening on a cooling rack. Edith Piaf croons “La Vie En Rose” in the background; a black cat curls just out of frame. The apron is artfully smudged, and the hair just tousled enough.
For most, it’s a fantasy, but for Christelle Gomez, it’s another Tuesday.
A Career in Constant Motion
Trying to explain that she’s already lived many lives would be an understatement. Gomez has written over 100 children’s books, taught history, survived a TV baking show audition, and now commands a massive online audience with nothing but flour, light, and lemon tarts. Reinvention is the recipe. (Oh yeah, she was also a financial auditor, too.)
But today, she’s a food influencer on YouTube with almost a million followers. What’s remarkable is that she transitions from career to career with big successes — it’s not like making a career as a children’s author is easy work.
Gomez is lighthearted about her focus on doing what makes her feel good rather than just collecting a check.
Passion Over Paychecks
“When I have a passion, I cannot do anything else, so I have to make it my work. I can’t have a passion and have another job, that’s totally impossible for me. I do everything that is possible to make it my job.” She says.
Gomez isn’t alone in this radical career pivot. A 2023 study found that 50% of workers changed careers during the pandemic, with many choosing passion over traditional security. The creator economy, now valued at over $104 billion, has become a viable alternative to climbing traditional corporate ladders.
Career experts like Aneesh Raman have noted this shift, citing former President Barack Obama’s advice: “Worry about what you want to do, not who you want to be.”
A Kitchen with Global Reach
People from all over the world watch her content and follow her recipes for dazzling pastries, including cookies oozing with Nutella, classic French crêpes with honey and butter, and even churros or lemon meringue pie. Her work is a riot of sights and sounds — you have to imagine or reproduce the smells at home — that slip through the ether, which is why folks love her.
Her rise to bakery celebrity from her Parisian kitchen is the stuff of folklore. As the almighty Julia Child once said, “In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.” A tale as old as time that Christelle Gomez is still living today.
Behind the Scenes: More Than Just Baking
While the grid might show nothing but baked goods, baking is just a small slice of the work Gomez does. While she creates one or two new recipes a week, most of her time is spent filming videos, photographing dishes, editing content, and writing articles for her audience. Luckily, she enjoys the behind-the-scenes production as much as the baking itself.
But what does she love most when it comes to what she makes? When pressed to name a favorite dessert, she admits to a fondness for lemon tarts, which are simple, classic, and always delicious, with raspberry tarts as a close second.
From Joke to Job
And this empire of sugar and butter wasn’t a plan, but a bet.
Twelve years ago, Christelle Gomez’s journey into baking began as a joke. A friend dared her to audition for a popular French baking TV show, pointing out that she didn’t know how to bake. Amused, she applied, submitting photos and beginning an intensive self-taught crash course in pastry.
What started as a bet quickly turned into a serious goal. Though she made it to the final 15 contestants, she wasn’t selected for the final 10, and the rejection hit hard. Determined not to let all her effort go to waste, she launched a blog to document everything she had learned.
To her surprise, people responded with enthusiasm. Encouraged by the feedback, she kept sharing and eventually turned her passion into a full-time career.
Advice from a Self-Made Chef
“I’m very happy and deeply thankful,” Christelle says of her success. “Of course, it’s a lot of work, but I know I’m lucky to do what I love every day, and that’s thanks to my community.”
When people tell her they love to bake, she’s quick to encourage them. “My advice is simple: don’t hesitate, just go. Try. Give it your best. Maybe it won’t work, but at least you tried. You have nothing to lose.”
For aspiring young bakers hoping to make a career out of it, she adds, “Do what you love, but also pay attention to what others enjoy. It’s hard to always be on top of trends, but if you want this to be your job, you have to balance passion with awareness.”
The Reality of Content Creation
Creating your own content is hard. Gomez is a do-it-yourself queen, and breaks, well, those are needed, but something she has to plan for on top of creating new things.
“I’m my own boss, which means I have a lot to do every day, and sometimes, it’s hard to stay motivated when you’re working alone. That’s one of the most difficult parts of the job. The other is the haters. There are a lot of them on social media. Most of the time, I don’t care, but when I’m tired or not feeling well, those comments hit harder. And they come every day. That’s tough,” she says.
Just the same, Gomez knows that more people love what she does than take the time out of their day to be haters. “There’s always someone who doesn’t like what you do. But the rest? They make this all worth it.”
Burnout, Breaks, and Baking with Family
For every creator, burnout is a constant consideration. For Gomez, December is her big month, with January being the time to reflect and refresh. “Christmas is a really hard time for me because everyone wants a Christmas log recipe,” Christelle says. “There’s just so much work, really, a lot. By the end of the year, I’m completely exhausted. In French, we say ‘on my knees,’ which means totally worn out. So, during the first week of January, I do nothing. I stay on the sofa, watch Netflix, and completely check out.”
Around her place, her kids are the ones who rule the roost. “Yes. My daughters love pancakes and cookies too. On weekends, we usually make pancakes, cookies, and a type of flan. I’m not sure what the name is in English, but it’s a traditional recipe from Brittany, no, not Great Britain, but Brittany in France. It’s really good, and that’s what we often bake together on the weekends.”
What Comes Next?
Like all good cooks, Gomez is quick to point out that Italian food is never a disappointment, but French cooking is still the best. (Despair not, Americans: she did enjoy the food in America during a West Coast trip.)
As our call wraps up, it’s time for her to head back to the kitchen and defy tastebuds once again. I imagine she’s already dreaming up her next project, maybe even a children’s book about baking.
With Christelle Huet-Gomez, you never quite know what’s next. She’s made a career out of managing the unknown, one French flavor at a time. Never, ever hold the butter.