By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews
Oral Gill of Waldport is adamant that one of his most important personal lessons is that as a young adult he didn’t listen to his friends when they were trying to persuade him to live in all manner of ways that might have derailed his life. Instead, he buried himself in work, starting with a job at Safeway right after graduating from O’Day High School in Seattle.
Gill, retired from Safeway and now the owner of Jhirmali’s Gourmet Desserts, worked the night shift stocking shelves with Mondays and Thursdays off. It was a challenging schedule and became more challenging in 1985 when he decided to begin baking after realizing the three popular cakes his father made could be the basis for a business.
He took the cakes to a major Seattle dessert event where the manager of a well-known restaurant was being interviewed on TV just as he was passing Gill’s booth. Gill was included in the interview and the exposure immediately brought business — and five years of non-stop work.
Gill would work at Safeway from midnight to 7 a.m., go home to sleep for a few hours, then to a commercial kitchen to bake for eight hours, return home to sleep a bit more and then back to Safeway.
Exhausted, he gave up the business after five years. But the intense hours gave him time to think, to grow up and to navigate his 20s successfully.
His childhood was also not completely carefree. Gill and his family are Black and endured discrimination. His family owned a home just a block outside Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood, which was redlined at the time. Gill was also teased due to a birth defect that affected his spine. But the family was close, the neighborhood was tight knit and Oral thrived, attending Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school and roaming the neighborhood freely, along with all the other kids.
Fast forward to 2024 and Gill is now baking cakes and cheesecakes once again, offering them for sale from May to September at the Waldport Wednesday Market and other events throughout the year.
Question: What were the cakes that your father made that inspired you?
Answer: My father provided the background and memories for my business. He was a marine biologist and worked days for NOAA full time and nights part time as a janitor. We always had dinner at 4:30, in between his jobs. Every year he had three weeks off at Christmas and then he got to bake, which he loved to do. He especially liked to make cakes and had two specialties, German Chocolate Cake and another densely chocolate one called the Hundred Dollar Cake. He made cheesecake, too — in a bundt pan. Everyone loved them. When I was preparing for the business in Seattle he showed me how – just once — to make the cakes. I perfected his cheesecake recipe so I could make batches of five cakes. The two products I sold to the restaurants were cheesecake and carrot cake. I developed the carrot cake recipe myself.
Q: How would you describe the cheesecake business you have here in Waldport now?
A: My wife is Laura Gill. Her parents lived in Newport and after we retired we moved here to be close to them. At first I spent a lot of time golfing, which I love, but then I decided I needed something more.
I had been making cakes and cheesecake for my family throughout the years but missed making them to sell, even though it had been many years since my Seattle venture. So, in 2018 I decided to start selling them at the Waldport Wednesday Market. For the first five years I made them in our kitchen at home, but just six months ago we finished building a small commercial kitchen on our property which has made everything easier.
Q: What products do you make for the market?
A: I make 12 different cheesecakes. I always have three or four kinds at the market — the original, a berry, a citrus and one other. I also always have German Chocolate cake, developed from my dad’s recipe, and my carrot cake. I am trying to perfect a dark chocolate one like his Hundred Dollar cake, but I don’t have it quite right yet. I am not really a baker. I’ve never had any formal training and those few items are the only ones I know how to make. I’m happy that I’ve been able to build on those three glorious weeks of baking that my dad got each year.
Q: Can you give us any hints about baking these items?
A: First, one problem people have with cheesecake is that the cake often cracks. I make all my cheesecakes with an all-over crust — bottom, sides and top so if there’s a crack no one will see it. Second, I vary the crusts I use. Sometimes I use graham cracker crumbs, other times chocolate crumbs, and occasionally vanilla crumbs. Each of my products also has a couple of secret ingredients.
Q: Did you continue working for Safeway until you retired?
A: I worked for Safeway for 35 years. For the first 12, I worked the night shift, and then had the opportunity to become the receiving clerk. Suddenly I was working Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Amazing!
Tell us a secret.
First, I love baking with music in the background. I listen to blues and soul a lot, but I especially like old country music like Hank Williams. Second, the house my dad bought back in the 1950s for $19,000 is now worth about $2 million.
More info: Website: www.Jhirmalisgourmetdesserts.com; Facebook: Jhirmali’s Gourmet Desserts; Telephone: 206-650-5026
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