FORT SILL, Okla. Feb. 4, 2016 -- Peanut butter and jelly. Pen and paper. Bed and breakfast.
Some things just work well with each other and for Spc. Jonathan Grasso those two things would be food and music.
Grasso, a member of the 77th Army Band, didn't always have plans to be a flute-playing Soldier. When he was young, Grasso wanted to be a heart surgeon. However, Grasso soon learned he wasn't comfortable working with blood and needed to find another career path.
"I didn't really know what I wanted to do so I jumped into the workforce," said Grasso.
In 2005 Grasso began working at a grocery store called Cash and Carry, which later was renamed to Sweetbay, where he was a cashier before working in the office. One day he overheard the bakery manager talking to the store manager about needing an assistant. Grasso was interested.
"I asked (the manager) and she said, 'you want to learn?' I said 'yeah, it looks cool.'"
Grasso was already familiar with the world of baking when he arrived for his first training class. His father, Mike, was an aspiring assistant bakery manager at Publix Grocery Store. Mike passed away in 2004 and Grasso had many childhood memories of baked goods in his home.
"My sister and I used to raid our refrigerator and my mom would catch us licking the icing," said Grasso. "Anytime my dad brought back leftovers, there were no leftovers."
Grasso's supervisor noticed his growing talent for baking and decorating cakes and told Grasso he was better than some of the previous bakers she'd had at other stores. Grasso said he was happy to receive the praise as he sometimes found the work demanding.
"I enjoyed it but it took some hard work and focus, I'm not going to lie," he said. "It was good experience. It took some patience with myself and I eventually grew into it."
In 2009 Grasso joined the Publix team. He talked with the assistant store manager who knew Grasso's father and after an interview and a cake-decorating demonstration, he was hired. Grasso said much of his training and experience was developed at Publix and while he enjoyed the job and how quickly time would pass, he wanted a full-time job.
"I was working two jobs and I wanted to be stable," Grasso said. "I wanted full-time employment with benefits and to save money. I knew I wanted to play music as well."
Grasso joined the Army in September 2014 as a musician, forgoing the option to be a cook. Grasso said he wanted to focus on baking and didn't really care for cooking in general. Because of those reasons he believed his experience would be better in the band.
Swapping a chef's apron for an Army uniform didn't mean Grasso was abandoning his culinary talents. Grasso is particularly fond of gooey-butter cake bars that he makes for unit events or for parties.
Despite living in the barracks, Grasso still finds ways to practice his cooking skills often using the homes of friends and co-workers to cook, thanking them for their generosity by allowing them to act as taste testers.
"Jonathan has used our kitchen to bake because he has no access to a functional kitchen to bake in while living in the barracks," said Melissa Norris, whose husband works with Grasso. "Baking and decorating goodies is a big part of his artistic expression. We've had him over for dinners and holidays and most times he's been itching to get in the kitchen. Every time I've had one of his baked treats it has been dangerously yummy. He bakes with taste and presentation in mind -- not necessarily our waistline."
While Grasso is comfortable baking many things, he said chocolate chip cookies are his favorite to make. He said when he was working in a bakery he would take two chocolate chip cookies from the pan, make butter-cream icing and put it between the cookies to create a sandwich. He said despite eating so many baked goods he never gained weight. Still he says the adages, "don't trust a skinny baker" simply hasn't applied to him yet -- but his time may still come.
"I'm just not old enough to be fat yet," said Grasso, who also enjoys working out in the gym a few hours each day. "Metabolism changes as you get older, just as your body does."
Grasso has two years remaining in his contract with the Army and is planning on taking college classes to earn an accounting degree and focus on business management.
"I hope to open a bakery in the long term," he said. "I'm starting off small scale. We'll see where that goes."
To see more of Grasso's creations, visit www.Facebook.com/GrassosCakes.
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