DANIEL YAO is 32 years old and is originally from ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST. They are currently employed as HEAD BAKER AND OWNER of their bakery, THE UPPER CRUST. DANIEL is currently SINGLE and identifies as A BISEXUAL CIS MALE.
Daniel was born in Abidjan to a family with deep roots in the Ivory Coast. His mother was doctor and his father was an accountant. Daniel was an only child, but rather than play with the neighborhood kids, he was more often found next door at the home of an elderly lesbian couple, Grace and Emmanuella. Grace was an American who was once a great pastry chef, while Emmanuella was born and raised in the Ivory Coast. Together they made the most amazing foods that combined the traditional West African treats with more modern pastries.
Daniel learned most of his cooking skills from them, going to their house almost everyday after school to do homework and eat anything they made for him. When he was thirteen, his mother was given an opportunity to move to the United States for a teaching job at a prestigious medical school. Daniel said a tearful goodbye to Grace and Emmanuella, who presented him with a parting gift of a homemade recipe book.
Once stateside, Daniel adjusted quickly. He fit in with the American kids at his school easily, and what little accent he had kept through years of English classes faded. The thing he missed the most was the rich culture and food of his home country, which he recreated himself by spending long hours perfecting his Ivorian recipes.
After graduating high school, Daniel went immediately to culinary school. His parents supported him and paid for his education partially out of love for their son’s passions, and partially because they knew he was great at what he did. Once he had finished college, Daniel landed a few good jobs in the states, but felt he wasn’t challenged enough with what he was doing. He eventually got an offer to become a pastry chef at a restaurant in Toronto, and packed up to move north.
After a few years working in Toronto, Daniel became bored once again. He began looking into the idea of opening his own bakery, and within a few years started his business at The Upper Crust, a bakery that sold everything from your typical donuts or slices of pie to more traditional Ivorian desserts like Aloko. Once his bakery began taking off, Daniel decided to move into the Carlton House to be closer to the location of his storefront.
Daniel is very levelheaded and strong willed. There’s few things that can make him truly angry, but there are many things that can make him annoyed (such as telling him he can’t do something.) He loves people and will often lose time chatting with customers as he prepares their orders. He makes friends easily, but Daniel is slow to consider someone as close. He’s the kind of person who could carry a personal conversation for hours without revealing anything close to his heart.
He is very motivated by his dreams, and has never been one to conform to others’ ideas and expectations. As a consequence of this, he has little sympathy or patience for people who have lost their dreams by going with what other people thought they should do.
The role of DANIEL YAO is portrayed by Anthony Mackie and is play by Em/17/CST
