Yigit Pura Charms The Millionaire Matchmaker

"Sweet Yigit" Pura. [Photo: Bravo]

Last night, boyfriend-seeking SF pastry chef Yigit Pura came under the scrutiny of Patti Stanger on Bravo's dating series The Millionaire Matchmaker, and we tuned in so we could recap the action. Spoilers will follow; if you want to catch the episode yourself, it repeats on Saturday at 2 pm and on Sunday at 11 am.

In his full casting video for the show, the 31-year-old Top Chef: Just Desserts champ explains that he's basically a new millionaire on the rise, looking for someone with whom to share it all. (He also cops to his financial credentials, including a condo in Nob Hill, a book deal with Chronicle Books, and plans to open more locations of his Tout Sweet Patisserie around the country.) Unlike many of Stanger's charmless clients, Pura has looks to match his riches, and when matchmaker Patti Stanger meets him in person, she declares that he's so hot that, for the first time in her life, she wishes she had a penis.

The episode shows Tout Sweet in the construction phase before it opened last year, and the very busy Pura shares that he didn't have a day off for two-and-a-half years after winning Top Chef: Just Desserts. He's looking for someone inspiring and compassionate to love, and his paternal instincts have been raging for the past few years, but he doesn't want to give anyone a free ride. "If somebody is looking for a sugar daddy," he says, "the most that they would get from me at the end of the day is a sugar cookie."

Stanger's not known for warming up to many of her clients, but she instantly likes Pura and says he's "not your typical cocky M.I.T. [Millionaire in Training]." Pura promises to create a "Patti cake" if she finds him love. Stanger declares she "doesn't want GLAAD coming after me" if she doesn't find Pura the right match, and sets about to find him the "best gay guy in the universe."

In most episodes, Stanger sets up a social mixer for her millionaires to mingle with their potential dates, but for this episode, she's decided to make them select two finalists via a twist on The Dating Game, pitching double entendres (and a few single entendres) to their unseen prospective matches. Pura's first question to the bachelors on hidden display: "If I were a pastry, what would you fill me with?"

Though Pura's initially turned off by the clichéd answers he receives, he eventually chooses a handsome Latino furniture designer named Gaspar, after bonding over their mutual immigrant pasts and passion for creative work. Stanger sets them up for a charity cake-decorating date at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and Pura digs Gaspar's willingness to bandage his finger after he accidentally cuts himself in the kitchen. The pair then heads to dinner at Susan Feniger's Street, where Pura insists they toast while looking each other in the eyes, lest they be cursed with bad sex for the next seven years.

The date goes well, but there isn't any overwhelming chemistry, even though Pura likes Gaspar's smile and is charmed by his gift of Pura's beloved Nutella. He tells Stanger he wants to call Gaspar again, and eventually invites him to San Francisco, but ultimately, no second date occurred. Last night, Pura mentioned in a tweet that he's still single, so obviously that special guy hasn't come along yet. Here's hoping Yigit finds the love of his life—tout suite.

· All Yigit Pura Coverage [~ ESF ~]