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FeedPastry Chef of the Year
Marc Piscotty
Our Winner: Yasmin Lozada Hissom
Executive Pastry Chef-Owner, Olivéa and Executive Pastry Chef, Duo Restaurant,
olivearestaurant.com and duodenver.com
Roots:
Villa de Cura, Venezuela; Arequipa, Peru
Classrooms:
Universidad de Carabobo; Université Paris Sorbonne; Le Cordon Bleu, Paris
Pastry Kitchens:
Solstice, Aja, and Quilty’s in New York City; The Pastry Shoppe, Udi’s Handcrafted Foods, Duo Restaurant, and Olivéa in Denver
Why She’s Our Winner:
As a little girl growing up in her adopted Peru, Lozada-Hissom preferred watching her mother cook to playing outside with other kids. At restaurants, she would order dessert as her entrée. As far back as she can remember she wanted to be a pastry chef, but it didn’t come easy. Lozada-Hissom’s parents insisted she study medicine. She appeased them yet still wanted to follow her passion, so she fled to Paris. A pastry degree later, Lozada-Hissom found herself in a New York City bookstore on her way home from Europe. It was here, among the pastry titles, that she met the sous chef to Katy Sparks, who immediately offered her a job at Solstice. Lozada-Hissom herself is as impassioned as her story. Today, when nearby urban-gardener Elaine Granata knocks on the kitchen door with a few clusters of tiny Golden Muscat grapes, Lozada-Hissom instantly falls head over heels and must find a way to work them into a dessert. We love the way Lozada-Hissom’s intense spirit and classic French training combine to create flawless, backdoor-fresh desserts, and we’re thrilled the opening of Olivéa has brought them to two Denver neighborhoods.
Her most widely distributed creation:
Udi’s granola.
Most memorable professional moment:
Opening Olivéa restaurant with her husband, John Broening, “I still get emotional just thinking about it.”
Her favorite dessert on the fall menu:
Honey almond semifreddo.
Pastry chefs she most respects:
Spanish pâtissiers Paco Torreblanca and Oriol Balaguer, “They don’t cease to experiment.”
Eric Dale
Pastry Chef, Rioja and Bistro Vendôme,
riojadenver.com and
bistrovendome.com
Roots:
Denver, CO
Classrooms:
Johnson & Wales University, Denver
Pastry Kitchens:
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park; Rioja and Bistro Vendôme in Denver
Why We Love Him:
For four years, Dale has been responsible not only for Rioja’s desserts, but also for the biscuits, brioche, and focaccias that support Jennifer Jasinski’s savory menu. In May, Dale took over the dessert program at Bistro Vendôme. We love that we can get the best of both worlds from him now — component-heavy but approachable desserts on the west side of Larimer Street and simple classics on the east.
How he went from costume design school in L.A. to becoming a pastry chef:
Dale, who baked for fun, was asked to do friends’ wedding cakes.
Biggest mentor:
His grandmother, whose hot roll recipe he tweaked to make Rioja’s brunch doughnuts.
Dessert he’s proud of:
Tortimisu, his first original creation for Rioja, which is back on the menu this Fall.
Pastry chef he most respects:
Sherry Yard with Wolfgang Puck’s Spago.
Keegan Gerhard
Executive Pastry Chef-Owner,
D Bar Desserts,
dbardesserts.com
Roots:
San Bernardino, CA; Bad Homburg, Germany; Jackson, MS
Classrooms:
The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
Pastry Kitchens:
Piret’s in San Diego; Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Charlie Trotter’s, and Four Seasons in Chicago; The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City; Ritz-Carlton in Naples, FL; Dean & DeLuca in Charlotte; Wynn in Las Vegas; D Bar Desserts in Denver
Why We Love Him:
Long before he was chef-owner of D Bar Desserts, Gerhard began hosting the Denver-produced Food Network Challenge. It’s a job that involves all-day shoots and participation in events from coast to coast. We love him for also finding the time to open and run Denver’s only dessert bar, where his incredibly artful, fruit-driven creations come to three-dimensional life.
Why chocolate sculpture came so easily:
He was a closet ship and airplane modeler as a kid.
Number of times he’s cooked at the James Beard House:
Eight.
Guilty pleasure:
Hostess Powdered Donettes.
Cities where we might see a second D Bar Desserts:
Boulder, Vail, Austin.
Pastry chefs he most respects:
Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, co-founders of The French Pastry School in Chicago.
Jason LeBeau
Executive Pastry Chef, Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group,
ktrg.com
Roots:
Fort Washington, MD
Classrooms:
Baltimore International College
Pastry Kitchens:
JW Marriott in Washington, D.C.; Mrs. Greer’s Plantation Cheesecake Co. in Waldorf, MD; The Players Restaurant, Universal Studios, and Hotel Bel-Air in California; The Briarwood Inn in Golden; Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group in Denver
Why We Love Him:
When LeBeau applied for a job with Kevin Taylor, he was answering an ad from a newspaper, not a Website. Today, LeBeau still creates everything from breakfast croissants to after-dinner petits fours for Taylor’s six properties and countless special events. After nearly 12 years, it’s safe to say he’s mastered the job, yet LeBeau takes professional pastry classes whenever he gets the chance. We love him for continuing to find new inspiration.
Why he has a ribbon from the 1987 Prince George’s County Fair:
His family recipe for Shenandoah Valley apple pie.
His connection to the late pastry pioneer Gaston Lenôtre:
His father-in-law was raised in a pastry shop in France and once worked for him.
Time his alarm goes off:
3:30 am.
Five-time home away from home:
A sleeping bag at work.
Pastry chef he most respects:
Paris’ Pierre Hermé.
See Our Winners
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