Food & Wine's Best New Pastry Chefs 2012 Announced

The Best New Chef nod from Food & Wine magazine is one of the most coveted distinctions in the food business, and this is the inaugural year for the Best New Pastry Chefs designation. This year's winners are:

Shawn Gawle (Corton, New York City), Bryce Caron (Blackbird, Chicago), Laura Sawicki (La Condesa, Austin), Stella Parks (Table 310, Lexington, Kentucky), and Devin McDavid (Quince/Cotogna, San Francisco). In addition, Chris Ford (Wit & Wisdom, Baltimore) is the winner of The People's Best New Pastry Chef 2012 award, an online poll.

Here's the press release. >>>

FOOD & WINE EDITORS NAME AMERICA’S BEST NEW PASTRY CHEFS

— The Dining Public Chooses Chris Ford of Wit & Wisdom in Baltimore as
The People’s Best New Pastry Chef —

New York, NY (February 15, 2012) – After 24 years of naming America’s Best New Chefs, FOOD & WINE editors have for the first time named America’s Best New Pastry Chefs. The editors determined the winners after tasting desserts across the country; only professionals who have run a restaurant pastry kitchen for five years or fewer were eligible. The winners and their recipes will be featured in the May issue of FOOD & WINE, on newsstands April 13, and on foodandwine.com. The Best New Pastry Chefs program is sponsored by GODIVA.
“We’re thrilled to find so much talent in so many regions of the country—from a Kentucky pastry chef who creates fun, whimsical, homey desserts to a New York City pastry chef who prepares exquisite versions of French classics using molecular techniques,” says FOOD & WINE Editor in Chief Dana Cowin.
2012 FOOD & WINE Best New Pastry Chef Winners
· Shawn Gawle Corton, New York City
· Bryce Caron Blackbird, Chicago
· Laura Sawicki La Condesa, Austin
· Stella Parks Table 310, Lexington, Kentucky
· Devin McDavid Quince/Cotogna, San Francisco

As part of the Best New Pastry Chefs program, FOOD & WINE also announces that Chris Ford of Wit & Wisdom in Baltimore is the winner of The People’s Best New Pastry Chef 2012 award, selected by the dining public in an online poll presented by GODIVA. Danica Pollard of Lidia’s in Kansas City and Francis Ang of Fifth Floor in San Francisco are the regional finalists in Central and West, respectively. Chris Ford will be profiled in the “Hungry Crowd” column of the May issue of FOOD & WINE, on newsstands April 13, and will attend the 30th anniversary of the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, June 15-17, 2012, with GODIVA as part of the brand’s ongoing efforts to support the next generation of pastry chefs and chocolatiers. For more on The People’s Best New Pastry Chef winner and finalists, visit http://www.foodandwine.com/the-peoples-pastry or join the conversation on Twitter at #peoplespastry.

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