Dessert Professional Magazine Announces Their Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America for 2014

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 12, 2014

Matthew Stevens and Tish Boyle, editors of Dessert Professional magazine, the nation’s leading food service publication for the pastry, baking, ice cream and chocolate industries, will fête their chef honorees at the twenty-first annual Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America Awards at ICE (The Institute of Culinary Education) in New York City.

The awards recognize the top toques of tuile, cocoa, and sugar for their talent and unique culinary vision. The 2014 winners will be featured in the August issue of Dessert Professional.

“It is our annual pleasure to honor these incredible dessert professionals who have made a tremendous impact on the dessert world,” according to Stevens. “They take their rightful place as culinary luminaries.” Tish Boyle adds, “The talented chefs on this year’s list possess that rare blend of technical skill, artistry and motivation—and their desserts are truly inspired.”

In celebration of the awards turning twenty-one, cocktails will be added to the mix. “This year we will commemorate turning twenty-one, our ‘rite of passage’ year by adding a cocktail component to our 2014 event," notes Stevens. "Savvy restaurateurs utilize their pastry chefs for their expertise beyond the pastry kitchen, especially at the bar. So adding cocktail pairing is a fitting salute to our invaluable pastry chef community."

Publisher Jeffrey Dryfoos is proud that “we recognize outstanding chefs who elevate the industry as a whole with their contributions in talent, innovation, and mentoring. These are chefs who embody the spirit of excellence of hospitality that we are all committed to.”

Selected from around the entire country, this year’s Top Ten, the crème de la crème are:

Georges Berger, MOF
Owner, Chocolate Fashion
Miami, FL

Ebow Dadzie
Pastry Chef, NY Marriott Marquis
New York, NY
Pastry Instructor, Monroe College
New Rochelle, NY    

Della Gossett
Executive Pastry Chef, Spago
Los Angeles, CA

Katzie Guy-Hamilton
F&B Director and Corporate Pastry Chef, Max Brenner
Worldwide

Cher Harris
Executive Pastry Chef, The Hotel Hershey
Hershey, PA

Joshua Johnson
Executive Pastry Chef, Vanille Patisserie
Chicago, IL

Ghaya Oliveira
Executive Pastry Chef, Restaurant Daniel
New York, NY

Derek Poirier
Ecole du Grand Chocolate Pastry Chef Western USA, Valrhona USA

Rudi Weider
Master Pastry Chef, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
San Diego, CA

Jennifer Yee
Executive Pastry Chef, Lafayette
New York, NY

This year’s Hall of Fame Honoree is Richard Grausman, Founder & Chairman of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). He is one of America's most respected culinary educators, author of French Classics Made Easy and the former U.S. representative for Le Cordon Bleu de Paris. Through his vision and leadership C-CAP has emerged as a national model for enriching public school culinary arts programs. Over the past 24 years C-CAP has awarded more than $43 million in scholarships and has transformed the lives of thousands of young people. In 1997, Grausman was awarded The President’s Service Award, the highest recognition given by the White House for volunteer service. In 1998 the French government honored Richard with the title of Officier du Mérite Agricole, and in 2003 he received the James Beard Humanitarian Award.

Dessert Professional is proud to commemorate C-CAP’s upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary and Grausman’s work transforming lives through the culinary arts by instituting the inaugural Dessert Professional C-CAP Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded annually (starting in 2015) to an exceptional C-CAP student and can be applied to any pastry and baking program at ICE.

The Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America invitation only event will be held on Monday, June 2, 2014 at The Institute of Culinary Education, 50 W. 23rd Street, New York City. The event will feature a walk-around tasting of desserts paired with specialty cocktails from some of the most talented chefs and mixologists in the nation. Signature cocktails presented by Inside F&B, courtesy of participating brands Bootlegger 21 Vodka, Macchu Pisco, Santiago Queirolo, and Zacapa Rum.
Sponsors include Guittard Chocolate, KitchenAid, Beurremont, and Nielsen-Massey.

Join the Top Ten event live @dessertpromag on Twitter and be a part of the conversation with #dessertpro.

Media Contact: Joyce Appelman, 516-482-1016, joyceappelman(at)gmail(dot)com

DessertWorld Media is a New York City based publishing, event, and marketing company serving the growing North American dessert industry. DWM is publisher of the industry-leading print publication Dessert Professional, organizer of the annual Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America awards (the longest-running professional dessert awards in the USA), web-publisher of DessertProfessional.com, and social media purveyor of the Dessert Professional Connect Network. Follow us on Twitter (@dessertpromag), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dessertpromag) Pinterest and Dessert Professional Connect Network.