The Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America 2009

Dessert Professional, the magazine that I edit, recently named the Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America, 2009. Who are the most talented pros in the pastry kitchen this year? Here they are:

1. Dominique Ansel, Restaurant Daniel, New York, NY
2. Richard Capizzi, Per Se and Bouchon Bakery, New York, NY
3. Lincoln Carson, Mina Group restaurants, Las Vegas, NV
4. Jemal Edwards, Demel Bakery, New York, NY
5. Robert Ellinger, Baked to Perfection, Port Washington, NY
6. Jenifer Fournier, ALEX and STRATTA, Las Vegas, NV
7. Raymond Lammers, Stein-Eriksen Lodge, Park City, UT
8. Deborah Racicot, Gotham Bar & Grill, New York, NY
9. Alfred Stephens, Olives NY at the W Hotel Union Square, New York, NY
10. Alex Stupak, WD-50, New York, NY

Dessert Professional honored these pastry chefs at an event held at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York on June 8. Each chef served a tasting portion of a signature dessert in the spacious kitchens at ICE, where guests roamed from kitchen to kitchen, savoring some of the best desserts in the world. They were all incredible, but if I had to pick just one, it would be Richard Capizzi of Per Se's candy shop smorgorsbord, which included assorted sweets such as Wild Strawberry Sugar Pillows, Dragee Raisins, Florentines, Blueberry Push-pops and an unbelievably good toffee.

It was great to see the NY pastry community all together--there are so few events where this happens, and it's an ideal opportunity to catch up on what everyone's been doing lately. Guests included Nick Malgieri, Wayne Brachman, Judy Prince (of JB Prince), Sebasten Rouxel (of The French Laundry), Jean-Francois Bonnet (Tumbadour Chocolate), Eric Bertoia (DB), and many more pastry luminaries.

This year's Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America are not only incredibly talented, they are all also unbelievably nice people. Kudos to them all.