Food & Wine Names Best Pastry Chefs Of 2012

Today, Food & Wine announced the winners of its new award for Best New Pastry Chefs. Only chefs who have run a restaurant pastry kitchen for five years or less were eligible for the award, whose winners and their recipes will be featured in the May issue of the magazine. As with the original Best New Chefs program, the new category features a group of editor-chosen chefs from across the country and one pastry chef chosen by readers.

The winners were Shawn Gawle of Corton (New York City), Bryce Caron of Blackbird (Chicago), Laura Sawicki of La Condesa (Austin), Stella Parks of Table 310 (Lexington, Ky.), and Devin McDavid of Quince/Cotogna (San Francisco). Chris Ford of Wit & Wisdom (Baltimore) was named The People's Best New Pastry Chef.

"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," Food & Wine Editor in Chief Dana Cowin said in a release.

The winning chefs' recipes will be on newsstands on April 13.

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