Spring has arrived! We met with Executive Pastry Chef Angela Pinkerton, our pick for Chef of the Month, to find out what to expect for Eleven Madison Park’s spring dessert menu (video here) and she let us in on a few secrets about herself and the restaurant’s ritual for departing employees.
Bio
Ohio native Angela Pinkerton discovered her passion for cooking as a student at Kent State University. When not in the classroom, Pinkerton worked in a bakery making and decorating custom cakes. A biology major, she enjoyed the overlap of science and art in cooking. Upon graduation, she enrolled at L’Academie de Cuisine in Washington, DC to hone her culinary technique and further develop her technical baking and pastry skills. Shortly thereafter, she accepted a position in the pastry kitchen at the Ritz-Carlton in Arlington, Virginia. Pinkerton moved to New York in 2007, starting as a pastry cook at Eleven Madison Park. She was named pastry chef two years later in September of 2009. She was named a Rising Star by Star Chefs in 2010, given the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2011, and was named one of America’s Top Ten Pastry Chefs by Dessert Professional Magazine in 2012. As the executive pastry chef at Eleven Madison Park, she creates delicious and fun seasonal desserts, collaborating with Chef Daniel Humm to complement contemporary American cuisine.
CC: Name one ingredient you never want to use in your cooking.
“I never want to use offal in my sweets, not my cup of tea.”
CC: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
“When I was a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist.”
CC: What’s your favorite non-food related TV show?
“My favorite non-food related TV show is ‘Seinfeld,’ still.”
CC: Do you have any unique talents?
“I make fun animal noises. Dolphins, goats, meerkats, kittens, whatever the mood is that strikes. I will not do this on camera, but for the enjoyment of my staff and family.”
CC: Tell us a Deep Dark Secret.
“I am useless at sharpening a knife.”
Read about her other Deep Dark Secret.
Read the full written Q&A with Executive Pastry Chef Angela Pinkerton, while snacking on her caramel popcorn sandwiches.
Bio edited by Kara Chin; photo provided by Angela Pinkerton
