• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Pastry Chefs of the Year

    Houston's 7 best pastry chefs really rise to the occasion

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 22, 2018 | 10:02 am

    Cooking may be a mix of art and craft, but pastry adds an element of chemistry. Get the ratio of flour to fat to water wrong, and a would-be masterpiece goes straight into a trash can.

     

    Thankfully, that’s not a problem for the seven finalists nominated to win the CultureMap Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year by our panel of former winners and restaurant industry experts. Their souffles rise majestically, their chocolate cakes and dense and rich, and their breads have a chewy crust and a light crumb.

     

    They are chemists and artists.

     

    Who will win? Find out at the Tastemaker Awards party April 4 at Silver Street Studios. We’ll celebrate the nominees and reveal the winners while dining on bites prepared by 20 Houston restaurants and sipping on cocktails that utilize bourbon from sponsor Woodford Reserve. Tickets are on sale now.

     

     Alyssa Dole, Formerly of Emmaline
    This talented chef serves up homestyle sweets that blend precise technique with creative twists. The cinnamon rolls at Emmaline are so delicious that they’re worthy of this nomination by themselves, but the rest of the breads and sweets (ooh, that banana split with housemade ice cream) push Dole over the top. Currently, she’s working at Pinkerton’s Barbecue; if the banana cake seems a little fluffier and more flavorful recently, you know who to thank.

     

     Jillian Bartolome, Aqui
    The creative chef brought her Michelin-starred resume to Houston as part of the opening team at Common Bond and stayed on through the bakery’s acquisition by Johnny Carrabba. At Aqui, Bartolome earned a James Beard semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef for her luxurious creations that blend her Filipino heritage with modern technique. On a recent visit, those sweet included both a bite-sized brownie and an intricate dessert that combined papaya cream, grilled pineapple, and coconut sorbet.

     

     Julia Doran, Nancy's Hustle
    After earning a nomination for her work at Hunky Dory and Bernadine’s, the chef returned to the kitchen at Nancy’s Hustle, the white-hot EaDo restaurant that’s become a current favorite of Houston’s culinary community. From her crusty (in a good way) breads to sweets like churros and chocolate souffle, Doran’s work compliments that of chef Jason Vaughan. Her Japanese-style parmesan cheesecake with black pepper honey matches a fluffy texture with a delightful savoriness that makes it an excellent way to finish a meal.

     

     Otto Sanchez, La Table
    With a Michelin-starred resume that includes major hotels on two continents and time working for superstar chef Joël Robuchon, Sanchez might be the most underrated pastry talent in Houston. Thankfully, his breads, sweets, and pastries demonstrate the extent of his talent. Whether popping into La Table’s downstairs bakery for a couple of macarons to go or indulging in a decadent souffle at the end of a meal in the luxurious upstairs dining room, diners can count on Sanchez to deliver a memorable bite.

     

     Samantha Mendoza, Killen's Restaurants
    As she demonstrated with a win at the Rodeo’s Best Bites competition with her bacon tres leches bread pudding, Mendoza knows how to create desserts that appeal to the masses, but the delicate touch she showed at Triniti comes out in Killen’s Steakhouses intricate chocolates. Of course, all the Killen’s classics — from the carrot cake at the steakhouse to the banana pudding at the barbecue joint — are consistently well-executed. Diners wouldn’t expect anything less from anyone representing the Killen’s brand.

     

     Sharon Gofreed, State of Grace
    Just as State of Grace’s savory menu is influenced in part by owner Ford Fry’s memories of growing up in Houston, Gofreed’s pastries have a nostalgic quality to them. That means diners can finish their meals with a four-layer chocolate cake and or sticky toffee pudding, but Gofreed’s menu isn’t just retro classics. A recent addition of a persimmon upside down cake demonstrates her ability to put her own spin on things, too.

     

     Victor Pucha, Maison Pucha Bistro
    Given its culinary heritage, a French restaurant is virtually required to serve great desserts. At Maison Pucha Bistro, Victor Pucha, one of three brothers who own the restaurant, turns out high quality breads and a wide range of sweets: everything from macarons to mignardise and a daily fruit tart. Still, it’s the dishes that incorporate chocolate from the brothers’ native Ecuador — as in Pucha’s signature black and white chocolate souffle — that really shine.

    Jillian Bartolome, Aqui.

    Jillian Bartolome Aqui pastry chef Chef Fest 2018
      
    Photo by Photographs by Emily Jaschke
    Jillian Bartolome, Aqui.
    tastemakersdessertschefs
    series/houston-tastemakers-2018
    news/restaurants-bars

    Meet the Tastemakers

    Here's your taste of the best restaurants and bars in Texas for 2018

    Arden Ward
    Apr 23, 2018 | 2:30 pm
    Here's your taste of the best restaurants and bars in Texas for 2018
    Photo by Paula Murphy
    Houston Restaurant of the Year, Xochi.

    Each year, we hold a Texas-sized celebration of two of the things we love most: food and drink. The annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, presented by Woodford Reserve, honors the top restaurant and bar talent in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.

     

    Our mission is to shine a spotlight on the people making each city's culinary scene special. First, we collaborated with a panel of experts, including previous Tastemaker winners, to determine the nominees in each city. The panels then selected winners in every category, except Best New Restaurant, which was determined by our readers in a tournament presented by Whole Foods Market.

     

    It all culminated in our series of signature tasting events and awards ceremonies, held in Houston, Austin, and Dallas, where guests mixed and mingled with top culinary talent and fellow foodies, while we unveiled the 2018 Tastemaker Awards winners. Join us in toasting the best of Texas dining right now.

     

     Austin

     
       
    •  Restaurant of the Year: L’Oca d’Oro
    •  
    •  Chef of the Year: Kevin Fink, Emmer & Rye
    •  
    •  Rising Star Chef of the Year: Zach Hunter, The Brewer’s Table
    •  
    •  Pastry Chef of the Year: Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Emmer & Rye
    •  
    •  Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Texas French Bread
    •  
    •  Best New Restaurant: Be More Pacific
    •  
    •  Favorite Food Truck: Veracruz All Natural
    •  
    •  Bar of the Year: Nickel City
    •  
    •  Bartender of the Year: Erin Ashford, Olamaie
    •  
    •  Brewery of the Year: St. Elmo Brewing Co.
    •  
    •  Wine Program of the Year: Texas French Bread
    •  
     

     Dallas

     
       
    •  Restaurant of the Year: Town Hearth
    •  
    •  Chef of the Year: Omar Flores, Whistle Britches
    •  
    •  Rising Star Chef of the Year: Anastacia Quinones, The Cedars Social
    •  
    •  Pastry Chef of the Year: Keith Cedotal, The Joule
    •  
    •  Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Nova
    •  
    •  Best New Restaurant: Ferris Wheelers
    •  
    •  Best Biscuits: Crossroads Diner
    •  
    •  Bar of the Year: Parliament
    •  
    •  Bartender of the Year: Trevor Landry, Jalisco Norte
    •  
    •  Wine Program of the Year: Bullion
    •  
     

     Fort Worth

     
       
    •  Restaurant of the Year: Piattello Italian Kitchen
    •  
    •  Chef of the Year: Lanny Lancarte, Righteous Foods
    •  
    •  Best New Restaurant: B&B Butchers & Restaurant
    •  
    •  Bar of the Year: Proper on Magnolia
    •  
     

     Houston

     
       
    •  Restaurant of the Year: Xochi
    •  
    •  Chef of the Year: Chris Shepherd, Underbelly Hospitality
    •  
    •  Rising Star Chef of the Year: Jason Vaughan, Nancy’s Hustle
    •  
    •  Pastry Chef of the Year: Jillian Bartolome, Aqui
    •  
    •  Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Paulie’s
    •  
    •  Best New Restaurant: Field & Tides
    •  
    •  Poke Restaurant of the Year: Izakaya
    •  
    •  Bar of the Year: Better Luck Tomorrow
    •  
    •  Bartender of the Year: Alex Negranza, Better Luck Tomorrow
    •  
    •  Brewery of the Year: Eureka Heights Brewing Company
    •  
    •  Wine Program of the Year: a’Bouzy
    •  
     

     San Antonio

     
       
    •  Restaurant of the Year: Battalion
    •  
    •  Chef of the Year: Pieter Sypesteyn of The Cookhouse
    •  
    •  Best New Restaurant: Tenko Ramen
    •  
    •  Favorite Coffee Shop: Bakery Lorraine
    •  
    •  Bar of the Year: Downstairs at the Esquire Tavern
    •  

    Houston Restaurant of the Year, Xochi.

    Houston, Xochi, Cremoso de Chocolate, August 2017
      
    Photo by Paula Murphy
    Houston Restaurant of the Year, Xochi.
    tastemakerstexasbests
    series/houston-tastemakers-2018
    news/restaurants-bars
    Loading...