Lexington, KY - Lexington chef Stella Parks is one of 50 nominees for the title of Food & Wine's inaugural contest "The People's Best New Pastry Chef," the nationally known epicurean magazine announced. Parks is the dessert and pastry chef at Table 310 in downtown Lexington.
The contest, which is open through midnight on Feb. 14, calls for readers across the country to cast an online vote for their favorite pastry chef from a list of 50 nominees, which was curated by the editors of the magazine with help from a national network of journalists, chefs and other trusted sources.
The nominees are broken down by region (west, central and east, with Kentucky considered part of the "east" contingency); top finalists from each region will be announced on Feb. 15, with the chef attracting the most votes named overall winner.
To vote for Parks, click here to visit the contest's website.
"I'm beside myself to be included with pastry chefs from the best restaurants in the U.S.," Parks said, adding that being included in the inaugural round of nominees is a huge honor for her. "The nominees on the east coast alone are huge names in pastry."
The magazine has been naming "America's Best New Chefs" for more than 20 years, and opened a new reader-vote driven contest for "The People's Best New Chefs" in 2011. No Kentucky chef has ever received a "Best Chef" award by the magazine, and this is the first time pastry chefs have been given their own category.
Parks, who has a degree in baking and pastry arts management from the Culinary Institute of America, has described her favorite desserts as having a nostalgic quality and a wink toward popular culture -- "ice cream sandwiches that remind people of chasing the ice cream truck as a kid; panna cotta flavored with oats, nutmeg and orange to taste like cereal milk; homemade Nutter Butters."
Parks was featured in the Chevy Chaser magazine article "Digital and Delicious" (November 2011) for her food blog, "BraveTart" (www.bravetart.com), which was recently included in the Fox News article "Best New Food Blogs to Check Out Now" (read the article)
She describes the focus of the blog, which features recipes and photography of her creations, as "baking for geeks."
"BraveTart isn't about hosting the perfect dinner party, teaching techniques for 'quick and easy' desserts, or making things healthy," she said. "It's about making fun desserts that will transport you, in one way or another."
To further exemplify Parks' innovative taste, this weekend's dessert menu at Table 310 includes roasted coconut pecan chocolate cake with caramel German buttercream (her take on "German chocolate"); banana panna cotta with banana brulee, coffee "sand" and sesame seeds; brown butter pecan ice cream with chocolate chantilly; and a cookie trio (chocolate chunk, oatmeal cream pie and French macaron). Table 310 is located at 310 W. Short St. in downtown Lexington; reservations can be made by calling (859) 309-3901.