The people have spoken: Foreign & Domestic’s Jodi Elliott is Food & Wine’s the People’s Best New Pastry Chef.
The Austin chef was nominated in the Central Region category a few weeks ago, along with Barley Swine’s Kyle McKinney, Swift’s Attic’s Callie Speer, Congress’ Erica Waksmunski, Oxheart’s Karen Man, and Underbelly’s Victoria Dearmond.
In the end, Elliott surpassed West Region winner Laura Pyles of Revel and East Region winner Brian Mercury of Harvest in overall popular votes, taking home the top honor.
“It is such an honor to even be recognized in this industry. There is so much amazing stuff going on, [so] it’s kind of unreal for people to even know of me or my desserts,” Elliott told Texas Monthly. “I’m not a fan of the spotlight, but I am definitely touched and smiling from ear to ear! Bring on the bubbly!”
This Thursday, Elliott is nominated for a CultureMap Tastemaker Award in the pastry category, along with Stephen Cak of Parkside, Plinio Sandalio of The Carillon, Laura Sawicki of La Condesa and Sway, and Jessica Maher of Lenoir. (Full disclosure: I am a contributor to CultureMap.) Elliott will also be a participant in the Austin Food & Wine Festival later this month.
