Why this Phoenix pastry chef was named among top 5 changing the dessert game in the US
One Arizona chef made the cut on Eater's recent guide to "The Pastry Chefs Defining Restaurant Dessert Right Now."
In it, Eater's Interim Senior Editor Martha Cheng writes about just how vulnerable the pastry chef's position has been, especially during the pandemic, when they were often the first restaurant positions eliminated.
But in the post-pandemic era, some pastry chefs are pushing boundaries with their creations by using unusual ingredients or techniques, Cheng writes. Think black garlic ice cream or huitlacoche meringue.
The five pastry chefs spotlighted in the piece are from New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin. They're known for a variety of creations from unusual sheet cakes to ice cream sundaes.
Who was selected from Arizona?
Valentine's pastry chef Crystal Kass was selected because she infuses Southwest ingredients into her buzzworthy desserts.
It's not the first time she's been in the national spotlight.
Kass' creations earned her a spot on the coveted James Beard semifinalist list in 2023 for outstanding pastry chef or baker. And her Sonoran wheat pretzel was named among the New York Times' best dishes in the country in 2022.
Kass, whose love of desserts came from baking with her mom, now makes "sweets that straddle comforting home bakes and refined restaurant desserts," according to Cheng.
A graduate of French Pastry School in Chicago, Kass loves the juxtaposition of textures and temperature, mousse against a cold granita, for example. The dessert that impressed Cheng was her hoja santa sundae, in which Kass uses hoja santa, an ingredient native to Mexico that tastes like sassafras, to riff on mint chip ice cream.
To satisfy her sweet tooth, Kass also bakes at home. Except there, she makes snack cakes, like cheesecake, banana bread or her mom's carrot cake, whatever reminds her of her childhood.
Find Kass' desserts at Valentine in the Melrose district.
Valentine in Phoenix
Details: 4130 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix. 602-612-2961, valentinephx.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix pastry chef Crystal Kass of Valentine named among top 5 in US