Cake and Conversation

French from Brittany and raised in the Netherlands, Deirdre was immersed in a passionate food culture since childhood. She gained her fundamental techniques at L’École Lenôtre in Paris and the Culinary Institute Of America in NY, she furthered her education at Cornell University. Over the past 12 years, Deirdre has honed her skills at kitchens in NYC, Paris and Miami.

Her experiences have brought around the world — from baking in the kitchens of the French President at L’Élysée Palace, fine dining at Jean-Georges and to luxury hotels such as the Four Seasons. She is most proud of her work most recently accomplished at Aphotic, where her daring desserts earned the title of one of the Michelin Inspector’s favorite desserts in California. Her desserts draw inspiration from a California seasons and her travels abroad and always have a dash of risk tasking all while maintaining good vibes, passionate learning opportunities and collaborative culture with an emphasis on passing on recipes and techniques to the next generation of chefs.

Stephen Durfee is the Director of Chocolate Curriculum for Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, where he works with the Education team to craft exquisite chocolate experiences. Chef Durfee is an expert in all things chocolate and sugar. He was a Professor of Baking and Pastry Arts at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone, in Napa Valley, CA for more than twenty years, teaching courses in chocolate, confectionery, cakes, and plated desserts.

As Executive Pastry Chef of The French Laundry in Yountville, CA, Chef Durfee won the 1998 James Beard Foundation’s Award for “Pastry Chef of the Year” and was named one of the “10 Best Pastry Chefs in America” in 1999 by Pastry Art & Design and Chocolatier magazines. His six-part video series “The Everyday Gourmet: Baking Pastries and Desserts” was commissioned by The Teaching Company and featured in their series, “The Great Courses”.

Chef Durfee was the Chocolatier and Plated Dessert specialist for Team USA in the Coupe de Monde de la Patisserie (the Pastry World Championships) in Lyon, France, 2013. He also serves as Senior Advisor to the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute.

Paul and Monique Feybesse are the founders of Tarts de Feybesse, a top patisserie in the Bay Area, showcasing their love of French cuisine and pastries in a highly visual and delicious way. During the past 18 years, they’ve worked at some of the most prestigious restaurants in the world and have now planted their roots in Oakland, California to offer their unique blend of style while raising their three young children.

Paul and Monique have had television features as cheftestants on Spring Baking Championship on the Food Network and Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 19. They have recently been nominated as semi finalists of the James Beard Awards 2025 for the category of “Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker”.

Michelle Hernandez is the owner of Le Dix-Sept, a botanically inspired pastry and confection company based in San Francisco, California. She is a Bay Area native and UC Berkeley Alum, with a passion for the culinary arts. After a successful career in digital and brand marketing, Hernandez’s passion moved her to Paris to pursue a formal culinary education at Le Cordon Bleu. She remained in the City of Lights after graduating to train and work at Michelin-starred restaurants.

Hernandez’s pastry work is inspired by her Mexican and Pacific Islander heritage, incorporating ingredients from her culture such as Passion Fruit, Hibiscus, Pandan and Ube, to reimagine traditonal pastry based in French technique into modern creations. She is well known for Cannelés, Nougat, Brioche and detailed Celebrations Cakes.

Fourteen years into building the business, Hernández has a newly opened Potrero Hill flagship store as well as running her original Mission District shop. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Cherry Bombe, Eater, and more. Her work can be found online at LeDixSept.com or on Instagram at @LeDixSept.

Nicole Krasinski is the Pastry Chef and Owner of the acclaimed State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar in San Francisco, California. She began her culinary career as an art student baking bread at Red Hen Bread in Chicago. Three weeks into her time there, she quickly became an art school dropout turned baker’s apprentice and soon-to-be pastry chef.

She then joined her husband, Chef Stuart Brioza, in Michigan, at Tapawingo as their pastry chef. After a few years of refining her pastry skills, Stuart and Nicole were hired to run Rubicon in San Francisco. When State Bird opened, she took inspiration whenever and from wherever it came, to evolve constantly. And this spontaneity gave the pastry program a vitality it might not have had otherwise. That style continues to resonate and grow with her pastry teams, all while discovering individuality and singularity in each restaurant.

Claude Le Tohic is a French chef and restaurateur who earned a three Michelin star rating in Las Vegas for his work at Joël Robuchon, in the MGM Grand Hotel. In 2023, Le Tohic led Team USA to win the award of World Champion at the International Catering Cup (ICC) competition. In 2021, Le Tohic received a Michelin Star for his work at O’ by Claude Le Tohic, in Union Square, San Francisco. In 2010, he was named Best Chef: Southwest by the James Beard Foundation. In 2004, Le Tohic received the peer-juried Meilleur Ouvrier de France honor.

He is the Chef/Partner behind ONE65, a six-story multi-concept culinary destination in San Francisco’s Union Square, which includes ONE65 Patisserie & Boutique, Alexander’s Steakhouse, Elements at ONE65 (a bar and lounge) and O’ by Claude Le Tohic.

When Amanda Nguyen’s nephew turned 100 days old after struggling to keep his weight up, the whole family wanted to celebrate and asked Amanda to take care of the cake. But as she looked around, she couldn’t find what she wanted: something modern, flavor-driven, not-too-sweet, and available on short notice. So she decided to dig in and make the cake herself.

That led to an obsession that soon morphed into a business, and today Butter& is known in San Francisco as the place for modern, less-sweet cakes, whether you’re celebrating a wedding, a birthday, or just running to a dinner party.

Michelle Polzine is the pastry chef at City of Hope, a completely free, table-service restaurant and café in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco that serves up food and coffee as well as medical and housing support.

Polzine is also an author, and the former owner of the 20th Century Café in San Francisco, California. Polzine opened the 20th Century Café, which focused on her interpretation of Eastern and Central European baked goods, in San Francisco in 2013. She authored the cookbook Baking at the 20th Century Cafe: Iconic European Desserts from Linzer Torte to Honey Cake, which was published in 2020.

Polzine was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Pastry Chef award in 2010, 2018, and 2019.

Liz Prueitt is co-founder of Tartine Bakery and is a James Beard Pastry Chef award-winner. She has authored three award-winning cookbooks and currently works on her Substack, Have Your Cake, where she develops gluten-free recipes every week.

Tartine now has locations in San Francisco, Marin county, Los Angeles, and Seoul, Korea.

Sarah Rich was raised in Louisiana and Texas, attended culinary school at the French Culinary Institute in New York (with Chef Pépin). Worked at Bouley, and Mas, farmhouse before moving to San Francisco with her husband, Evan.

In San Francisco, she worked at Michael Mina and Coi before opening her first restaurant, Rich Table, with her husband. She also owns RT Rotisserie and is the proud mother of two boys.

Emily helped define American pastry starting in the 1980s. After attending The New York Restaurant School and working the line for seven years, she moved to the pastry kitchen at Stars and never looked back. In San Francisco, she was pastry chef at Stars, Farallon, Waterbar, and with the Big Night Restaurant Group. She authored award-winning cookbooks including Stars Desserts and A Passion for Ice Cream.

Her honors include a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Golden Whisk Award, and a room named after her at The Inn at Little Washington. A former Dean at The International Culinary Center and long-time James Beard Foundation board member, Emily now sells sweets at markets and is writing a book about food and life.

Jen Pelka is the Co-Founder and CEO of Une Femme Wines, the fastest growing sparkling wine brand in the US. Jen was formerly the founder of The Riddler, the all-women-funded pair of Champagne bars in San Francisco and New York, where she served tens of thousands of bottles of Champagne to sparkling wine lovers on both coasts.

While there, she realized that every time they put a woman-made wine on the list, it would outsell all others. She wondered why there wasn’t a modern sparkling wine brand for “women like us” — so she built it. Prior to founding The Riddler, Jen founded and ran Magnum PR, an SF-based communications and marketing agency specializing in food, wine, and hospitality brands.

She also held roles at Gilt Groupe, OpenTable, Tumblr, and others. She earned her BA in the Philosophy of Science from Stanford University. She is based in Sonoma, CA with her husband, Charles, and their dog, Pita.

Duskie Estes and John Stewart are the chefs, farmers, and ranchers behind Black Pig Meat Co. They are known for their award winning pasture raised bacon, snout-to-tail products, and food truck, the Black Piglet.

Their accolades include: Star Chef Awards for Sustainability, Slow Food Snail Awards, King & Queen of Pork @ Aspen Food & Wine, Good Food Awards, James Beard Award, TOP 10 best new restaurants and TOP 100 restaurants in San Francisco Chronicle, Top 50 Restaurants in the Bay Area by SF Magazine, and Michelin Recommended in the SF Guide for over a decade.

They have been featured on Food Network’s Next Iron Chef, Guy’s Grocery Games, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, Guy’s Ranch Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay, and Alex v. America and on PBS, OWN, and Discovery+. They raise pigs, goats, chicken, and sheep on their farm. Duskie is Vice Chair of the James Beard Awards Committee. www.blackpigmeatco.com

Hailed a “foodie wonderland” by The New York Times, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia is an epicurean destination in downtown Napa, where guests can immerse themselves in the past, present, and future of food.

Located in the Oxbow District, CIA at Copia offers an array of enticing culinary experiences delivered by CIA chefs and experts, including hands-on cooking and beverage classes; lively public events and art exhibits; a signature garden-to-table restaurant; an exclusive 3D interactive dining experience; Lunch Box, a casual weekday eatery; Wine Bar, a self-service tasting experience; a culinary and lifestyle-themed marketplace; and The Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum. CIA at Copia is also a unique setting for weddings and private events. All proceeds from CIA at Copia benefit CIA student scholarships.

Katie’s career blends food, wine, and philanthropy. After a singing stint in Nashville and playing semi-pro soccer, she moved to Napa Valley to pursue a career in food and wine.

Inspired to make a difference, she co-founded the Erika Van Giesen Foundation and launched the epicurean gala Erika’s Dream, helping establish Katie’s Clinic in 2006. In 2009, she helped launch Wine, Women & Shoes and created Toolbox Wine Co., crafting affordable, quality wines that gave back. That same year, inspired by conversations at Erika’s Dream, she began building Feast it Forward—a “slow and grow” global concept. In 2018, she opened its flagship live studio and experiential showroom in downtown Napa, uniting her passions: food, wine, philanthropy, entertaining, and community.