More pastry news to hit the Chicago scene: former Blackbird pastry sous chef Stephanie Prida scores the Executive Pastry Chef role for the entire hotel operation at The Elysian, including restaurants Balsan and Ria.
"I like to describe my style as American Contemporary and honest to the season," Prida says. Her current menu plans for Ria should give you an idea, incorporating the latest seasonal fruits for dishes such as almond oil sponge, strawberries, Pedro Ximenez sherry and Zingermans cream cheese ice cream; and pistachio bavarios, Michigan cherries, whisky and cherry pit sherbet.
Only six years into her professional career, Prida is moving up in the pastry world. She's built a global portfolio at RM Seafood in Las Vegas, Georges at the Cove in La Jolla, California and Nogarazza in Vincenza, Italy, before her recent gigs at one sixtyblue and Blackbird in Chicago, where she received a Jean Banchet award this past January for Best Rising Pastry Chef. This is Prida's first Executive Chef position, which she officially started yesterday.
