Nightwood Introduces New Pastry Chef

                                                                  (Sarah Mispagel, Photo: Nightwood)

 

            Sarah Mispagel is the latest addition to the culinary team at Nightwood, joining the rigorously seasonal restaurant as the new executive pastry chef. Born and raised in the San Diego area, Mispagel's parents enforced a strict organic and vegetarian lifestyle. This categorical attention to food sparked an interest in cooking for Mispagel, and in time she attended culinary school at the Art Institute in Orange County. From there, she worked at a local vegan and gluten-free bakery; at Delphina's Bakery in Portland, Oregon; and at SugarPlums in Cincinnati. Upon visiting in-laws in Chicago's North Shore in 2010, Mispagel and her husband promptly became inspired to move to the Windy City.

 

            Mispagel's first restaurant stint in Chicago was at mk, which also happened to be her first stage ever. All of her previous  experience had been in bakeries, so restaurant work was a new endeavor for her. She was offered a pastry assistant position under Tony Galzin, and grew to love mk and the experience of working in a restaurant kitchen. While here, she learned how to adapt her skills as a baker to those of a pastry chef. When Galzin left Chicago for Nashville, she moved on to become the pastry sous chef at Hotel Sofitel Chicago in September 2012. Again, this was a big transition for the burgeoning pastry pro, as she was immersed in a whole new world of dessert work, from tempering chocolate to crafting delicate truffles.

 

            Mispagel had long adored Nightwood, so when she heard about a pastry chef opening, she sprung on the opportunity. She likes that the menu at Nightwood is hyper seasonal, keeping her work fresh and dynamic. "I've been used to menus that only change every few months, so it'll be fun not having months of preparing the same things," she says. Some of her creations include a chocolate bombe made with Mast Brothers 73% chocolate, cherries, and bourbon-caramel ice cream; and an apple upside-down cake with rhubarb, oat streusel, and buttermilk-rhubarb ice cream.


       (Apple upside-down cake, Photo: Nightwood)

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