Dominique Ansel

In 2011, James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel opened his first shop, the eponymous Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC's Soho neighborhood, with just four employees, and has since shaken up the pastry world with innovaton and creativity at the heart of his work. He's been responsible for creating some of the most fêted pastries in the world, including: the Cronut(R) (named one of TIME Magazine's "25 Best inventions of 2013"), Cookie Shot, Frozen S'more, Blossoming Hot Chocolate, and more. For his prolific creativity, he was named the World's Best Pastry Chef in 2017 by the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards. Food & Wine has called him a "Culinary Van Gogh" while the New York Post coined him "the Willy Wonka of New York." He has also been bestowed the prestigious l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole, France's second highest honor. He is the author of two cookbooks: Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes, and Everyone Can Bake: Simple Recipes to Master & Mix.