Parkside’s Steven Cak in Contention for Food & Wine Magazine Honor

The acclaimed pastry chef at Austin’s favorite Sixth Street gastro pub is getting some sweet recognition from Food & Wine Magazine. parkside’s Steven Cak — who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America with honors in pastry and baking arts, has worked under such renowned culinary experts as Chef Gray Kunz and Chef Marcus Samuelsson, and has since become a master of all things sugared and delicious — is one of 50 nominees in Food & Wine Magazine’s first-ever People’s Best New Pastry Chef competition.    
 
Voting in the competition begins immediately, with readers selecting their favorite new pastry chef in an online poll presented by Godiva. Until Feb. 14 at midnight, readers can visit foodandwine.com/the-peoples-pastry to choose who they believe to be the best up-and-coming pastry chef from a list of 50 nominees in three regions: East, West and Central (the region in which Cak is represented).
 
Food & Wine editors determined the 50 People’s Best New Pastry Chef nominees with help from the magazine’s national network of journalists, chefs and other trusted sources. Only professionals who have run a restaurant pastry kitchen for five years or fewer are eligible. There will be one finalist from each of the three regions and the chef with the most votes will be named The People’s Best New Pastry Chef.
 
 The finalists and the winner of The People’s Best New Pastry Chef award will be announced on foodandwine.com on Feb. 15. The winner will be profiled in the “Hungry Crowd” column in the May issue of Food & Wine, on newsstands April 13, and will attend the 30th anniversary of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 15–17, 2012, where they will share their treats as co-host of Godiva’s activation in the Food & Wine Grand Tasting Pavilion.
 
“There is so much innovation in the pastry world right now, and we are excited to have the chance to celebrate it,” says Food & Wine Editor in Chief Dana Cowin. “Our new pastry awards allow us to spotlight cooking pros who don’t generally get the same recognition as the executive chefs for whom they work.”

In addition to The People’s Best New Pastry Chef competition, Food & Wine editors have also begun their search for America’s Best New Pastry Chefs, to be announced in the May issue. Winners will be revealed along with The People’s Best New Pastry Chefs on Feb. 15.
 
 Home to some of Austin’s most delectable and beautifully crafted desserts, created by Executive Pastry Chef Steven Cak, parkside is located downtown at 301 E. Sixth St. For more information about parkside and Pastry Chef Steven Cak’s nomination as one of Food & Wine Magazine’s People’s Best New Pastry Chefs, please call (512) 474-9898, or visit www.parkside-austin.com.