Known for her graceful technique and refined palate, Jennifer Yee brings exceptional experience along with a passion for pastry arts to her new post as Executive Pastry Chef of Michelin-starred, SHO Shaun Hergatt.
With fond memories of baking alongside her mother as a small child and afternoons spent religiously watching the great pastry chefs demonstrate their craft on television, Jennifer sensed her future in the kitchen from a very young age. Trained in classic and contemporary French pâtisserie, Jennifer excelled with honors from London’s Le Cordon Bleu where she graduated with a pâtisserie diploma. She also holds a degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Interior Architecture from SanJose State University and draws upon her design discipline to experiment with structure, texture and juxtaposition when composing her desserts.
Starting her career at Home in San Francisco, CA, Jennifer went on to contribute to four Michelin-starred restaurants during her professional life, beginning with Gordon Ramsay at The Connaught in London, England. Appointed as head production and garnishing of daily afternoon tea, Jennifer was crucial to all aspects of plated dessert production and led both lunch and dinner services.
In 2004, Jennifer became pastry supervisor at the award-winning restaurant Yauatcha in Soho, London. Working directly under Executive Pastry Chef Stephane Sucheta, Jennifer co-managed a team of ten in production and further honed her skills in pastry construction.
With extensive international experience under her belt, Jennifer returned to New York in 2006, working as Pastry Sous Chef at Gilt. She plied her trade under the tutelage of renowned Pastry Chef David Carmichael and was in charge of designing the restaurant’s chocolate program. She then parlayed this experience into her first head Pastry Chef position at Aureole where her inventive desserts garnered her the 2010 Rising Star Pastry Chef award from Starchefs. Jennifer’s work has also been featured in many publications, such as the international Art Culinaire and Food Arts Magazine.
In her new role at SHO, Jennifer continues a wonderful collaboration with Chef Hergatt where her talents in crafting a delectable array of petits fours, pastries and chocolate strike a harmonious balance with Chef Hergatt’s menu to complement the perfect dining experience.
