Of all the celebrity chefs, how many of them are from the dessert world? I am wracking my brain to come up with at least one celebrity pastry chef, and I've got nothing. Mario handles the Italian front, Rachel takes care of meals for harried moms, Ina brings a reserved classiness to the table, Tom acts as mentor and judge for aspiring young chef—but what about sweets? Everyone loves dessert, so why do pastry chefs get the shaft? In the spirit of bringing pastry chefs into the realm of food royalty, I would like to hereby nominate Karen DeMasco for the title of celebrity pastry chef. DeMasco's desserts have been a big hit here at Serious Eats for a while,... More

The daughter of a foreign correspondent and the famed food authority Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Sara Jenkins, author (along with food writer Mindy Fox) of this week's Cook the Book selection, Olives & Oranges, spent her formative years caravanning around Europe absorbing local flavors and learning culinary traditions. By the time she was a teenager, Sara had lived in France, Lebanon, Spain, and Italy. It is no surprise, then, that Sara's cooking—at such illustrious restaurants as 50 Carmine, Il Buco, and I Coppi—is as whimsical and improvised as it is rooted in Mediterranean traditions. With Olives & Oranges, Jenkins builds on the "language of flavor" she learned along her travels. From classics such as Lemon Olive Oil Cake and Tuscan... More