Happenings

February 16th, 2020
6–9pm

Our pastry chefs are bringing the heat for our first Sucrée soirée of 2020: Red Hot Valentine’s Day! The “Sucrée” experience makes the perfect Valentine’s gift for yourself, your sweetie (with a sweet tooth!), or as a Sunday Galentine’s date!

This enchanted evening begins with savory hors d’œuvres and a cocktail hour followed by four courses of seated dessert tastings paired with themed cocktails. Each course will spotlight one of our resident or guest pastry chefs playing off the concept of “red hot” in a variety of ways, showcasing seasonal ingredients in unique preparations that exhibit each chef’s personal passions and skills. Let our team add some sweet spice to your life!

About the Chefs

Karissa Bednarz, Gracie’s, Executive Pastry Chef
Karissa Bednarz hails from Long Island, New York, where she grew up baking with her grandmother and aunts and loved every second of it. When she toured Johnson & Wales as an aspiring college student, she just knew that she was right where she belonged and got everything she could out of her pastry classes, eventually graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 2017. Karissa also had the opportunity to attend ENSP, Alain Ducasse’s pastry school in Yssingeaux, France

After JWU graduation and a brief return to New York, Karissa found herself back in Providence where she accepted a role as Gracie’s Pastry Sous Chef. In 2019 she embraced the role of Head Pastry Chef here at Gracie’s, where she strives daily to invoke joy with her creations and loves taking advantage of local, seasonal ingredients to produce something special. She hopes to one day open her own patisserie/dessert tasting restaurant using the knowledge and skills that she’s refined here.

Caitlyn McGuire, Ellie’s, Executive Pastry Chef
Caitlyn McGuire comes to us from Andover, New Jersey. She began her baking and pastry career at Stella G’s, an intimate breakfast and lunch cafe that introduced her to the beauty of working with seasonal and fresh ingredients. Caitlyn attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence and received her Bachelors in Pastry Arts. She completed her internship at Gracie’s, where she fell in love with the company and the team fell in love with her drive. After her internship, she was offered the position of Assistant Pastry Chef at Ellie’s and ultimately, Pastry Chef.

Caitlyn has a keen eye for detail and a systematic method for recipe development. She celebrates the refinement of hand-crafted pastries and the broad-sweeping language of good food. Now, while the world sleeps, Caitlyn leads a passionate team of bakers through the night, so that all of Rhode Island can enjoy fresh croissants and goodies.

Rachel Rathgeb, Pastry Chef, Henrietta Red
Rachel Rathgeb started working in restaurants after completing the 4-year advanced Baking & Pastry program at Johnson & Wales. Her first job out of school was at a hyperlocal farm-to-table restaurant called Brick Farm Tavern, where a lot of her ideas about food and sustainability were born. It was a great place to learn in the early stages of her career. She then took a position at Zahav in Philadelphia, where she was fully immersed in Israeli and Middle Eastern cuisine and expanded her knowledge of spices, produce, and food products. Rachel now works in Nashville, Tennessee at Henrietta Red, where she has more freedom in terms of cuisine and can try new things and continue to grow her skills. Her favorite products to create are ice creams and chocolates. She strives to focus on seasonal and local ingredients and loves getting the opportunity to forage for ingredients herself.

Erin Wholey, Gracie’s, Pastry Sous Chef