Executive Pastry Chef

A Legendary Event

Ami Dand is the Executive Pastry Chef of A Legendary Event, a full service catering company in Atlanta, Georgia. Ami’s notable background includes having served as Executive Pastry Chef for the Mobil Four Star, AAA Five Diamond St. Regis, Atlanta. Working at both The Lodge and The Cloister at Sea Island, both Mobile Five Star, AAA Five Diamond properties. She also has extensive experience as a chocolatier, as well as creating beautiful special occasion cakes. Ami was most recently seen on The Food Network’s hit show Sweet Genuis and loves the thrill of competition and excitement of working under pressure.

A graduate of the University of Georgia in 2003, Ami’s love for the pastry field is immeasurable. In addition to her remarkable talent for pastry preparation and presentation, notable strengths have enabled her to succeed in fast-paced, high volume environments while maintaining the utmost quality and attention to detail.

Executive Pastry Chef

Villa Christina

Amanda grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. While in high school, she found that cooking was the only profession for her after watching her father cook all those years growing up. She then applied to the Art Institute of Atlanta where she found her niche in baking and pastry.

Amanda quickly accepted a job at Villa Christina where she started out as an intern and moved up to Executive Pastry Chef, a title she has held there for the past five years. She is responsible for the production of a la carte desserts, cakes, tortes, breads and pastries. She also helped open and design the dessert menu for the Hotel Avia in Savannah, Georgia in 2009.

Amanda has continued to take advantage of learning opportunities. She spent 3 months in Paris, France in 2007 working at the famous French patisserie Laduree, learning the perfect macaroon. She also participated in classes at the World Pastry Forum as well as learning from Chef Durfee at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone in St. Helena.

CocoFlow Chocolate Café

Leslie Davis has always had an interest in sweets and confections. She was working in education and picked up cake decorating as a hobby. She didn’t stick with cake decorating but the idea did send her to pastry school.

She attended the Pastry Arts Program at Platt College in Moore OK. She graduated with a Pastry Arts Diploma in 2010 at the top of her class and received High Honors at graduation and an award for outstanding quality. During school her interest of cakes quickly changed as she learned many new aspects of pastry arts. She decided to go to Coco Flow Chocolatier for her required internship focusing on artisan chocolates and pastries.

After her time as an intern at Coco Flow, Leslie was hired as their pastry chef and later shop manager. While working at Coco Flow, Leslie was responsible for the plated desserts produced at the shop. This allowed her to compete locally and regionally featuring plated desserts against top restaurants. Coco Flow received high marks in Decadent Design, a competition where Architects and Pastry Chefs collaborate and design a plated dessert that is to represent a local landmark in Oklahoma City. Coco Flow also received 1st place in 2010 for their dessert trio at Chocolate Decadence. While Leslie was working at Coco Flow, they provided desserts for many high profile events including Chef’s Feast and the National Council of Mayors Convention which was hosted in Oklahoma City. Leslie also developed a complete line of Parisian macaroons, now offered at Coco Flow, making it one of the first restaurants in Oklahoma City to offer macaroons.

While working at Coco Flow, Leslie offered a helping hand in special projects done by Platt College. She helped a group put together a gingerbread house replica of the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion that was delivered to the Governor. After working at Coco Flow for 2 years, Leslie was accepted as adjunct professor at Platt College where she is able to share her expertise to new Pastry Arts students.

Pastry Chef

Park 75, Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta

In January of 2012, Charles Barrett joined Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta as Pastry Chef. He not only brings with him undeniable enthusiasm for the pastry arts, but also many years of experience culled from stops at some notable Atlanta establishments.

His professional training was acquired through a culinary apprenticeship with the American Culinary Federation while working at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Although his early experience was not pastry related, his love of the ‘sweet stuff’ was cemented after an opportunity to train under Abby Ryland, a former US Pastry Team member. From there, he joined the team at the Cobb Galleria, one of the nation’s leading convention centers, and was instrumental in directing the scratch-bake operation. Prior to taking the helm in the pastry department at Four Seasons, Charles led the pastry program for A Legendary Event, an award-winning full-service special events company specializing in catering, design and floral.

As Pastry Chef at Four Seasons, Barrett oversees menu development, staff training and production. He is excited about the professional opportunities presented by his ‘home away from home.’ The hotel offers numerous paths to display pastry excellence, bridging many disciplines and styles. Motivated by the opportunity to change his menu seasonally and be creative with every special event at the hotel, Barrett is excited to continually find ‘new and innovative ways to surprise and delight his diners.’

Charles and his wife Jackie have recently moved to Flowery Branch, GA., a northern suburb of Atlanta that reminds him of his childhood home in Oakwood, GA. He remarks that Flowery Branch is a beautiful place to live and raise a family and a garden, and watch both grow and flourish