Renee Ito
Cherokee Town & Country Club
Renee Ito is originally from the Pittsburgh, Pa area. In 2005 she graduated first in her class with an associates degree in Baking and La Patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu Pittsburgh(PCI).
She began her work experience at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina as an extern. Then she went to Atlanta, GA where she got a job as a pastry cook at the prestigious Cherokee Town & Country Club.
Since that time, she has worked under the tutelage of two very talented and decorated pastry chefs, both of whom were awarded pastry chef of the year. In 2008 she won an ACF Bronze Medal at the 2008 Pastry Salon in Atlanta, GA.
She currently holds the Assistant Pastry Chef position at Cherokee Club. She is also a CWPC and a registered proctor/instructor for ServSafe.
Thanks for all your time!
`R.Ito
Herlina Kwee
Piedmont Driving Club
Even though my mom has always been baking for a living since she was little, I had never heard about about being a pastry chef till about 9 years ago. I learned about it when I watched too much Food network Challenge. I decided to go to the Art Institute of Atlanta after finishing a couple of completely different majors. Thanks to Chef Paul Bodrogi, I was introduced to the fun of competing and volunteering at various pastry events. Right now, I am just enjoying the ride while keep trying to improve myself and meeting amazing chefs along the way
Christine Johns-Harris
Not a Crumb! Exquisite Cakes
Christine Johns-Harris is the owner, head cook and bottle washer at not a crumb! exquisite cakes. not a crumb! exquisite cakes is a bespoke cakeshop that specializes in cakes with out of the box taste and design! A self-described Cakeist (cake artist and pastry perfectionist), Christine’s early training came from baking cakes with her mother, and memories of fantastic birthday cakes, but all the rest comes from her vivid imagination, and extremely colorful dreams.
A graduate of both Syracuse University and Columbia University, Christine is a former special education teacher, whose first love is children. Along the way, she discovered a passion for creating edible works of art, and the joy in living vicariously through the happy moments of others.
Christine has been creating cakes for over ten years, and enjoys the challenge that comes from never making the same cake twice!
Frederick Isla
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
“Three years to forge one’s soul; thirty years to polish it” –Miyamoto Musashi.
This one of my favorite quotes, that I relate to my career. But, unfortunately it’s taking more than 3 years because there is always something new to learn every day.
Moving from the Philippines to Canada at a young age, I grew up having the influence of both eastern and western cultures. Never really knowing “what I wanted to be when I grow up”, I leaned toward the sciences where I felt I had a natural aptitude for. But, after working in hospitality and advice from my parents; I went into the culinary arts, earned a degree and found a new niche.
Under the watchful eyes of chefs from Culinary Team Canada and working for various chefs, I gained the skill and techniques needed to compete and excite myself to pusher further in my culinary career.
Not until I moved to Las Vegas, did I fully commit to patisserie. But, working for various hotels in Las Vegas and notable chefs like Jean – Claude Canestrier, Vincent Pilon, Randy Sebastian, Gianni Santin and now Carlos Salazar, have slowly developed skills to get to where I am now.
I have always had an interest in art, but never took any formal classes (self taught mostly). I find inspiration in almost anything (nature, industrial, feng shui, famous painters, and even my children’s drawings) and I try to interpret and emulate it in my cakes. Now I am known for my signature style of sculpted and hand painted cakes.
Veronica Estrada
Sugar Benders Bakery
Veronica is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Mercer University. She has over 14 years in the foodservice industry and 7 years decorating cakes. She attended classes at The Sugar Art Institute in Norcross, Ga. Where she learned how to refine and apply her decorating skills effectively. Veronica currently owns Sugar Benders Bakery, in East Cobb. A highly successful premier bakery that features specialty cakes, fresh pastry, and breads.
Marilyn Bawol
Unique Cakes
A natural-born artist, Marilyn thrives on combining her sculpture and painting skills with her baking talents to create an art form that others can enjoy as much as she can. She brings the latest cake artistry skills to Unique Cakes, and continues to study innovative cake design techniques under nationally-renowned cake masters. As the Owner and Creative Director of Unique Cakes, she focuses on the unusual in wedding cakes, three dimensional sculpted cakes and blown and pulled sugar amenities.
Marilyn has been featured in national cake decorating publications and has had the honor of applying her talents in sugar art and three-dimensional sculpted cakes for high profile cake commissions, where guests of honor have included circuit court judges and Gov. Sarah Palin. Her detailed eagle cake won first place in the Professional Sculpted Cake Division at the National Capital Area Cake Show in 2013 and she was a competitor in last year’s Pastry Live. For a full gallery of her cake photos visit For a full gallery of her cake photos visit www.UniqueCakes.biz.
Jim Mullaney & Alex Hwang
James Mullaney CEPC
Executive Pastry Chef
J Mullaney Pastries
Pastry Chef James Mullaney lives the sweet life. His prolific talents bring beauty, whimsy and sublime indulgence to the tables of the finest establishments in Georgia.
Mullaney takes the artistic aspects of pastry to fresh heights through his award-winning showpieces. In 2005, he and his team took top honors at the National Pastry Team Championship held in Phoenix, AZ and has claimed more than 30 other medals in pastry and ice carving competitions over the course of his career. Mullaney was selected to represent the United States in 2006 and 2009 in World Pastry Championships, here in the U.S. and France.
Mullaney, originally from Pittsburgh, commenced his culinary career in the U.S. Army as a food service specialist, training at Fort Jackson,SC. He later graduated from an accredited Pastry Apprenticeship Program at The Cloister on Sea Island. He then expanded these skills further at chocolate schools in the pastry meccas of Belgium, France and Spain. Additional training at the Notter School of Confectionary Arts led to a full time position as lead instructor of baking and pastry.
Mullaney worked for the Sea Island Company / Mobile Five-Star Cloister Hotel for a total of 18 years, 9 as Executive Pastry Chef. He served as Pastry Chef of the Mobile Four-Star Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, AZ and as Pastry Chef of the Five-Diamond Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, FL. Recently, he worked with Atlanta Foods International and QimiQ Corporation (Austria) working as Corporate Pastry Chef.
August 2012, Mullaney opened his own business “J Mullaney Pastries,” a consulting and catering firm serving clients around the world.
Alex Hwang
Cherokee Town and Country Club
Chef Kyongran (Alex) Hwang, one of the most hard working pastry chefs today, came to United States in 1999 with great hope and dream to become one of the most sensational pastry chefs in culinary world. In 2001, she enrolled at Culinary Institute of America and earned Associate Baking and Pastry degree in two years.
After she graduated from CIA, she started working at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia and she has established herself to become an Executive Pastry Chef. During early part of her career, she worked under Chef Christopher Northmore who is Certified Master Pastry Chef as his apprentice. Needless to say, while she was working under Chef Northmore, she was heavily inspired by his master skill, style, work ethic, and great passion for Pastry and Baking art.
In 2006, Kyongran demonstrate her brilliant skills in ACF Pastry Salon at Savannah, GA “Wedding Cake Competition” and won Silver medal and in following year, she won bronze medal in “Novelty Cake Competition” ACF Pastry Salon at Atlanta, GA. ACF Pastry Salon 2007 (Atlanta, Dessert Expo) Atlanta, GA “Wedding Cake” First Place, ACF Bronze Medal, ACF Pastry Salon 2008 (Atlanta, Dessert Expo) Atlanta, GA “Occasion Cake Competition” First Place(ACF Gold Medal) ACF Southeast Regional Conference, 2010 (Birmingham, AL) “Twix Mini Trio Dessert Competition”, First Place. ACF National Pastry Chef of The Year 2011( Dallas TX), First Place, ACF Silver Medal
Brian Donaghy & Ruth Bleijerveld
Brian Donaghy
Product Development Specialist
Chocolate Delivery Systems
Brian is currently the Product Development Specialist for Chocolate Delivery Systems of Buffalo, NY. At CDS he is responsible for the development, sourcing and manufacturing of all chocolate and other food products that are sold in North America, the Caribbean and Europe. In addition to his responsibilities at CDS, Brian is the principal at The Criollo Group, a consulting company that specializes in chocolate and confection.
Previously, Brian was an instructor at the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, the Corporate Pastry Chef at Tomric Systems, Inc., the Assistant Corporate Pastry Chef at Albert Uster Imports and worked for the Ritz-Carlton company. He has appeared twice on Food Network Challenge, winning once and has taught numerous classes throughout the United States.
Away from the kitchen Brian enjoys spending time with his wife Christina, daughter Olive and his two Labradoodles Criollo and Sally, watching baseball and has recently taken up playing Squash again after a 20 year hiatus.
Ruth Bleijerveld
Pastry Chef/Instructor
Benchmark Restaurant of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College
Ruth Bleijerveld is currently a Pastry Chef/Instructor at Benchmark Restaurant of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute of Niagara College, Canada.
She began her love for everything sweet as a child watching Jacques Torres on PBS on Dessert Circus. Not realizing though till later in life how that had an impact on her second career choice.
With parents who emigrated from Holland in the 50’s, they raised their family in a home based business atmosphere. Horticulture taught her that the harder you worked the more you gained. Hard work paid off and made Ruth successful in several retail beginnings where creativity, organization and planning was just a springboard for what lay ahead for this country girl.
Ruth, a mother of 3 children, entered College in 2008. She completed her Culinary Management Diploma only to go right into Baker/Patisserie Apprenticeship Red Seal. Amongst the amazing skill at Niagara College, Ruth was able to dedicate many hours beyond school to excel in the land of flour, fat, eggs and sugar. But in the midst of all that, there she found her love for Chocolate and has never looked back.
Her creativity and skill with Chocolate has taken her to win awards and temper chocolate with some of the top names in the world. Attention to detail and her determination to excel have brought her to Niagara College where she can pass on her talents to future chefs.
Derrell Lawery
Pastry Chef
Sterling Spoon Fresh Culinary Management, Woodruff Arts Center
In April of 2013, Chef Derrell Lawery joined Sterling Spoon Fresh Culinary Management as Pastry Chef, designing signature desserts and discovering new ways to provide an enjoyable experience to the clients. Combining years of industry training and knowledge, the south Georgia native takes pride in creating traditional desserts and adding his own southern flare.
BIll Lipscomb
Chef
Creations Restaurant
Art Institute of Atlanta
Chef Bill Lipscomb never in a million years would have guessed that he would grow up and become a Pastry Chef. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and enjoyed cooking with his parents. His mother cooked and did a lot of scratch baking when he was growing up and he always wanted to be in the kitchen with her.
He graduated from Hampton University in Hampton, VA, with a B.A. in Physics. After leaving Hampton, he returned to Washington, D.C. and began his culinary adventure working for Planet Hollywood. In 1995, he moved to Atlanta, GA, in time for the ’96 Olympics.
In 2000, he was fortunate enough to work under Certified Master Pastry Chef Chris Northmore at the Cherokee Town and Country Club. It was without a doubt one of the greatest learning experiences of his career. One of the biggest insights he got from working with Chef Northmore, was that he is right in the fire with you. He would put out the production list in the morning and by the end of the day, he had crossed more things off the list than you had. Chef Lipscomb also learned to have a deeper respect for bread. He was never crazy about producing bread, but, when you produce everything from scratch in Chef Northmore’s bake shop, you learn to have an appreciation for everything, even BREAD!!!!!!!
In 2002, he had the opportunity to travel to France and attend classes at Ecole L’Enotre for baking and pastry. He took classes in entremets, ice cream and sorbet, chocolate and sugar showpieces, plated desserts, chocolates and confections. These learning experiences gave him the chance when he returned to the states to become an Executive Pastry Chef for the Ritz Carlton Hotel company. He spent 1 year working as the assistant pastry chef for the Ritz Carlton Buckhead and then was promoted to the head pastry position in the downtown property where he spent the next 4 years.
He is currently a culinary instructor at the Art Institute of Atlanta. He teaches introduction to baking and pastry, as well as the advanced patisserie and display cake class. In recent years, he has gone back to his savory background and begun teaching American cuisine, Latin and Asian cuisine. He always tries to give students what he calls ‘my two cents’, and that is they should not limit themselves to just one particular area in the culinary world, be as versatile as you can. If you know both sides of the coin (savory and sweet) you are worth that much more to the chef you may be working for at the time.