JENNA LEE CRILESprout Welcomes New Pastry Chef into the KitchenSprout Restaurant in Lincoln Park is proud to announce the launch of a brand new pastry program thanks to their newest team member, Pastry Chef Jenna Lee Crile. Crile, who is also the pastry chef at Sprout’s sister restaurant, Frog and Snail, will now oversee the pastry departments at both of Chef Dale Levitski’s Chicago eateries.
Jenna’s love for baking and creating unforgettable desserts started at a young age when she would watch her mother create in the kitchen and see how happy those sweet treats made the people around her. Crile has been deeply entrenched in the Chicago food scene for years, getting her start working front of house at Jared Wentworth’s Longman & Eagle and Stephanie Izard’s Girl & The Goat. Jenna then went on to work as an intern at Paul Kahan’s Publican before getting the chance to work as a pastry assistant at legendary Windy City eatery, MK. Following her stint at MK, Jenna spent some time with Dale Levitski at Sprout before moving onto Baume & Brix to learn about breads and, what she calls, “the general wizardry” that goes on in that kitchen. With the opening of Frog & Snail Jenna found a permanent home back with Chef Levitski and she is thrilled to be running the pastry programs at both of his restaurants.
Jenna’s creations are often as mouth-watering as they are visually appealing. She loves to create beautiful dishes that are fun, bright and artistically plated. Chef Dale Levitski’s unique food and flavor combinations will be a perfect fit for Jenna’s wild pastry concoctions. While the new pastry menu is being kept a guarded secret until it is unveiled to the public, Jenna is willing to share one of her favorite dishes from the new menu as a little teaser. One of the highlights of the new dessert menu at Sprout will undoubtedly be the Avocado Bomb, which she refers to as “her heart and soul on a plate”. The mouthwatering dessert starts with avocado, which takes on creamy, mousse-like consistency. Chef Crile then adds Black Sesame Ice Cream (made from scratch by Jenna herself,) Sweet Corn, Thinly Sliced Radishes and a Cherry Puree.
Jenna got her first chance to wow the patrons of Sprout when she handled the desserts for Sprout’s Mother’s Day brunch on May 12th. Her new full dessert menu will be unleashed upon Chicago in June.
Sprout Restaurant - www.sproutrestaurant.com
Frog and Snail Restaurant - frognsnail.com/
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