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Canlis Pastry Chef Baruch Ellsworth Receives Acclaim
The Seattle dessert maker has been recognized by Food and Wine
![Canlis restaurant at dusk, the perfect time for dessert.]()
Canlis restaurant at dusk, the perfect time for dessert. — Photo courtesy of Canlis
Okay, so he didn’t win the award, but just being nominated in March meant that Baruch Ellsworth of Canlis has earned his place among the best up-and-coming dessert makers in the country. As in the magazine’s original Best New Chef’s program, pastry chefs were judged by a panel of editors for the main award, and another winner was chosen by readers. Ellsworth was the only Seattle dessert guru to make the initial cut, and it’s a good thing he got here in time to represent the city.
Recently installed in the Canlis kitchen, Ellsworth came to the Seattle institution from benu, a trendy San Francisco restaurant. In a roundabout way, he has come full circle. His previous experience features stints at famed San Francisco restaurants, including at the Ritz-Carlton and Campton Place, where he worked with now Canlis chef Jason Franey.
Canlis has been a Seattle fine-dining institution since it opened in 1950, and chefs there key in on the freshest local ingredients in season. For Ellsworth, that means his pick of bountiful berries and other items from local farms. For example, Pistachio Génoise, with yogurt, cherries, and dark chocolate ($14) or classic crème bruleee, here served with market fruit and sorbet ($12).
About John Ferri
A native of Tacoma, Washington - Seattle’s smaller sibling to the south - journalist John Ferri has lived everywhere in and around the Pacific Northwest. He started college in Bellingham, lived in the San Juan Islands, and finished college in Pullman, Washington, before living and working for a time in Spokane. He then moved to Florida, where he lived and worked in Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale before returning to the Puget Sound area.
When not working full time as a writer and editor, including stints for The Tama Tribune and New Times, John spent years in the hospitality industry as a fine-dining restaurant server and manager. He counts himself lucky to have worked under some of the most awarded (and even celebrity) chefs and sommeliers in the entire Pacific Northwest. Although he never obtained his certificate through testing, John has studied wines extensively. And as a former home brewer, he's a student of craft beer and is immersed in the region’s industry-leading microbrewery movement.
Having grown up amid the natural wonders of the Seattle area, John is an accomplished hiker. Another result of a Northwest rearing is his penchant for strong, dark-roast coffee, which he slavishly grinds and brews at home or enjoys at any Internet café that has great espresso. You'll only find him there, however, when he’s not in search of the next best deli, wine bar, hiking trail, book shop or brewery . . . or revisiting an old favorite.
Read more about John Ferri here.
Canlis restaurant at dusk, the perfect time for dessert. — Photo courtesy of Canlis