Chef Denise Spooner

About

Pastry Chef Denise grew her skills in a busy catering company owned by Danny Meyer called Union Square Events. This is where she sharpened her skills in various aspects from laminated doughs to chocolates to petit four and plated desserts.

Denise received a bachelor’s degree in Food Service Management, while also minoring in Contemporary Pastry, Beverage Management, and Psychology. While in school, she worked in various small bakeries and kitchens during her studies.

Denise then moved into restaurants at Jams by Jonathan Waxman within the boutique and eco-friendly 1 Hotel Central Park in New York. Working at Jams, she discovered her passion for a farm-to-table style. As she would say, “Living in the Northeast with such an abundance of fruits and vegetables available, baking with anything different than locally-sourced and seasonal products would just feel wrong now.” After putting in the work and years under her favorite chef, Heather Miller, Denise was able to take the reins and move up to Pastry Chef at Jams.

Through the years of teaching young cooks and new bakers a love for instructing grew. Watching them succeed and grow became more rewarding than planning new menus. After a few years of doing personal chef classes through a company called Fest Cooking, the transition to a full-time instructor was a great fit.