Keegan Gerhard, named one of the nation’s top 10 pastry chefs of 2002 and 2004 by both Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines, brings a wealth of experience and abundant competitive energy.
Keegan originally pursued a career in culinary arts but soon gave in to his calling when he found himself running the kitchen of a French bistro in San Diego. He fired his pastry chef and discovered his true passion when he took over the process.
Keegan set out to learn from the best, and worked as the assistant to the celebrated Master Pastry Chef, Jacquy Pfeiffer, the Alsace-born owner and founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago. Subsequent positions as Pastry Chef with Charlie Trotter's Restaurant, the Waldorf Astoria, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company ensued, as did a position as Corporate Pastry Chef for Dean and DeLuca and Executive Pastry Chef of Four Seasons Chicago. Keegan was a proud member of the opening team for Wynn Las Vegas and is now Corporate Pastry Chef for Las Vegas Gourmet Imports.
Keegan has an enthusiastic but controlled approach to pastries. He likes to stay away from things that are too contrived, and prefers to create desserts that are refined and elegant. Keegan sometimes compares pastries to jazz music: 70 percent is based on enduring principles or the foundation of the style, and then the great musicians give you the 30 percent which is a surprise.
When he’s not preparing seasonal product-driven delicacies in the pastry shop, Keegan spends time organizing and serving as M.C. for the National Pastry Team Championships, The World Pastry Team Championships, and Food Network’s Challenge series.
He has been featured numerous times on the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of America, as well as the Travel Channel and CNN. For the 2001 Pastry World Cup, he served as technical advisor to Team USA, which brought home a gold medal.
Achievements
| • | Recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Visiting Pastry Chef award from Johnson & Wales University |
| • | Received the Jean Banchet Culinary Excellence Award |
| • | The honor of participating in five different James Beard Dinners |
| • | His light, fresh fruit desserts have been featured widely in many publications. |
