EN-MING HSU Executive Pastry Chef, Ritz-Carlton Chicago

2001: Selected as Captain of the U.S. Pastry Team at the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie in Lyon, France. 1998: Named "One Of The Top 10 Pastry Chefs In America In 1998" by Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design Magazines

Chef En-Ming Hsu credits her study of photography and studio arts at Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York, as influential in her design and presentation of the many desserts created in her kitchen at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel). A native of Richmond, Virginia, she has always had an interest in cooking. It was her experiences at a small Connecticut catering company after college, which led her to pursue a career as a pastry chef. Serious about her future trade, En-Ming trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and then began her journey through some of America's best restaurants.

Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton Chicago in 1994, En-Ming worked in the kitchens of the renowned Lespinasse restaurant in New York's exclusive St. Regis Hotel and Patisserie Cafe Didier in Washington DC, under the master pastry chef, Dieter Schorner. Drawing on her artistic education, En-Ming Hsu masters chocolate and sugar showpiece work at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago. Additional creations by Hsu include classic French pastries, ice creams and chocolate candies.

En-Ming enjoys exploring the local farmers' markets to find the freshest ingredients for her desserts and creating enticing plate presentations. The results of her efforts are award winning. En-Ming has recently been selected as Captain of the U.S. Pastry Team at the 2001 Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie in Lyon, France, and was named "One Of The Top 10 Pastry Chefs In America In 1998" by Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design Magazines. The accolades do not stop here. In February 1997, she was named "1997 Pastry Chef Of The Year In America" at the Eighth Annual Patisfrance Pastry Competition held in New York City. En-Ming's "Symphony" was selected from among 26 of the country's top pastry chefs and featured a symphony flowing out of a music box with a "rose granite" finish completely made out of chocolate, with an elegant life-like hand of white chocolate conducting the Symphony." As "Pastry Chef Of The Year," Hsu received a Gold Medal, $2,000, two round-trip tickets to Paris and an unforgettable one-week internship at the famous L'Ecole Le Notre in Paris. In her position as executive pastry chef, Hsu, and her staff of 10 are responsible for all dessert creations served in the award-winning Dining Room, The Café, The Greenhouse and The Cariton Club, as well as banquets and room service for the 435- room hotel.