Pastry Chef Katy Peetz - Biography

Born in Sidney, Nebraska, and raised in Columbus, Nebraska, Katy Peetz grew up immersed in Midwestern-American cookery with her mother—a great meat-and-potatoes type cook—feeding Peetz and her twin sister a mean repertoire of casseroles. And Peetz’s first food gig was selling Dippin’ Dots to college baseball game crowds to pay for her soccer expenses.

Off to a humble start, Peetz stepped into a restaurant kitchen for the first time with an internship at French bistro, La Buvette, while completing a business degree at Creighton University in Omaha. A subsequent position at Bistro 121 set the stage for her official entry into the industry. Peetz moved to New York City in 2008 to enroll in a culinary program at the French Culinary Institute, where she interned at Chef Dan Barber’s Blue Hill. In the Barber camp, Peetz learned the value of working with seasonal, local ingredients. Peetz then journeyed to Chile for several months, cooking in the rustic setting of Martin Pescador’s Fishing Lodge in Patagonia.

In 2010, Peetz returned to New York and scored a position as the line cook at Brooklyn’s famed more-than-a-pizzeria, Roberta’s. When the pastry chef position fell vacant in 2011, Peetz stepped in to tackle the new role with verve. In 2012, the first-time pastry chef soon took over the sweet side of sister restaurant Blanca. At the two restaurants Peetz crafts unpretentious, provocative desserts that consistently blur the line between pastry and savory. In 2013, Peetz was named 2013 StarChefs.com Rising Star Pastry Chef. Peetz's current project is Monkey Town 3, a Brooklyn based pop-up restaurant.