PROVIDENCE – The user driven restaurant reviewer Zagat’s 30 Under 30 select list of young professionals in hospitality and food service includes a chef from Rhode Island: Melissa Denmark the executive pastry chef of Gracie’s Restaurant and Ellie’s Bakery in Providence.
Denmark, 28, developed the bread and pastry program at Ellie’s Bakery in 2012. That same year, Food & Wine named her one of the 50 Best New Pastry Chefs. She has also been named a Rising Star by culinary magazine StarChefs. Denmark is a 2010 graduate of Johnson and Wales University with a degree in baking and pastry arts. She was one of 8 pastry chefs nationwide to make the list of 45 semifinalists.
Zagat was founded in 1979 as the Zagat Survey of restaurant reviews by New Yorkers Tim and Nina Zagat. Providence and Newport restaurants were reviewed in the Boston edition of Zagat which was acquired by Google in 2011.
Bruce Newbury is a PBN contributing writer.
