Homecoming for Award-Winning Pastry Chef Acclaimed pastry chef Amanda Perdomo has returned to Louisiana after a decade in New York City kitchens, taking the helm of the pastry and bread programs at Dolfy's, Chef Adolfo Garcia Jr.'s Basque-inspired restaurant in Uptown New Orleans. The move marks her first professional cooking role in her home state, though she was raised in the New Orleans area. Dolfy's was recently named one of The New York Times' Best Restaurants in America 2026. Perdomo, a 2023 StarChels New York Rising Stars Award winner, brings refined technique and Spanish influences to her work, combined with a renewed focus on Southern ingredients and agricultural traditions.
From New York to New Orleans Perdomo began her pastry career at Dominique Ansel in 2015 before working at Del Posto, Altro Paradiso, Flora Bar, Wildair, and Contra. She served as opening pastry chef at Kellogg's Diner, where her strawberry pretzel salad earned recognition in Eater New York's 2025 guide to the city's best desserts. Most recently, she created Amanda's Good Morning Cafe, a Brooklyn residency inspired by Louisiana flavors and childhood food memories. Garcia and his partner, Sophia Petrou Garcia, discovered Perdomo while visiting one of her culinary residencies in New York. Garcia later offered her a position on the spot and invited her to New Orleans for a pop-up that paved the way for her return.
Seasonal Approach to Dessert and Bread Perdomo's dessert menu evolves with seasonal availability and local grower relationships. Three signatures anchor the program: Manchego and Olive Oil Cake with seasonal fruit, Basque Cheesecake, and Churros y Chocolate. Rotating seasonal desserts reflect what's available from local farms and markets. Her ice cream and sorbet program emphasizes small-batch production with locally sourced and foraged ingredients and no commercial stabilizers. Some flavors require two to three days of preparation due to slow infusion processes. Recent offerings have included salted honey ice cream with fudge ripple, chocolate espresso sorbet finished with Spanish olive oil and Maldon salt, and orange-passion fruit sorbet accented with olive oil and Espelette pepper. Perdomo plans to incorporate satsumas grown by her parents in Lacombe, across Lake Pontchartrain, alongside produce from area farmers and markets. Beyond dessert, Perdomo oversees Dolfy's wood-fired bread program, which includes wood-fired sourdough, pan de cristal served throughout the menu, and flatbread fired à la minute during service.
Chef's Vision Perdomo said, "I spent so many years away from Louisiana learning, working and figuring out who I am as a chef. Coming home has given me a different appreciation for the ingredients and traditions I grew up with. There's so much here that I want to explore, especially working with local farmers and ingredients indigenous to the South. At Dolfy's, I'm bringing those influences together with Spanish flavors and techniques. I want the desserts to feel thoughtful and personal, but most importantly, I want people to really enjoy eating them." Garcia noted, "Sophia and I met Amanda in New York, and after tasting her food, I knew I wanted her to be part of what we were building at Dolfy's. She's an incredibly talented chef with a strong point of view, and she understands how to make something technically sophisticated feel approachable and delicious. What's exciting is that she's bringing all of that experience back home and reconnecting with the ingredients she grew up around. We've given her the freedom to make this program her own, and what she's creating adds another dimension to the restaurant."
Why It Matters
Perdomo's appointment signals a growing trend of high-profile pastry talent investing in regional dining destinations and local sourcing practices. Her emphasis on housemade ice creams without stabilizers, seasonal rotation, and relationships with local growers reflects evolving operator and consumer expectations around ingredient authenticity and transparency in fine dining.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
