Pichet Ong

After earning his Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley, Pichet Ong worked in some of the country's most renowned kitchens, including La Folie (San Francisco), Chez Panisse (Berkeley), Olives (Boston), Tabla and Jean Georges (New York). Although he started out in pastry, Pichet spent eight years cooking savory foods before he rediscovered his passion for dessert making. Pichet served as the opening pastry chef of Spice Market, 66, RM, Patroon, and Jefferson. He has been named one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Arts & Design and Chocolatier, and was selected as a “Pastry Provocateur” by Food & Wine. He is one of the few pastry chefs to have been featured in the prestigious “The Chef” column of The New York Times.

In April 2007, Pichet opened P*ONG, a dessert-centric restaurant located in the heart of West Village in New York City. P*ONG has been featured in many publications including Bon Appetit, Time Out New York, New York Daily News, Elle, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, Lufthansa, and Harper’s Bazaar. At the same time, Pichet also released his first dessert cookbook, The Sweet Spot, which received a red-starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, a nomination for the World Gourmand book award, and has been hailed by Amanda Hesser of The New York Times as “a standout and one of the most original dessert cookbook in years.” Pichet has also recently appeared on Iron Chef America, Roker on the Road, Martha Stewart Live, and The Fresh Grocer. Pichet is also consulting for numerous restaurants and bakeries around the world. He lives in New York City, where he is currently working on a new cook book and a new take-away dessert shop, Batch, to be opened this fall.