New Pastry Chef at Cakes & Ale

Cakes & Ale has hired a new pastry chef.

The restaurant newsletter said Eric Wolitzky comes from Baked in Brooklyn. He appeared on Bravo's "Top Chef Just Desserts" in the fall of 2010.

Wolitzky's bio on the Bravo webpage says:

He obtained a BFA in drama and MA in performance and cultural studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, but his heart was continually drawn back into the kitchen. He currently serves as Pastry Chef at Baked, a bakery and café located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where his focus is updated classic American comfort desserts.

Eric's recipes have been featured in magazines including Food & Wine and O, among others. He was also nominated twice for Best Bakery Dessert by PastryScoop.com. 

The Cakes & Ale website says Wolitzky will lead "the restaurant bakery team of bread bakers Pedro Matos and Al Samonte, sweets and dessert bakers Patrick Dineen, Becky Vocaire, Imelda Gonzalez and Michelle Lance.  

Cynthia Wong was the original Cakes & Ale pastry chef. She left last summer, shortly before Cakes & Ale moves from West Ponce de Leon Avenue to a larger spot off the Decatur Square, to take a job at Empire State South.

In case you're curious, here's Wolitzky's recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

In other Cakes & Ale news, the newsletter says the restaurant will start serving Sunday brunch on April 15. Brunch will be available 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.