Award-winning bakery snags award-winning pastry chef.
Meet Jenn Riesman, the brand new pastry artisan with a glowing pedigree at Bakery Lorraine.
Charlie Biedenharn would accept nothing much less.
“I feel she is an ideal match for this firm,” mentioned Biedenharn, Bakery Lorraine’s co-founder and proprietor. “I’m excited to take care of our traditional desserts, whereas additionally bringing in some new gadgets and having Jenn put a few of her inspiration into what we do.”
Riesman’s journey spans kitchens from South Texas to Central Virginia. She rose to prominence at Lodge Emma at Pearl, earned acclaim at Rooster Crow Bakery in Shavano Park and served as government pastry chef at Keswick Corridor, a five-star property in Virginia.
“It feels nice to be a part of a San Antonio establishment,” mentioned Riesman, who began two weeks in the past. “Bakery Lorraine has been identified for therefore lengthy for nice croissants and macarons. I hope to be a breath of contemporary air. A set of contemporary eyes.
“I’m identified for kolaches wrapped in brioche. However I can’t get away from burnt marshmallows and brown butter rice krispie treats. These might be coming to Bakery Lorraine.”
A local of Rockwall, Texas, Riesman earned a bakery and pastry certificates at a technical faculty in Little Rock, Arkansas. Then she returned to Texas to launch a profession within the pastry arts.
You might be conversant in Riesman’s huge dessert repertoire, which incorporates marriage ceremony truffles and pies, her speciality.
On the since-closed Rooster Crow Bakery, she received a CultureMap Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the 12 months in 2024. She’s led pastry applications for Melvin’s Dwelling Ice Cream & Espresso Bar and Max & Louie’s New York Diner, creating artisanal ice lotions, sorbets, ice cream truffles and ice cream sandwiches.
Riesman additionally has labored at Omni La Mansion del Rio, a four-diamond property, and at Austin’s La Condesa, a James Beard-nominated and Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant.
“All the pieces suits collectively like a puzzle,” she mentioned. “Working at completely different properties and completely different ranges of pedigree, working at four-diamond and five-star properties, you’re taking a bit of little bit of that have with you and use it sooner or later.”
As Bakery Lorraine’s new government pastry chef, Riesman fills a place unoccupied for the reason that departure of co-founders Anne Ng and Jeremy Mandrell within the fall of 2024.
Underneath Ng and Mandrell, Bakery Lorraine rose from a small operation on Grayson Road in 2011 to a sequence with a flagship at Pearl and a number of places throughout San Antonio, Boerne and Austin.
The bakery’s Parisian macarons and French-inspired classics have earned acclaim. Meals & Wine named Bakery Lorraine among the many 100 greatest bakeries within the U.S. Conde Nast Traveler named it considered one of 13 Vacation spot Bakeries. Ng and Mandrell earned a James Beard nomination.
“We’re not anticipating to fill any sneakers,” mentioned Biedenharn, who based Bakery Lorraine with Ng and Mandrell. “That was by no means a part of the expectation. Patrons can count on to nonetheless get their favourite desserts. None of that may change. However they will additionally count on some new choices as properly to go with what’s already within the pastry case.”
Riesman will oversee Bakery Lorraine’s specialty orders and marriage ceremony cake program with a bakery menu that may stay largely unchanged by way of the tip of the yr. Her new creations will debut in early 2026.
“I’ll get pleasure from placing a unusual spin on nice merchandise we’re already making,” she mentioned. “I’ve a deep love for savory baking as properly. I’m identified for pies and never only for the vacation season. However having pies for walk-ins and for ordering year-round. And I’ll deliver in additional customized truffles and marriage ceremony truffles to the Bakery Lorraine repertoire.”
