By THIRSTY

Sarah Levy and Sunny Lee

In November 2009, THIRSTY interviewed our favorite chocolatier and renowned Chicago baker Sarah Levy about her debut cookbook appropriately entitled Sweetness. Not quite two years later, we were very pleased to learn that Sarah and her co-pastry chef, Sunny Lee, competed and won the $10,000 Grand Prize on the popular food battle television program, Food Network Challenge.

Their challenge was to create a moving dinosaur cake. True to form, Sarah and Sunny carefully pre-planned their entry and drew advice from family, friends and pastry industry experts, including Sarah’s mentor Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer of the French Pastry School of Chicago.

THIRSTY: How did you feel about participating in such a high-pressure challenge on national television?

Sarah Levy: It was an incredible honor, especially to be able to show your work to Kerry Vincent and Keegan Gerhard. Sunny and I were the only rookies among the four teams competing, and I must say, making a moving dinosaur was a daunting task, but we were up for the challenge!

Also true to form, in Sarah’s continuing effort to make a difference in the lives of others, Sarah’s Pastries & Candies, hosted a fundraising viewing event where Sarah’s fans watched the actual broadcast, heard behind the scenes commentary from Sarah and Sunny and raised money to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation in memory of Sarah’s dear friend and chef, Rafael Ornelas.

In our November 2009 interview, we said that Sarah was at the forefront of her generation as a talented, well-educated professional, an employer and someone who understands the importance of giving back to her community. In October 2011, it is more true than ever.

Links:

Sarah’s Pastries & Candies
Sweetness by Sarah Levy or at Agate Publishing