A single bite of crème brûlée at age ten ignited Leigh Omilinsky’s passion for pastry. Now, she is an award-winning chef at Daisies, creating dessert sensations in Chicago.
What dessert stands out as the most memorable for you? For Daises’ pastry chef Leigh Omilinsky (awarded by Michelin Guide, Eater, and the New York Times), it was the creme brulee at San Francisco’s Top of the Mark when she was just ten years old. That dessert left a lasting impression and sparked her passion for baking pastries for others.
Years later, Leigh has found success in the pastry world despite the challenges of being a chef. She strives to stay relevant in the age of viral desserts and earn respect in a male-dominated industry. To stay focused, she prioritizes whether her creations would evoke the same feelings she experienced at ten years old, rather than just focusing on their appearance. Notably, some of her pastries have already gained viral fame, such as the Wieners Circle and Daisies Chicago-style croissant, a char-dog rolled into a pastry lined with mustard, relish, and onions, topped with poppy seeds and celery salt, and garnished with tomato, pepper, and pickle. Additionally, her Chocolate Puck Croissant, a dark chocolate stout croissant stuffed with Irish cream mousse and topped with lucky green sprinkles, has also become popular.
Omilinsky says she wants to be recognized as a chef, not just a female chef, as she believes that gender should not define one’s abilities in the culinary world.
So how did Leigh get started after her pivotal moment at the Top of the Mark? She earned Baking & Pastry Arts and Food Service Management degrees from Johnson & Wales University before working with renowned chefs in Chicago. She started her career at Sofitel Chicago Water Tower as an assistant and was later promoted to Executive Pastry Chef. 2013, she was listed in Zagat’s 30 Under 30 and received the Jean Banchet Award for “Rising Pastry Chef.” 2014, she won Jean Banchet’s “Best Pastry Chef“ award. Beyond her shining accolades, she’s spent time in Paris and worked at Nico Osteria before joining the Boka Restaurant Group for its three concepts in 2019.
Now, she’s at Daises, which is on the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list and recently earned a Michelin Green Star, highlighting restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices.“ Recently, she has had the opportunity to share her creations at the Platform by the James Beard Foundation.
Omilinsky spoke with Honest Cooking about her challenges, tips for beginners, and what’s next.
You overcame a bumpy road to becoming a chef by being yourself. Tell us more about the challenges of being a female chef aspiring to be and who Leigh Omilinsky is.
I‘ve kind of grown to hate the term “female chef“. We don’t go around saying “male chef“, but I do appreciate the recognition that the kitchen is/was predominantly male. It has changed and is changing. A lot of the challenges of being female for me come with being in the pastry department as well. We generally have to justify our existence. I understand it. A lot of what the pastry department adds is not of monetary value. We are what is given away as a recovery, as a birthday, as a treat, etc. We are often the first (bread) and the last (dessert) thing that a guest experiences. It is also heavy in labor and not necessarily the money maker.
My current personal struggle is to learn how to refine my menu and still make it compelling. I don’t need to have a million items on the dessert menu. It drives everyone crazy if I do, why do I have to make my life so much harder? It’s always a struggle for me to lead with compassion, follow through, and be firm with standards. But who am I? Hard to say. A work in progress?
Tell us more about the pivotal crème brulee experience at San Francisco’s Top of the Mark restaurant when you were ten.
I remember this night so vividly. What I remember above everything was the overall experience. I remember my parents being relaxed. I remember my sister and I getting along. I remember the server treating us like we weren’t children. I remember the view of the city. I remember knowing that something about being in that moment was special. I remember my mom looking at my sister and me once the server put down the brulee and said something along the lines of “Wait until you try this“.
And it was so simple. But I remember the crack of the outer shell followed by that pudding inside. I had never had anything like it. It was clearly made with cream real sugar- something that was a very, very special treat in my house. Looking back, it was less about the actual dessert, which was amazing, but the whole experience of the restaurant and knowing that it was an experience that made it memorable.
Who are the people who have helped lead the way for you?
My mom is first and foremost. She was always cooking, showing us new foods, and had a pulse on restaurants before it was “cool.” Meg Galus is a huge mentor and friend of mine. Laurent Gras at L2o had an impact on my life that is super hard to put into words. Mindy Segal and her constant fight to keep pastry and women on the map as relevant.
What’s one fact people should know about pastry making that isn’t well known?
That it’s really ok to mess things up. And that you do have to follow the instructions.
Is the creme brulee pie on the Daisies dessert menu an ode to your experience at the Top of the Mark? If so, what are some of its similarities and differences?
It’s actually an ode to the midwestern grains. We spend a lot of time celebrating midwestern produce, which is awesome, but I stopped and thought about what is in the Midwest…Grain fields. So it’s a celebration of all the grains that are around us. It uses einkorn, quinoa, rye, rice, and sorghum.
What are your five basic rules of pastry making for home cooks?
One, Take your time. Two, follow the instructions. Three, read the recipe again and again. Four, don’t go rogue and futz with the recipe, and Five, don’t expect amazing results on the first try.
What’s your favorite savory and sweet pastry at Daises right now?
In the case? I love the asparagus danish we have right now. It uses Klug Farms asparagus and ricotta. And sweet? Man, it depends on the day. I love our Bostock. I also love the kouign-amann.
What does the summer season look like at Daises vis-à-vis sweets?
Well, we make a ton of jam and pickled fruits so that in the dead of winter we can remember why we live in Chicago. So we are jamming away. But we are also using the produce that we have and putting them in our sweets.
What summer desserts do you make at home on rotation?
There’s really only one and it’s my grandma’s “crunch”,it’s so simple. Combine whatever kind of fruit with butter, sugar, and flour on top then bake it. It’s so good and so nostalgic. It’s somehow greater than the sum of its parts.
What is your favorite unexpected flavor combination discovered throughout your career?
Oh gosh. So many. Coffee and citrus definitely surprised me. The use of bay leaf in desserts surprised me.
Speaking of unexpected flavor combinations, tell us more about the Chicago Style-Croissant.
This is when I laugh. I did NOT think this was going to take off the way that it did. First of all, I did not invent the hot dog, or pigs in a blanket, nor am I the first person to put a hot dog in a croissant. This was a super fun collaboration. And Chicagoans LOVE a good hot dog and they were lining up for it. I tried taking it off for about a week and there was backlash so it’s here to stay.
What are your thoughts on viral croissants like the cookie dough? Will there be one at Daises?
I mean, never say never, but I’m kind of over it. I also hate that people are flattening croissants.
How was your experience at the Platform by JBF dinner?
It was so much fun! I had cooked at the Beard House twice and it was such a challenging kitchen, so this was a luxury!
What’s next for Chef Leigh?
I’m just trying to grow this pastry program at Daisies so let’s see where that takes me!
For more information on Chef Leigh visit https://www.daisieschicago.com/
