BUCKTOWN — Award-winning chef Mindy Segal has hired a new pastry chef to step in at her namesake restaurant so she can focus on opening her bakery in Logan Square, a spokeswoman for Mindy's Hot Chocolate said.
Segal recently brought on former Japonais pastry chef Kymberli DeLost to take the helm in creating a fresh dessert menu for Hot Chocolate.
The news first was reported by Eater Chicago.
Segal will be busy opening a Logan Square bakery and writing a cookie-focused cookbook, but she's staying on at Hot Chocolate as executive chef and owner, according to Hot Chocolate spokeswoman Heidi Hagemen.
Segal also has enlisted a director of operations, Hagemen said, though she would not give the name of the new hire.
Hagemen said Segal will oversee Hot Chocolate "in tandem" with DeLost and will continue to be at the restaurant "all the time."
One of the ideas that DeLost has tested for the new menu is toasted bread ice cream: seasoned, day-old bread that's caramelized, folded into ice cream and served with hydrated marshmallows and stout fudge.
Hagemen said DeLost is continuing to develop the menu and that items have not yet been finalized.
Segal has been a pastry chef at Mindy's Hot Chocolate since opening the restaurant in 2005. Since then, she's been decorated with a 2012 James Beard Award for outstanding pastry chef.
"Kymberli has great ideas," Segal said. "She has an excellent palate; she's going to be absolutely amazing."
