Sweet
success
xxxxxxx
Kaitlyn Algarin, Viaggio pastry chef, wins raves
for her creative confections
f there’s proof that progress
is being made toward equal-
ity in the restaurant world,
it’s the experience of Kaitlyn
Algarin, pastry chef for Italian
restaurant Viaggio in Wayne.
When Algarin began attending the
Culinary Institute of America five
years ago, there were more women
in her classes than men. (U.S. News
& World Report says that in 2018,
the CIA had 50/50 gender equality
in its accepted students. The website
College Factual says the faculty
is 48.8 percent female and 51.2
percent male.)
“I didn’t notice any gender dis-
crimination while I was in school,”
she says. Progress, indeed.
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BREAD PUDDING
44
HOLIDAY 2019 WAYNE MAGAZINE
Now, she works with three other
women in the kitchen of Viaggio
in Wayne crafting rough, rock-like
chunks of hazelnut brittle to top
chocolate espresso budino; arranging
neat arches of small, circular carrot
cakes; and resting bright green mint
leaves on coconut and grapefruit
panna cotta. Algarin’s desserts are
almost too beautiful to eat.
Algarin learned to love baking
while playing at the heels of her
mother and grandmother as they
cooked in the kitchen. “I like the
science side to baking,” says Algarin,
a resident of Orange County.
“Everything has to be exact and
precise or it won’t come out right.”
After college, she worked at Cedar
ALGARIN’S
SPECIALTIES
AT VIAGGIO
Lakes Estate in Port Jervis, N.Y., then
came to Viaggio.
Her current schedule is intense;
late nights and weekend shifts hinder
her from seeing friends and family,
but she loves the creative freedom
she has to create new desserts. “I
definitely want people to get more
into desserts,” she says. “They’re
not as popular as the entrée, but
it’s just as important. It’s the last
thing people eat in their meal, so
it’s important that people leave with
something great.”
Algarin hopes to see even more
equality in the kitchen in the future.
“We’re all talented and equal,”
she says. ■
PECAN
CROSTADA
I
WRITTEN BY REBECCA KING PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO