The Bristol, Cafe des Architects Nab New Pastry Chefs

Both the Bristol and Cafe des Architects announced new pastry chefs this week and in a weird, sugary twist, both have worked in the kitchen at Tru. Maybe it's not too odd since the famed French restaurant is known for award-winning desserts.

Cafe des Architects picked up Meg Galus, who was at Tru for three years. She apparently got her start setting up a restaurant in her parents' home and her mother, who passed away eight years ago, continues to inspire her cooking. At Cafe des Architects, Galus utilizes many local ingredients from farms including Seedling, Mick Klug and the Chicago Honey Co-Op.

Across town at the Bristol, Executive Chef Chris Pandel wooed Amanda Rockman, who he worked with when he was in the kitchen at Tru as well. Rockman has quite the pedigree, having worked locally at Spring, L20 and the Peninsula; she started the chocolate program at Tru. At the Bristol, she'll focus on crafting in-house bread and biscuits, croissants, cinnamon rolls and her signature Basque cake, a dense, buttery pastry served with apple sabayon and candied nuts. It's meant for two, but we may swing by on an empty stomach and be a little selfish. Think it'll make us sick?

The Bristol [Photo: Neil Burger]