Mindy Segal Stepping Down as Hot Chocolate Pastry Chef

For the first time, someone besides Mindy Segal will mastermind the desserts at Hot Chocolate. The James Beard winner who many consider Chicago's top pastry chef is stepping down from executive pastry duties at her namesake restaurant in order to step up in her expanding company. She's naming Kymberli DeLost her first pastry chef, saying "I love her and want her to rock."

Segal has been inundated with preparing to open Hot Chocolate Bakery, writing a cookbook, and being a newlywed. She says she will still oversee both establishments but is stepping back from day-to-day cooking. She has also hired a director of operations to run her company.

DeLost is a pastry veteran from Storefront Company, Japonais, and more; she even helped create the latest hybrid pastry sensation, the Wonut. "She has a great eye for detail," Waffles Cafe owner Alex Hernandez says.

She will launch her first dessert menu at Hot Chocolate within two weeks; check back then to see what she has in store.
· All Mindy's Hot Chocolate Coverage [-ECHI-]