Baked With Feminine Tenderness

From left to right: Yoon Choi, pastry sous chef; Daniella Lea Rada, executive pastry chef; and Aisha Day, pastry sous chef.

Do you remember the first pound cake, chocolate eclair or apple pie you tasted in your life? Perhaps they were created by your mother or grandmother, and the memories of those treats fill your heart with love and happiness.

Imagine an entire hotel where female bakers from all around the world wake up at the crack of dawn to bake fresh croissants and stay up late at night to handcraft delicate chocolates! They work around the clock, preparing indulgent desserts, pastries, chocolates, gelato and breads, from scratch.

To experience such creative delicacies, head to Downtown Atlanta. The largest hotel property in town, Signia by Hilton Atlanta, has an all-female 17-member pastry team representing Japan, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Colombia, Peru, Kenya and Atlanta!

Executive pastry chef Daniella Lea Rada (previously at the Four Seasons Atlanta and Le Bon Nosh) is part of the culinary team that oversees Signia by Hilton Atlanta’s next-level food and beverage experiences. She says of her all-female pastry team, “It wasn’t intentional, but it happened.” Venezuela-born Lea Rada’s goal was to give the underrepresented BIPOC community in the food industry an opportunity to thrive, offering a strong leadership presence and rotating schedules so that they don’t have to choose between their careers and motherhood. As a result, she ended up hiring all women she had either worked with or knew by reputation that she wanted to add to her team. “As females, we always have to keep proving ourselves, and I want to change this reality by making women in pastry a priority. I wanted to create the experience that I didn’t have while working in South America and Europe, an opportunity to be heard, [to] work with great equipment, and do what I love to do,” says Lea Rada.

In a kitchen as large as this, the staff must be well organized. They need to get along with each other and handle difficult situations. The women communicate well because they are good listeners.

Lea Rada and her diverse team bring pastry offerings from all over the world to Atlanta. Each chef shares her own story, talent and family recipes through her creations. For example, pastry sous chef Aisha Day, who was born and raised in Metro Atlanta’s Griffin, shares her grandmother Thelma’s biscuits (found at two of Signia’s restaurants, Homespun and Nest on Four) and banana bread (available at the hotel’s Friendship Market and in-room dining). Korean pastry sous chef Yoon Choi has a passion for ice cream and gelato. She creates new combinations with timut pepper and kaffir lime, mango passionfruit, caramelized pecans, white chocolate and peaches, as well as strawberry champagne. Her gelato can be found at the hotel’s signature restaurant Capolinea and at Friendship Market. In honor of Valentine’s Day, there are red velvet macarons and strawberry champagne gelato available at the Friendship Market. Signia’s restaurants and bars appeal to global traveler who want the flavor of homemade treats even when away from home.

The international flair and personal touch of each chef is reflected in her preparations. The hotel may serve thousands of delectable baked goods and desserts a day, but each one is special because there was a real person with emotions involved in creating it.

Photos courtesy Signia by Hilton Atlanta