Dionne Himmelfarb

ESR Pastry Chef

Before taking over as pastry chef for all of the Ethan Stowell restaurants, Dionne worked at both Canlis and Poppy.

Hometown

Jakarta, Indonesia

First Restaurant Job

Nordstrom Grill, Seattle

Last Restaurant Job

Poppy

Alternate Universe Career

Pool Player

Favorite Late Night Snack

Any semi-hard goat cheese and crackers

Best Meal Ever

Too many of them, but for sure anything that my dad cooks for me.

After Work Hangout

I come home relatively early, the best place after work for me is my living room. But outside will be Quoin for their “lazy gardener” drink or pozole at La Carta de Oaxaca.

Secret Ingredient

Fresh sweet bay leaf. I use it to replace vanilla in any given recipe.

Favorite Seattle Restaurants

A tough one given the fact we have so many great new restaurants popping up every where. But I find myself always going back and recommend Mkt. and Poppy. Mkt. because of its great flavor and exciting menu items. And Poppy for the dessert thali (what an awesome concept: 1 dessert, 1 ice cream and 4 other bite size desserts). Ho Soon Yi, a Korean restaurant in Shoreline. They got the best soft tofu hot pot that will always hit the spot for the northwest weather.

Food Philosophy

It is the flavor and food pairing that always interest me. Where you are when you cook, the time of the day, the company who you would cook for, occasion and everything else make the dynamic always change.

Restaurant Pet Peeve

Too long to take the drink order. Parsley for garnish.

What do you love about Seattle?

I am an islander, was born and raised in Indonesia. But somehow I love the weather in Seattle (PNW), the water, and the trails.

Favorite Place In The World

Bali, Indonesia. No question asked. The people are warm and wonderful. The air smelled sweet from the incense and flowers they use for their offerings 3-5 times a day. The Hindus pray through out the day, so you will hear and see ceremony almost all the time.

Memorable Kitchen Disaster

When my dad decided to cook my favorite childhood dish: friend sardines with salad. He cooked it in my new kitchen—fried the sardines straight from the can. The oil splattered every where but he didn't care because he knew I would love it. At the end I was so mad, we decided to grab a pizza instead since the place was covered with oil every where.