Emily Luchetti

A part of the American culinary revolution starting in the 1980s, Emily helped define what great pastry means in America. Emily attended The New York Restaurant School in New York City. After working on the line in restaurants for seven years, Emily switched to the sweet side of the kitchen at Stars and never looked back. In San Francisco, she was the pastry chef at Stars, Farallon, and Waterbar Restaurants and for the Big Night Restaurant Group (The Cavalier, Marlowe, Cow Marlowe, Petit Marlowe, Park Tavern, and Leo’s Oyster Bar).

Emily is the author of several dessert cookbooks-Stars Desserts (HarperCollins, 1991) which was nominated for a James Beard Award; Four Star Desserts (HarperCollins, 1995), A Passion for Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2003), A Passion for Ice Cream (Chronicle Books, 2006) winner of an IACP Cookbook Award; and The Fearless Baker (Little, Brown and Company, 2011), and Classic Stars Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2007). She also co-authored So Who’s Counting, The Little Quote Book about Getting Older and Still Kicking Ass (Andrew McMeel 2019).

Emily’s honors include the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Golden Whisk Award. As one of the culinary icons of America, she also has a room named after her at The Inn at Little Washington.

She served as a Dean at The International Culinary Center in New York and California and was Chairperson of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs. For nineteen years Emily was on the James Beard Foundation Board of Trustees with roles as Awards Committee Chair, Interim CEO, Vice-Chair, and Board Chair. She is the Treasurer for The Briones Lions Club and is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Emily currently sells her jams, chocolate bars, and other sweets at markets and pop-up stores. She is working on a book of prose and poetry about her life with food, ingredients, and the people who have inspired her. You can follow her on Social Media @emilyluchetti to stay up to date on her food and ranch life. She lives in Northern California with her husband, chickens, lambs, and llamas.