Pastry Chef Jean-Rony Fougère was just five years old when he was first introduced to the world of pastry in 1983 by his cousin Jesse in Haiti. Three years later, he left his birthplace and moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York. By age thirteen, Fougère had already completed his first cake decorating class. While attending Park West High School, he enrolled in the Culinary Arts Program and honed his craft while catering various fundraisers and events for organizations like Sotheby’s and the Office of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Fougère received an honorable mention at the 1996 national Salon Food Show. His innovative cheesecake tart caught the attention of renowned Chef Richard Grausman, President of the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-Cap), leading to an internship at the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel, under Pastry Chefs Michael Hu, Jean-Claude Perennou and Gnanasampanthan Sabaratratnam.
After graduation, Fougère joined the staff at Aquavit, NYC as Pastry Assistant under the guidance of Pastry Chef Deborah Racicot in 1998. The next year, he was selected as a member of the U.S. Pastry Team on the recommendation of Executive Chef Marcus Samuelsson and traveled to Lyon, France, where the team placed third in the Coup de Mond de la Patisserie. After two years under the intense training of Pastry Chef Remy Funfrock, Fougère spearheaded the Pastry Departments at 92 and Smith Restaurant, where he catered the first Tribeca Film Festival in 2002. Fougère was the founding Executive Pastry Chef at the exclusive SoHo House, NYC from 2003 to 2005. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he established the Pastry Department at the now thriving OYA Restaurant & Lounge. By 2006, Fougère was back in New York City consulting for numerous local restaurants.
While Fougère’s desserts range in style from Classic French to American Comfort, their flavor profiles are uniquely balanced. Resting on a flourless biscuit, his chocolate mousse is infused with a cardamon twist. His original take on Baby Pineapple Baked Alaska features a pineapple sorbet and a rum-infused sponge cake topped with a Swiss meringue. For his popular Banana Bread Pudding, Jean-Rony uses fresh-baked croissants served with a caramel-whiskey sauce. Fougère’s signature dessert, a favorite of actor Robert De Niro, is a fresh berry sauté in a balsamic syrup which is served with a fromage-blanc sorbet. From complex oven-baked mini petit fours to speciality wedding cakes, Pastry Chef Jean-Rony Fougère continues to create some of the finest desserts in the world.
Currently, Pastry Chef Fougère operates the Fern Pastry Studio in Brooklyn, where he shares his vast culinary skills and knowledge, conducting both individual and group classes on cake decorating. Meanwhile, he still provides his refined high-end desserts and extraordinary cake decorating artistry for some of New York City’s exclusive clients.