Chef Highlight: Kelsey Roden of Honest Man Restaurants

Kelsey Roden is the executive pastry chef and genius behind all aspects of the dessert programs throughout the Honest Man restaurants, which include Nick & Toni’s, Rowdy Hall, La Fondita, Townline BBQ, Coche Comedor and Honest Catering. Roden discovered early on that baking was truly what she loved and wanted to pursue it professionally. For Roden, “baking isn’t just about food; it’s about the reason we love food—the smells and tastes linked to a lifetime of memories.”

After completing the baking and pastry program at Suffolk County Community College, Roden began her professional culinary career at the North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue as lead baker/pastry cook. Following her position at NFCC, she began working at Nick & Toni’s as lead pastry cook/assistant, responsible for the daily production of dessert components, creating custom orders and conducting daily staff training. Her next professional step was as the pastry chef for Big Fish Restaurant Group in Westbury. In February of 2019, Roden returned to the Honest Man Restaurant Group as their company-wide pastry sous chef, and by May of that year she had transitioned to executive pastry chef.

A workday in Roden’s life consists of writing the dessert menus, managing a production kitchen and creating daily specials for all the restaurant properties. If that wasn’t enough for Roden’s busy schedule, she also finds the time to create specialty cakes and desserts as requested by clients.

Roden enjoys the ever-changing and fast paced environment of the food industry on the East End. As well as being able to support the local community by highlighting the bounty it provides in her seasonal menus. Choosing to live and work on the East End was an easy choice for Roden.

Check out her dessert creations at nickandtonis.com, rowdyhall.com, lafondita.net, townlinebbq.com, cochecomedor.com and honest-catering.com.