Okay, Yigit Pura is my new boyfriend. Oops i mean my new obsession ahaha. He won Top Chef: Just Desserts (season 1) on Bravo.
Growing up in Turkey, Yigit Pura was surrounded by the idea that the kitchen
wasn’t a place for men. Yigit began his culinary training at the age of
four in Ankara, Turkey while helping his mom make spoonfuls of dark caramel.
When his family moved to California, they encouraged him to attend business
school, rather then pursue his culinary dreams.
His official culinary training began at the age of 20 in San Francisco,
working in some of the top kitchens. He then moved to New York City, where he
landed a position at Le Cirque 2000, and moved shortly after to The Four
Seasons Hotel.
Yigit then landed what he would call his "golden
step," as the Pastry Sous Chef at Daniel, under Chef Daniel Boulud, where
after working for two and a half years, he was promoted to Executive Pastry for
Daniel Boulud in Las Vegas. He has since returned to San Francisco working for
Taste Catering and Event Planning.
Yigit relates his philosophy on baking to Buddhism – "Enlightened
desserts lie between the two extremes. You have to respect the history
and heritage of food, while still feeling inspired to re-create things
everyday."
If he could be re-incarnated as one thing in his next life time, it would be
Jamaican Lilikoi (Passion Fruit), or a green cardamom pod.
Yigit was crowned the winner and fan favorite on the premiere season of
BRAVO’s “Top Chef Just Desserts” – a spin-off of the popular Emmy-nominated and
James Beard Award-winning “Top Chef.” Since winning, Yigit has been featured in
Food & Wine magazine, People magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Time Out
Istanbul, OUT magazine, as well as in numerous national and international
newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs. In April, Advocate magazine named
Yigit one of the “Top 40 Under 40” in their annual list of exceptional LGBT.
Most recently, Yigit was featured as one of Out Magazine’s “Out 100,” which
recognizes influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and
community allies.
Yigit has travelled extensively throughout the United States participating
in various culinary events and classes. In 2011, Yigit was twice featured as
the celebrity chef for President Obama was also featured as a Gala Chef at the
2011 James Beard Foundation Awards in New York and showcased at the world
famous Annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival. In May, Yigit was a
presenter at the 2011 GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco.
Yigit was Celebrity
Grand Marshal at the 2011 San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade joining
Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis and Chaz Bono. He recently
wrapped filming on a seasonal mini-series with the Cooking Channel called
“Double Ovens.”
Yigit continues to be an advocate for human rights and for those who are
underserved, using his voice to raise money for non-profit organizations around
the nation, including Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, Meals On
Wheels, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Project Open Hand and ASPCA. He has
received recognition and awards from the city of San Francisco, as well as the
California Senate, for his efforts.
This fall, Yigit will be opening Tout Sweet Patisserie, a high-end pastry
shop located in San Francisco’s Union Square. Tout Sweet will be a fresh new
concept marrying traditional American flavors with extensive French technique,
while infusing a young and fresh perspective. Yigit is planning on expanding
Tout Sweet nationally, as well as into China and Japan. *Yigitttttttttt, Indonesia kapannn?
Yigit is currently writing a cookbook with Chronicle Books titled “Sweet
Alchemy”, due out September 2013.
