Anna Bolz
Per Se | New York
February 2017
Anna Bolz’s progression of desserts at Per Se is loaded with balance and rhythm born, in part, from her intended career path, music. While earning a degree in musicology at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Bolz spent her non-music-focused hours working at Hart’s Teas and Tarts. When the chef quit just before the Christmas holiday, Bolz jumped in to help. That experience changed her life. While Bolz still completed her music degree, that time spent in the tea room kitchen made her realize that she had more fun cooking than she did sequestered away in a practice room. Although she was born and raised in small town Iowa, and is deeply rooted in community and the stories behind meals shared by friends and families, she wanted something bigger.
On that note, Bolz headed to New York City to attend the International Culinary Center, after which she sprinted through the kitchens of Porterhouse and Jean Georges. In 2009, Bolz joined the pastry team at Per Se under Rising Stars alum Elwyn Boyles, who helped mold her into the perfectionist she is today. Working closely with Boyles and Chef de Cuisine Eli Kaimeh, Bolz leads a pastry team of eight, adhering to the strict standards of excellence indicative of Chef Thomas Keller’s restaurant group. Her whimsical additions to the menu—dishes with titles like Happy Feet and Tequila Sunrise—add a playfulness to the high-styled finesse of the multi-course tasting, and reinforces a bit of advice she’s stuck to since the beginning of her culinary career: Never be afraid to change your mind.
