Hana Quon
Pastry Chef | Café Madeleine | Boston
September 2020
Maryland-native Hana Quon always loved to cook. But it was only after she earned degrees in English and linguistics from the University of Maryland that she took a leap of faith from academia to culinaria. Quon received her pastry certification from L’Academie de Cuisine, finding the craft a good fit for her analytical mind. She then began working at Washington, D.C.’s National Harbor Resort and Convention Center, applying her newfound skills to pastry production at a massive scale.
After a year, Quon took another chance and moved to Cape Cod to work at lauded Chef Philippe Rispoli’s PB Bistro & Boulangerie in Wellfleet. It was there she met and learned classic French technique under the mentorship Pastry Chef Frédéric Robert, a James Beard Award winner and former partner to famed restaurateur Alain Ducasse. During this time, Quon spent consecutive winters (off-seasons) mastering pastry in France, first at École Bellouet in Paris under MOF Jean-Michel Perruchon and then at Sébastien Bouillet’s pâtisserie in Lyon. With her chops established, Quon moved to Boston, eager to showcase the exquisite joys of French pȃtisserie.
At Cafe Madeleine in Boston’s South End, Quon practices the centuries old trade of a pâtissier, combining rigorous and scientific standards with an artistic and whimsical soulfulness. Her passions include perfecting the art of viennoiserie, highlighting New England’s seasonal produce, and educating a wider audience about French pastry.
