A ten-year culinary friendship founded on a common passion for their work and a shared sensibility about food persuaded Excecutive Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti to join chef Mark Franz in opening Farallon.
Luchetti's philosophy about desserts fits perfectly with Franz's food, believing that desserts should taste wonderful and at the same time, require absolutely nothing of the diner. "It's the end of the day and the end of dinner," she says, "Nobody wants to work or deal with a contrived presentation. There should be a wide range of choices from the desserts that please any sweet-tooth to a selection of small sweet endings, just a bite that people can enjoy with coffee. Desserts should be emotionally fulfilling." Luchetti has created a dessert menu true to her philosophy.Recently, Luchetti, who is a sociology graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio and The New York Restaurant School, has made teaching a central part of her professional life. "It allows me to share the passion and discipline that have drawn me to pastries," she explains. In addition to working at Stars where she met Franz, Luchetti opened and ran StarBake, earned three nominations from the prestigious James Beard Foundation, and has appeared widely on television. Her recipes and tips on pastries and desserts often appear in national magazines.