Amanda Wildermuth
Amanda Wildermuth’s deep affection for our beloved state can only be eclipsed by her passion for and love of creating award-winning pastries. She loves Vermont and she loves dessert. This talented pastry chef was recently nominated as a semifinalist for the esteemed James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef awards in the category of outstanding pastries and baking. Her surprise reaction when her boss, Cara Tobin, co-owner of Burlington’s Honey Road, shared the news speaks exactly to who she is—a humble and talented, creative young woman who loves flavor and science. She creates scrumptious pastries and luscious desserts for Honey Road restaurant and for their newly opened café, The Grey Jay.
Her unusual combinations of ingredients that combine Vermont’s seasonal fruits, honeys, jams, and other Vermont specialty products with Middle Eastern spices make her creations stand out. One of her many favored desserts is a layer cake with almond, sesame, and peach. Amanda loves peaches. But her all-time favorite is buttermilk panna cotta with preserved lemon, olive oil, and Meyer lemon granita. She loves all desserts and could devour a chocolate and cardamom–glazed donut every day. A seasonal Passion Fruit Flan made with local goat milk, pomegranates, and olive oil is also high on her list.
Pastries were not always her lifelong dream. Growing up in Essex, Vermont, Amanda graduated from the University of Vermont as a science major. Her then-dream-career path was to become a research scientist. When the reality of that path hit, her interests shifted to baking, something that would offer her the opportunity to play with flavor but also to utilize the technical skills she gained in college. Vermont’s New England Culinary Institute (NECI) program was her next stop, and she graduated with a concentration in baking and pastry arts. For Amanda, baking combines her love of flavors with her science background.
Creating desserts appeals to Amanda because a baker needs to follow the recipe closely. She has been fortunate in her culinary path post–NECI, apprenticing and working in some of Burlington’s finest restaurants. She interned at Hen of the Wood, plating and prepping for the pastry chef. She spent a few years at Monarch & the Milkweed before she landed at Honey Road. Amanda jumped at the opportunity have a larger role in making creative desserts and helping the restaurant execute their culinary vision.
Amanda loves the challenge of Vermont winters. She finds joy in taking all Vermont’s special ingredients, many that have been preserved since summer, to utilize during winter’s barren produce landscape. Pomykala Farm, a multigenerational farm in the Champlain Islands, grows luscious peaches—Amanda’s favorite fruit—and she preserves a profusion of the stone fruit for winter baking.
She appreciates the amazing team she works with at Honey Road, giving them well-deserved credit for her success. And when she’s not baking or creating unique, flavorful desserts, you will find her out bird-watching. With her passion for the Green Mountain State, Amanda Wildermuth is sure to stick around.
