On one hand, the throes of a global pandemic is a strange time to focus on awards.

On the other, what better time to celebrate happy moments? And we’ve got a big one to share: Pastry Chef Lena Sareini has just been featured in the Food & Wine annual Best New Chefs issue alongside some other great national talent.

From article: ‘I know a lot of times when people go out for dessert, it’s just an indulgence,” she says. Some might take just one or two bites before being overwhelmed with sugar. “I want to see empty plates come back.” To do this, Sareini, the pastry chef at Detroit’s Selden Standard, works savory elements—often unexpected ones—into each of her recipes.

If you’d like to take up Lena’s clean plate challenge, you can make (and eat) her Labneh Panna Cotta.

Anyhow, it’s hard for us to think of Lena as “new” since she’ll have been a part of our family for five years at the end of May, but it’s not hard for us to think of her as the best because, well, she is. Congrats to a great pastry chef and an even better person on another well-earned honor. Cheers (from six feet away) to Lena!