About Pastry Pieces

Pastry Pieces was created by Peggy Alter to share the art and secrets of professional pastry. She believes everyone, not just pastry chefs, should be able to use professional techniques and supplies. Pastry Pieces will provide quick solutions for creating desserts with professional ease.

Peggy’s interest in baking grew from a little girl’s fascination at Uncle Abe’s bakery in Chelsea, Massachusetts to professional studies at the Culinary Institute of America.

She has created many unusual pieces including cakes for the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Marlon Brando, a fifty-foot long replica of the Boulder Mall, and sugar and chocolate pieces for the International Summit of the Eight and the American Institute of Food and Wine’s Pageant of Chefs in Los Angeles.

Awards are numerous, starting with the Best of Show at the Culinary Art Salon in Denver for gingerbread work, and include ACF Gold, Bronze, and Best of Show medals, and finalist awards at the Patis France and National Dessert competitions. Television appearances include Food Network “Easter Unwrapped”.

Her love of the fine art of pastry brought her to participate in the World Pastry Forum, National Pastry Championships, Cuisines of the Sun, and Aspen Food and Wine Festival. She volunteers extensively to bring the pastry arts to people throughout the U.S.

Her own businesses include A la Carte, a trend setting restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, and Confection Art, selling decorating products including her book, ‘Modeling Chocolate Made Easy’, custom cakes, and confections. Pastry Pieces is her next step to make fabulous sugar and chocolate creations and professional pastry secrets available to everyone.

"Chef Peggy Alter is one of the leading talents in contemporary sugar work today. Her experience shows proficiency in many other areas of Patisserie and Baking including chocolate work, pastillage, plated desserts, advanced cake decorating, and show piece design. Peggy’s patience and skills are balanced by her diverse industry experience and teaching credentials; she’s capable of some of the most amazing work that I’ve seen"

Peter Edris, Dean
Western Culinary Institute
Portland, Oregon