Photo essay: Hilary Myers pastry chef

Taste Fragrance &Time,

Photos by Jie Deng Text by Richard L. Gaw

On any day of the week, the threeperson staff in the pastry department space, they blend, emulsify, slice, dice, bake and deliver some of the most delicious desserts imaginable, that break the mold on tradition and create new horizons for what is considered delicious.

For starters, there is the vegan pumpkin pie, made with oat crust and pumpkin spiced popcorn.

There is the chocolate terrarium, made with four different chocolates, and there is the olive oil cake, made with orange blossom, brown butter and sage cream cheese. Two of the six hands responsible for creating these delectable masterpieces – as well as countless cookies, pastries and other sweets – belong to Hilary Myers of Kennett Square.

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Hilary Myers

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Born and raised on a farm on the outskirts of Unionville and Kennett Square, Myers learned baking at the waist of her grandmother Anna Myers, measurement, utensils and mixing -- and that crimping a pie practice Myers still uses today.

After studying comparative languages in college, she became the cheesemonger at The Country Butcher in Kennett Square in 2012. A year later, Myers received her big break when who was on maternity leave, and in 2014, she joined the staff at Terrain where she has remained ever since. When Robert Toland years working together as a creative team to bring Terrain’s pastries to new heights.

“The art of baking is an experiment on science – almost like magic – and I love that I can measure out the exact same ingredients every single time and it can turn out exactly the same every time,” Myers said.

“It gives me the control to measure every recipe out to the gram. I love the feeling of being able to create a masterpiece on my own, and then delivering it.”

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Hilary Myers

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In addition to her work as a pastry chef at Terrain, Myers is pursuing a degree in digital innovation in marketing at the Fox School of Business at Temple. It’s part of a dovetail of skill sets that will combine her talents as a pastry chef and as a photographer into a new career in digital food marketing -- which she would like to transfer to print and on-line magazines, cookbooks and recipe testing.

“Both pastry and photography are perfect combinations of art and science,” she said. “Each depends on numerical accuracy and and ultimately, how it makes you feel. For me, digital storytelling in marketing is a natural continuation of striking that balance. I can’t wait to see where it takes me!”

To learn more about the work of Hilary Myers, visit her on Instagram at hilarymyersbakes, or on her website: www.hilarymyersphotography.com.