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Country Velador
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Coming Up
Pastry work across Phoenix, Chicago, and Los Angeles gave Country Velador the practical range that later showed up in shop ownership. Training at Arizona State University, then working as a restaurant worker in those three cities, built a foundation in pace, repetition, and kitchen discipline. That background runs through her current roles as pastry chef of Cowboy Ciao and owner of Super Chunk Sweets and Treats (since 2014), where the same skill set supports both restaurant dessert and retail production.
Where They Are Now
Ownership at Super Chunk Sweets and Treats in Scottsdale put Country Velador’s pastry work into a format she and her husband Sergio opened in 2014. The shop lets her apply restaurant training in a direct-to-customer setting, with daily production replacing the narrower frame of a single dessert menu. It is still pastry work first: texture, consistency, and service timing, now scaled to a business she runs in the city.
Signature
Butter Mochi with lime nougatine and orange blossom ice cream, along with Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies, sit at the center of Country’s output. The Butter Mochi, seen at Cowboy Ciao, shows the kind of dessert construction that depends on contrast: richness checked by citrus, density lifted by floral ice cream. The cookies point to a more direct register, but still within the same pastry vocabulary of control, balance, and flavor clarity.
Honors
2014 marks the opening of Super Chunk Sweets and Treats in Scottsdale, the business Country Velador and Sergio launched together. That date matters as a career shift: years in pastry kitchens turned into ownership, with her name attached not only to desserts but to the shop itself. The Butter Mochi with lime nougatine and orange blossom ice cream at Cowboy Ciao is the other fixed point, a featured dessert that places her work in a recognized restaurant context.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Country
What is Country Velador's current role?
As of 2026, Country Velador is Owner.
Where did Country Velador train or study?
Country Velador trained at Arizona State University.
