Pastry Chef

Erin Reed

Discipline: Pastry Chef
Based in: Washington DC, Washington DC, United States
Venue: Blue Duck Tavern · Restaurant

i. Biography

Pastry asks for timing, restraint, and repeatable control. Erin Reed works in that register: shaping desserts with steady discipline, calibrated service timing, and the kind of finish that reads clean on the plate. At Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC, Reed’s work sits inside a kitchen rhythm where pastry has to hold its own without losing precision.

Coming Up

Early pastry work is often a lesson in repetition, and Erin Reed’s path reflects that kind of training. Reed began as Pastry Cook at the Penrose Room, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where consistency and polish would have been part of the daily standard. The next steps — Pastry Chef at Buddakan in Philadelphia, then Pastry Chef at DBGB — mark the usual test of a pastry career: moving from station work to broader responsibility without losing control of timing, texture, and plate discipline. That sequence brought Reed to Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC, where the same requirements remain in play, only at a higher tempo. Each kitchen leaves a different mark on pastry practice: service pace, standards, pressure, and the expectation that a dessert arrives as designed. Reed’s progression points to a chef whose work has been shaped by those demands, with technique and restraint doing the heavy lifting. Beyond the restaurant, Reed serves as Chef Instructor of IUP Academy of Culinary Arts, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Experience Designer of Butterfield & Robinson. Those roles extend pastry thinking into instruction and guest-facing design, where the same habits of precision and sequencing have to be translated into teaching and experience. It is a broader use of kitchen discipline, applied to how people learn, taste, and remember.

Where They Are Now

Reed’s current post is Pastry Chef at Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC. In that setting, the work depends on texture, timing, and presentation landing together with consistency. It is a role that rewards control first and finesse second, and Reed’s path fits that brief.

Career - Chef Instructor — IUP Academy of Culinary Arts, Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Experience Designer — Butterfield & Robinson - Pastry Cook — the Penrose Room, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado - Pastry Chef — Buddakan, Philadelphia - Pastry Chef — DBGB - Pastry Chef — Blue Duck Tavern, Washington, DC

Signature

Erin Reed is a Pastry Chef.

FAQ What is Erin Reed's current role? As of 2026, Erin Reed is Pastry Chef. Where did Erin Reed work before? Erin Reed's earlier career included the Penrose Room, The Broadmoor, Buddakan, and DBGB. What recognition has Erin Reed received? ACF Northeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year (2024).