James Beard Award winner
Mai Nguyen
- Discipline
- James Beard Award winner
Made By record
Awards & recognition
1 total
verified records
i. Biography
Mai Nguyen’s work is pastry-led, but the discipline behind it sits wider than the final plate. A B.Sc. In Food & Nutr. Gives that work an academic footing, while early baking in Michigan anchors it in practice. In her hands, pastry is treated as a technical field: measured, adaptable, and built for continual revision. As she says, “When we open up new concepts, it's always a different concept.”
Coming Up
Teaching and production run in parallel in Mai Nguyen’s current roles. As instructor of Get Cooking Canada and corporate pastry chef of COJE restaurants, she moves between explanation and execution, translating pastry methods into language others can use while still building the work itself. That combination asks for clarity in the classroom and discipline in the kitchen, with each new project requiring the same level of control over texture, structure, and presentation.
Where They Are Now
Research sits at the center of Mai Nguyen’s pastry work at COJE Management Group in Boston and at COJE restaurants. Her own description of the process is direct: “I like to research the culture, dive in, and see how I can do something unique, something that hasn't been done before, something eye-catching.” That sequence matters. It places study before execution, so the finished dessert carries more than surface appeal; it reflects a method built on reference, adaptation, and deliberate decision-making. Each concept at COJE Management Group in Boston and at COJE restaurants asks for a different reading of pastry, and Mai Nguyen responds by building from detail rather than formula. The result is work that aims for originality without losing balance, drawing on her academic background and field experience while staying open to another angle when a menu changes. Precision and imagination are both in play, but technique remains the base.
In Their Words “I like to research the culture, dive in, and see how I can do something unique, something that hasn't been done before, something eye-catching.” “When we open up new concepts, it's always a different concept.”
Career - Instructor — Get Cooking Canada - Corporate pastry chef — COJE restaurants, Boston
Recognition
Mai Nguyen has received Boston Common Magazine — Best Pastry Chef of Boston.
FAQ What is Mai Nguyen's current role? As of 2026, Mai Nguyen is Corporate pastry chef. What recognition has Mai Nguyen received? Best Pastry Chef of Boston. What is Mai Nguyen known for? Pastry.
