Shannah Primiano

Coming Up

Expat Chicago gave Shannah Primiano the pastry foundation for a career shaped by precision and craft. That training shows up less as a fixed style than as control under motion: the desserts stay composed without becoming rigid. As Executive Pastry Chef of Bonhomme Hospitality Group, Primiano works in a program where structure, seasonality, and balance carry the weight.

Where They Are Now

At Bonhomme Hospitality Group in Chicago, the pastry program reflects a Modern French approach built on season and plated form. Shannah Primiano’s work moves through familiar autumn markers—apples baked with spice and crumble, pumpkin set against vanilla Chantilly, cranberries candied for brightness—while keeping the finish measured enough to avoid heaviness. The result is polished, but not overworked; clear, but not spare. At Bonhomme Bakery in 2025, Swedish Apple Pie paired spiced roasted apples with a crumble cookie topping, using texture to carry the dessert’s autumn profile. In the same year, Tarte à la Citrouille brought pumpkin tart together with vanilla Chantilly, candied cranberries, and fall spices, moving from softness to lift in a single plate.

Signature

Shannah Primiano’s signature dishes include Playa, Swedish Apple Pie, and Basque Cheesecake. Playa shows how conservas, seaweed, and a wood-fire oven can be translated into dessert; Swedish Apple Pie emphasizes spice and crunch; Basque Cheesecake points to richness handled with restraint.

In Their Words “It is one of the desserts that, to me, most signifies what Porto is in regard to our dessert program as it utilizes many of the restaurant’s concepts, including conservas, seaweed and our wood-fire oven.” “I wanted to have a dessert that pushes the boundaries of what a typical dessert typically contains but have it balanced in story, composition, flavors and textures.”