Ciril Hitz received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he majored in Industrial Design with a concentration in Ceramics. Upon graduation, he returned to his native Switzerland and completed a three-year apprenticeship as a pastry chef and chocolatier. He returned to the United States in 1994 and held several positions within the pastry industry before joining the faculty at Johnson & Wales in 1997. Hitz has been recognized with numerous awards and accomplishments, both in the industry and as a faculty member at Johnson & Wales. In 2007 and 2008, he was selected as a Top Ten Pastry Chef in America by Pastry Art & Design magazine. In 2010, he was named to Dessert Professional's annual list of the Top Ten Bread Bakers in America. Hitz has been a guest instructor/expert at many national and international culinary events. He served as the head judge at the 2006 National Bread and Pastry Team Championship in Atlantic City, and in 2004 he was a competitor at the same event where his two-person team won 1st place overall; he also swept all three of the individual bread awards. He is also a three-time winner of the Grand Prize for Buffet Presentation at the NY Food Show. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Board of the Bread Bakers Guild of America. Hitz' work has been featured on the NBC Today Show as well as The Food Network, including “The Best Bread in the World,” a feature documentary covering the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie competition in Paris, France, and “Challenge: America’s Bread Battle,” a feature highlighting the 2004 National Bread and Pastry Team Championship. He is the author of numerous magazine articles and is the producer of two DVD series, Bread Art and Better Bread. His first book, Baking Artisan Bread, was released in 2008.
Hitz has been the recipient of the 2003 Baking & Pastry Service Award, the 2001 Les Amis d’Escoffier Society Award, and the 2000 Publishing & Research Award.