Kelly Patkus
Associate Professor
JWU Faculty Since 2012
Kelly Patkus ’07 has won a number of silver and gold medals in several ACF sanctioned pastry competitions and currently holds the ACF distinction of Certified Executive Pastry Chef. The North Carolina State business graduate worked for several years for the American Heart Association. She then followed her passion for pastry and attended JWU Charlotte where she earned an associate degree in baking & pastry arts as a Garnish Your Degree student. Patkus left Charlotte to work at The Cloister Sea Island Resort in Georgia, a five-star diamond property, then moved to Texas where she was the Executive Pastry Chef at the Fort Worth Club.
She became a faculty member on the Charlotte Campus in 2012. In 2015, she was selected for the coveted Legacy Award from the Les Dames d’Escoffier where she spent a week working on a sustainable farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. In 2016 Patkus finished her Master of Science in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. She is currently a faculty advisor at The Coop school garden and serves on the Campus Sustainability Council.
Education
- M.S., Sustainable Food Systems, Green Mountain College
- B.S., Business Management, North Carolina State University
- A.A.S., Baking & Pastry Arts, Johnson & Wales University
Teaching Interests
Baking and Pastry Foundations
Modern Plated Desserts
Boutique Style Pastries
Frozen Desserts
Food Sustainability
Leadership
Courses
- BPA1720 Plated Desserts
- BPA1701 Foundations of Baking & Pastry
Professional Affiliations
Piedmont Culinary Guild, Chair, Education Committee
American Culinary Federation, Member
Honors And Awards
- Les Dames d'Escoffier, 2015 Legacy Award Winner - Farm to Table Experience.