bake - January 2016 - 8

personality

Nora Antene
Her Background
Nora Antene grew up on Chicago's west side as part of a large
"foodie" family (she is the third oldest among nine children, including seven girls) and graduated with a culinary degree from
Kendall College, after which she worked in both savory and
sweet roles in Chicago restaurants starting in fall of 2009. After
moving to Portland in 2010, Antene staged at Le Pigeon under
two-time James Beard Award winning chef Gabriel Rucker,
who invited her to join the team at his just-opened Little Bird

PHOTO: CARLY DIAZ

Bistro. Antene worked at Little Bird where she was mentored

Le Pigeon's staff loves to test out different ﬂavors and textures

by pastry chef Lauren Fortgang for 18 months until becoming

by incorporating bread in desserts. Orange spiced monkey

lead pastry chef.

bread is one example of an extremely popular dessert item, or
potato rolls for ice cream sandwiches. "There are a lot of arti-

In 2013, Rucker tapped Antene to head the pastry program of

san breads coming out now. For us, it is fun to play with."

Le Pigeon, where she traded in Little Bird's signature macaroons for Le Pigeon's iconic foie gras proﬁteroles while staying

Outside of Work

within the Rucker restaurant family she loves. As executive pas-

In her free time, Antene is pastry chef of Limited Company, an

try chef of Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon, Antene challenges

intimate multi-course pop-up dinner series started by her boy-

the notions of classic French cuisine by juxtaposing uniquely

friend and Le Pigeon Chef de Cuisine, Andrew Mace.

prepared ingredients in unparalleled, clever execution. Antene
has been featured as one of The Next Top Chefs in Portland.

Le Pigeon released its ﬁrst cookbook, Le Pigeon: Cooking at the
Dirty Bird (Ten Speed Press), in September 2013. Forwarded by

Bread for Dessert

Chef Tom Colicchio, the cookbook is a serious yet playful col-

Le Pigeon's pastry department experiments most often in the

lection of 150 recipes celebrating Rucker's high-low extremes

tasting menu, where they toy with ingredients like puffed rice

in cooking, combining the wild and the reﬁned in a unique and

and different types of ﬂour, such as buckwheat ﬂour to make

progressive style, receiving national acclaim from media and

graham crackers. Alternative ﬂours are popular right now.

chefs alike.

FAVORITE INGREDIENTS

PHOTO: DAVID REAMER

Local marionberries and strawberries play an influential role from May through September
during farmer's market season. As fall and winter arrive, dessert flavors shift to butternut
squash and other savory options. Yet two never change: their classic vanilla crème brûlée and
the quintessential Le Pigeon foie gras profiteroles. The latter is made with a frozen mousse
that goes inside a pâte à choux pastry shell. "It's fun and decadent," Antene says. "Eight
years ago, this dessert was pretty avant-garde, but people aren't shocked by it anymore."
Antene feels as though she is young enough that she continues to develop her own signature
style and prefers desserts that are not too heavy. "My favorite ingredients to work with
change all the time," she says. "I love desserts like pineapple pie with caraway ice cream."

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