Kyra Farkas
Oriole | Chicago
SEPTEMBER 2024
By the time she was in high school, Kyra Farkas knew she didn’t want to work a desk job for the rest of her life. She wanted to do something more creative. As a result, Farkas found herself in the kitchen more and more, whipping up baked goods for her friends and family. During her junior year of high school, she got a baking job at Disney World, where she learned to bake cakes and bread in a massive production kitchen, moved around to different outlets, and built a foundation for a career in pastry before enrolling in culinary school. At Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, Farkas pursued a Bachelor's degree in Baking and Pastry Arts and went to France for six months through their study abroad program. In Yssingeaux, she immersed herself in the culture while learning the basics of French pastry.
In 2020, Farkas moved out to Los Angeles and started working at Tartine Bakery under Rising Stars alum Chad Robertson. After eight months in California, she left and relocated to Chicago to work for Rising Stars alum Anna Posey at Elske, where she gained fine-dining pastry experience in a supportive environment over the next year. In search of a higher rung on the ladder, Farkas joined the team at Rising Stars alum Curtis Duffy’s Ever. In 2023, she was hired as a chef de partie at Oriole. At Rising Stars alum Noah Sandoval’s West Loop restaurant, Farkas has risen to executive pastry chef. From the canelés representing her time in France to palate-cleansing sorbets inspired by the lemon trees and rosemary bushes that used to grow in her childhood backyard, Farkas uses her refined technique and culinary experience to infuse dishes with a deeply personal narrative while staying true to Oriole’s progressive, tasting-menu format and New American flavors.
