Gingerbread Pass

Audrey Billups is the Executive Pastry Chef at Mohonk Mountain House and has more than 15 years of experience in baking and pastry operations.  Before returning to Mohonk in January 2017, Billups served as the pastry chef at Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, New York where she artfully prepared bread, breakfast pastries, desserts, ice cream, sorbets, and mignardise for the seasonal restaurant. Prior to her role at Topping Rose House, Billups was the pastry sous chef at Ai Fiori, a one Michelin-starred and New York Times three-star restaurant and Marea, a two Michelin-starred and New York Times three-star restaurant, in New York City. Early in her career, Billups served as an assistant pastry chef at Mohonk Mountain House before moving to California to work as the pastry chef de partie at Addison at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego.

Patrice Huart, Mohonk Mountain House’s Food and Beverage Director, brings over four decades of culinary and hospitality expertise to the judging panel. In his 26 years of dedicated service at Mohonk, Patrice has overseen dining operations for a resort hosting hundreds of guests daily, leading a team of up to 180 staff members. His impressive career path to Mohonk included the management of fine dining establishments recognized by Zagat and Relais Gourmand and leadership roles at prestigious venues including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

While studying marketing in college, Amber of SweetAmbs Cookies realized that her true passion was decorating cakes and cookies – a profession where she could combine her artistic skills with her love for baking. She went on to obtain a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts from The Culinary Institute of America and now entertains millions of viewers with her mesmerizing cookie decorating videos tutorials. Amber has authored two books, Cookie Art and Cookie Canvas, and founded the Cookie Art Club where she teaches others to create their own edible works of art.

Chitra Agrawal is the Founder & CEO of Brooklyn Delhi, an Indian-American food brand inspired by her heritage. Chitra started Brooklyn Delhi to expand the conversation around South Asian food and culture in America. She has specialized in teaching, serving and writing about vegetarian food rooted in her family’s recipes from India for over a decade. Chitra is the author of Vibrant India: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Brooklyn (Penguin, 2017).  Her work has been featured in dozens of publications including the New York Times, Saveur, Food & Wine, and beyond.

Josiah Brown, or the New York Sherpa as he is called in the tourism industry, is the President/CEO of Famous Destination Marketing. He is the founder of the New York’s Best Experiences Mobile Visitor Center brand and tour and the founder/editor of the New York’s Best Experiences Travel Guide. Josiah resides with his family in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He loves sushi, candy and everything travel.