Oleana

Maura Kilpatrick - Pastry Chef

After receiving a graduate certificate in baking at the California Culinary Academy, Maura Kilpatrick moved back to her hometown of Boston and worked with some of the city's top chefs including Lydia Shire, Moncef Medeb, Rene Michelena, and Ana Sortun.

In 1999, Kilpatrick opened two highly acclaimed and successful Boston-area bakeries: Hi-Rise Bread Company and Hi-Rise Pie Company, where some of her recipes are still in use. In 2001, she and Sortun reunited to develop the concept for the much-anticipated Oleana Restaurant; that's when Kilpatrick fell in love with the strikingly unusual flavors and spices for which she is known. Her desserts boast bold flavors, originality, and most of all, heart.

"Nothing is on a plate by accident," she explains. Every texture, flavor, and even temperature in her desserts and pastries has been carefully thought out, tested, and retried. Her talent may lie in taking traditional Eastern Mediterranean ingredients such as orange blossoms, phyllo and rose petals and putting her own modern, Western spin on them, but her gift comes from truly caring about what she does.

Working at Oleana has demanded that she constantly try new things. "I've learned how to take chances," Kilpatrick says, how to "to try again and again." It's not the easiest path, but it's one that leads to excellence. "I'm so grateful for the excitement of stretching myself creatively," she says. And so are the critics, writers and diners who can't praise her artistry on a plate highly enough.

Not content to rest on their laurels, Kilpatrick & Sortun decided they wanted to launch a more casual venue. Three years of brainstorming later, in August of 2008, Sofra was born in Cambridge, Mass. This Middle Eastern bakery, café and retail shop offers flatbread sandwiches, mezzes, prepared foods and baked goods. It has received both local and national press; Food & Wine, Metropolitan Home and Gourmet have all featured it as a place not to miss. For Kilpatrick, who oversees the pastry program here as well as at Oleana, Sofra is literally a spicy, sugary dream come true.

Theresa Paopao - Wine Directory

Originally from Hawaii, Theresa Paopao moved east to attend graduate school at the Yale School of Drama. Eventually, deciding to keep the new coast but leave the school behind, she moved to Boston and got a job as a server. At first Paopao studied wine on her own, but then she blossomed under the more structured lessons at the Sweet Life Café in Martha's Vineyard. What started as a way to make ends meet quickly turned into a career path.

Paopao returned to Boston and joined the front of the house at The Federalist, a restaurant known for its extensive wine list. Other stints in Boston included retail sales at Best Cellars wine store and manager at the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro. In 2004, she joined the staff at Oleana to expand the wine program and manage service. Papao's first goal as wine director is to ensure that the wines complement the bold flavors of Oleana's distinctive food. She searches for small producers, buying organic and biodynamic whenever possible. Over the years she's established direct relationships with many winemakers. "It's very easy to take wine personally once you've traveled through the region and shared the wine with the person who made it," she notes.

Just as the food at Oleana changes seasonally, so do the wines. In summer, Paopao says, she'll feature more rosés, and she'll "encourage people to drink the lighter, drier styles of Sherry with the small plates from the Pret a Manger section of the menu." In winter, the list leans more towards full-bodied selections that pair well with heavier foods. Her expertise, endless curiosity, and fervent passion for what she does make choosing wines throughout the year not just work, but also a pleasure. Something else she truly enjoys? Guiding diners to a wine they'll love. "It's so important to have a conversation about wine, whether it's with me or a server or bartender because we're the ones who can steer you toward something you'll enjoy," she says.

"Seeing the light bulb go off" when she helps someone discover something new, she adds, "is one of my favorite rewards."

Cassie Kyriakides Piuma - Chef De Cuisine

Massachusetts native Cassie Kyriakides Piuma graduated with honors from Johnson & Wales University. She spent her last semester studying in Asia. While pursuing her culinary degree, she worked at Al Forno, a highly acclaimed restaurant in Providence, RI. After graduation she moved back to Boston where she worked in several notable kitchens including Sel de la Terre, Gourmet Caterers and The Butcher Shop.

After reading about Oleana in a magazine, Piuma dragged her mother through a blizzard in high heels to eat there. ("Can't we get pizza?" her poor mom begged. The answer was no.) After dinner, Piuma went home and crafted a letter to Sortun about her experience. "I just wanted to share with her how excited I was by the meal. I was mesmerized by her use of spice and her interpretation of colors and shapes."

She didn't expect the chef to get back to her, but she did – with a job offer. Piuma started at Oleana as a line cook in 2003; now she's chef de cuisine, a position in which she's given tremendous creative freedom by Chef Sortun. "I like to think that although our thoughts and creations are different," Piuma says, "we find a harmonious balance working together. We're always thinking, brainstorming, bouncing ideas off each other, working towards the next level."

Piuma strives to make smart, bold, flavor-drenched food that also has a bit of whimsy. "Something that tells a story," she explains. She calls on all her memories of food when making a dish – she collects them "like shells on a beach" – whether they come from restaurants she's worked or eaten in, cookbooks she's read or places she's traveled. When the chef de cuisine is at the stove, all of it goes onto the plate.