Sébastien Canonne

Co-founder of the French Pastry School and one of the leading representatives of French pastry in the U.S.

This Chicago-based French pastry chef’s career is full of accolades. It took a big leap in 1995 when he founded, alongside Jacquy Pfeiffer, the prestigious French Pastry School. Since then, he has obtained such prominent titles as the MOF, the Pastry Chef of the Year in the United States, or the title of Knight in the Order of Academic Palms, awarded by the French government.

In 2018, he began exploring the world of fungi-based protein. He joined the leadership team at Nature’s Fynd, a startup and food tech company committed  to improving our food system. A few years later, Canonne partnered with Bridor to form Boulangerie Cuisinée with the intent to create healthier breads with new tastes, textures and flavor combinations. More recently, Canonne joined with two renowned scientists, Doctors Monica Bathia and Baljit Ghotra, and co-founded EQUII, a food tech company and fermented grain platform that is repurposing starch  in grain and manufacturing a complete plant-based.

Bio Highlights

1995 – Taittinger Champagne Pastry Chef of the Year in America. Opens the French Pastry School

1996 – Winner of the United States National Pastry Cup

1997 – Silver medal with the US Team at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie in Lyon

2000 – Winner of the National Pastry Championship in Beaver Creek, Colorado

2000 – Member of the Académie Culinaire de France

2004 – Awarded with the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France

2004 – Pastry Chef of the Year at the World Pastry Forum in Las Vegas

2009 – Named Chevalier de l’Ordre Mondial de l’Académie Culinaire de France

2012 – Named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the French Government

2013 – Medal of the Centennial Honor by the Académie Culinaire de France