Summer 2026

198 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 6 M olly Coen is, as she puts it, a girly girl; a woman who likes fashion and makeup and style and beauty. But she’s also a pastry chef, with emphasis on the word pastry.That emphasis is important. In the kitchen, Coen, a Colorado native and graduate of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University, cares—most of all—about pastry (and specifically, plated pastry). Cakes can be pretty, but they’re real- ly no great thrill for her. Running a bread program takes up too much space in the kitchen, although she does love making sourdough biscuits and crois- sants (more on that later). But a plated pastry? That’s her jam. Coen joined Carmel Valley Ranch in September 2025, after a stint as the pastry chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver. But as she settled in to her new role at Carmel Valley Ranch, where she not only produces a few hundred chocolate chip cookies a week and handles all of the pastry catering (in addition to pro- ducing plated desserts five nights a week for the restaurant), she compet- ed on Food Network’s “Ultimate Baking Championship” TV show with “Cake Boss” Duff Goldman as a judge. The results were announced on May 4—as in, “May the Fourth be With You.” The Force was with her. She won the $50,000 finale, with a theme of “Hard Rock After Party.”The trio she made included a blackout entremet made with dark chocolate stout cake, black cocoa, coffee, white chocolate mousse, and molten white chocolate crémeux, alongside a yuzu bonbon and a cigar-shaped cake as a playful nod. This interview took place on May 4, before the finale, and has been edited for length and clarity. Q: You grew up baking, most importantly with your grandmother. Why is that important? A: My dad’s side lived together for a while, so my grandma would take us to the store, find a recipe, and we’d make it together. My love for cook- ing and baking really started with her. The big thing in our family is biscuits and gravy—she made hers with yeast, which is not traditional at all, but they tasted incredible. Really bready, with deep yeast flavor.We just called them grandma biscuits. Q: Does she know how big a deal you’ve become? A: She’s been watching every single week. She’s getting older, so I most- ly get a text—a “I am so proud of you and I love you”— and a photo of her watching the show at her retirement home with all the people who live there. I’ve got my own fan club there. Q: How did you land on pas- try specifically? A: Honestly? I liked it because it was pretty. I’ve always been into clothes and shoes and beauty. I was a very girly girl growing up, and I saw pastry as the jewel of culinary. You could eat the pretty stuff too. My original goal was cake decorating. Shows like “Ace of Cakes” and “Cake Boss” were huge for me. What really lit it up for me was plated desserts—taking different com- ponents, building them into something, combining ice cream and textures and flavors all on one plate. Q: Your brother wanted to be a chef, so how does he factor into your arc? A: He was three years older and went to tour Johnson &Wales, came home excited, and then decided it wasn’t for him. My mom had bought him all these cooking tools and gadgets, and suddenly they were just sit- ting around the house. I started playing with them. Q: You came to Carmel Valley Ranch last September. How has the transition been? A: Completely different from anything before. I was at an urban hotel in Denver, a skyscraper property. Now I’m on a 500-acre resort where everything I could need is a four-minute golf cart ride away: honey, olive oil, florals, fruits, vegetables. It’s a little ridiculous in the best way. Q: Since you arrived, you’ve had a lot of attention for an apple dessert you crafted.Walk us through it. A: When I got here in the fall and saw the apple trees, I thought, why A Chef Who Dreams in Pastry Mol ly Coen Wins—at Carmel Val ley Ranch and on Food TV Networ k B Y MARY DUAN Now I’m on a 500-acre resort where everything I could need is a four- minute golf cart ride away: honey, olive oil, florals, fruits, vegetables. It’s a little ridiculous in the best way.