Swift's Attic Has A New Pastry Chef

Pastry chef Derrick Flynn, formerly of La Condesa, has stepped in to fill the role vacated by Callie Speer at Swift's Attic. Speer left Swift's and the Chameleon Group, which also operates Wu Chow, Delish Bakery, and a to-be-named new concept slated for Lamar Central, for Geraldine's at the Hotel Van Zandt in late 2015.

Flynn's desserts incorporate locally sourced ingredients like herbs from Hausbar Farms and have an almost graphic quality, with discrete layers and arresting visual features. There are also unusual and hard-to-find components like ube (purple yam) and black sesame.

These modernist-leaning concoctions stand in contrast to Speer's reign at Swift's, which struck a playfully nostalgic tone with desserts like the Popcorn and a Movie (salted caramel gelato dotted with movie candy) and plays on s'mores and the like. But Flynn's aesthetic pivot away from childhood sweets into something a bit more earthy and refined still jibes with Swift's cheeky, upscale approach to classic American food.

[Photo: Swift's Attic/Facebook]