Chef Biography
Keegan Gerhard was born in December of 1960 in Bad Homberg vor der Hohe, Germany. His education was in finance, and after graduating from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, he found himself running a French bistro in San Diego. He trained as a cyclist, but pursued a career in the culinary arts simply to have a mobile source of income that would allow him to train for the Olympics anywhere. The day he fired his pastry chef and took over, he discovered his true passion.
He flew to Chicago to apprentice under Great Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer at the French Pastry School, and then positions with Charlie Trotter, Waldorf Astoria, Dean and DeLuca, and the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. Great Chefs caught up with him in 2001 at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, where they were producing the Great Chefs of America television series. Chef Gerhard prepared Roasted Apples with Warm Apple Soup (episode #133) and Chocolate Beignets with a Capuccino Milk Shake (episode #143).
He then went on to become the Executive Pastry Chef at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans, before Elizabeth Blau and Great Chef Grant MacPherson brought him out for the opening of the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas. It was at the World Pastry Cup competition in Lyon, France, that he met pastry chef and future soul mate, Lisa Bailey from Brazoria, Texas.
Chef Gerhard, after spending time in New Orleans, sometimes compares his pastries to Jazz music: 70 percent is based on enduring principles or the foundation of style, the great musicians give you the 30 percent, which is a surprise.
Chef Keegan has been named one of the nation’s top 10 pastry chefs, participated in the World Pastry Team Championships and appeared on CNN and the Food Network as well as Great Chefs Television.
In 2008 they opened D Bar Desserts in Denver, Colorado. In September of 2014, D Bar will move a block down the street and reopen as D Bar Restaurant.
Recipes
Roasted Apples with Warm Apple Soup, Apple Granite, and Creme Fraiche Sorbet ►
Serving: 4 Print Roasted Apples with Warm Apple Soup, Apple Granite, and Creme Fraiche Sorbet ► By Great Chefs August 18, 2014 This is a tour de force with apples. It is astounding how many textures and tastes Chef Gerhard develops using apples and little else. The apple granite and dried apples may be made […]
Chocolate Beignets With a Cappuccino Milkshake ►
Serving: 6-8 Print Chocolate Beignets With a Cappuccino Milkshake ► By Great Chefs August 18, 2014 Chocolate lovers will delight in this ultra-sinful dessert. Warm chocolate ganache awaits inside each beignet; candied hazelnuts add dimension and texture. A cappuccino milkshake is the finishing touch. Ingredients Chocolate Ganache Extra-Bittersweet Chocolate – 4-1/2 pounds, chopped Heavy Cream […]
Restaurant Information
Phone : 303-861-4710
Address : 494 E 19th Ave Denver, CO 80203