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Pflueger honored by Food & Wine

Lynette Pflueger, a Spokane native and the former pastry chef at Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie, was one of 50 people considered for the title of People’s Best New Pastry Chef in a Food & Wine magazine competition.

Pflueger was featured on the magazine’s website last week. Reader votes determined the winner and voting closed Monday. Food & Wine editors have named the country’s best new chef for 25 years and let readers crown a top pastry chef this year.

The announcement was planned for Tuesday. Find out how she did on the Too Many Cooks blog on the Spokesman-Review’s website, www.spokesman.com/ blogs/too-many-cooks.

Pflueger grew up in Spokane and went to Washington State University for three years before deciding to go to culinary school at the Art Institute of Santa Monica, graduating in 2006. She worked in Florida and Connecticut before returning to Spokane to work for Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie from July 2009 to February 2011.

Pflueger wanted more fine dining experience with a chef honored by James Beard and Michelin, and now works at Chef Mavro in Honolulu, which has been named one of the top 40 restaurants in the country.

Coffee Unites Us

A set of photos taken by Revel 77 Coffee barista Kaiti Blom has made her a finalist in a Barista Guild of America’s contest.

Organizers asked baristas to share pictures to show what coffee means to them for a chance to win a trip to barista camp. Blom said that some of her life’s pivotal moments have taken place over coffee, including her first date with fiancée Christine.

“To me, coffee is the life blood of the community. Coffee houses provide a place to meet and promote friendships and relationships,” she wrote.

The photos are titled “Coffee Unites Us.” There are more details at www.spokesman.com/blogs/ too-many-cooks.

To vote for Blom’s photo, Facebook users must “like” the Barista Guild of America’s page and then click the “vote” button with her photo.

Historic cookbooks displayed

Historic cookbooks are on display in the Northwest Room at the Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main Ave., through the end of the month.

The historic volumes span four centuries and help show the emergence of modern cookbooks.