Paola Velez is a James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef who was raised in New York City and the Dominican Republic. She is the cofounder of Bakers Against Racism, a lighthouse organization raising millions of dollars for crucial social justice causes, is the founder of the pop-up dining series Doña Dona and Dōekï Dōekï, and is the former executive pastry chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Maydan in Washington, DC. She was named Food & Wine’s best new chef and Cherry Bombe’s “Person of the Year” in 2021, and currently serves as a culinary diplomat for the United States. She lives in Washington, DC.

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