Pastry Chef Caroline Kolaja Joins George Trois Group

Pastry chef Caroline Kolaja has joined Chef Michael Lachowicz’s George Trois Group (64 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL) as Executive Pastry Chef. She brings wide-ranging experience to the restaurant group, from fine avant-garde dining at Tickets (owned by Albert Adria) in Barcelona to major hotel experience, and a lengthy stint as a tour pastry chef to rock superstars including Fleetwood Mac, Shakira and Def Leppard.  “I invited Caroline to join the team as an investment for when we reopen for general dining in all three of our restaurants—George Trois, Silencieux and Aboyer,” said Lachowicz. “Her deft touch and nuanced technique elevate the George Trois Group experience. Caroline is an important part of our formula to achieve Michelin recognition.”    

Kolaja is very excited to team up with Lachowicz. “With three restaurants in one space, George Trois Group is an amazing platform where I can use a wide palette of ingredients and techniques to create delicious desserts that run the gamut from the contemporary to the most homespun French classics,” she said.

Among the desserts Caroline has added to the menu are Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding, Smoked Almond Brittle, Bailey’s Ice Cream; Cherry Panna Cotta, Honey Almond Tuile, Spiced Candied Oranges; Coconut Chocolate Bombe, Chocolate Crunch, RumChata Crème Anglaise; Pomme en Patisserie, Pecan Toffee, Salted Caramel Sauce, Cider Ice Cream; and Thai Dyed Pie, Coconut-Basil Mousse, Passion Fruit Curd, Pandan Crumble, Lemongrass Sorbet. Caroline also offered an assortment of holiday cookies for Christmas and New Year’s.   

                                                                                                                           
After finishing her professional baking and pastry training in 2010 at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California, San Diego, Kolaja worked in several San Diego restaurants before relocating to Chicago in 2014 where she became Pastry Chef at Epic in Chicago’s River North.

In 2016, she was appointed Executive Pastry Chef at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago. It was a role where she ran the pastry program and designed desserts for the hotel’s restaurant, business lounge, room amenities and banquet program. The position became even larger when the executive chef and his senior team suddenly left the hotel: “I was put in charge of the hotel’s entire 25-person savory and pastry banquet operations and I had to quickly grow into the role,” said Kolaja. She successfully navigated this challenge and was named the hotel’s manager of the year.

In 2017 Kolaja joined the faculty of culinary school Les Roches Chicago as Adjunct Pastry Chef Instructor and she also staged at the Tickets restaurant in Barcelona, Spain for three months. This restaurant ranked #25 in the world, is owned by Albert Adria, brother of Ferran Adria. 

Returning the Chicago, Kolaja’s career took a new direction as she was invited to become a tour pastry chef, going on the road with rock stars including Fleetwood Mac, Shakira, Def Leppard, and the Electric Light Orchestra. As a tour chef, she had to set up a kitchen every day in a new venue and prepare desserts for the entire tour entourage, which typically numbered 100 people—three meals a day.

Having been on the road for an extensive period, Kolaja now is happy to settle into a role with a restaurant team. “The George Trois Group are always raising the bar to exceed the expectations of their loyal fans,” she said. “Michael is a terrific restaurateur who clearly deserves the many accolades he has received. Together we are going to elevate the dessert program, putting our personal signature on our meal finales, making them unique and memorable, whether classic or avant garde.”