Amanda Pallagi
Executive Pastry Chef
Four Seasons Tenure
- Since July 2008
- First Four Seasons Assignment: Hostess at Four Seasons Hotel Austin
Employment History
- Four Seasons Hotel Austin; Aramark; City Café, McAllen, Texas
Birthplace
- Flint, Michigan, USA
Education
- The French Pastry School (Chicago) ; BA Business Administration from St. Edwards University (Austin)
Languages Spoken
- English
If anyone was born to bake, it’s Chef Amanda Pallagi. A McAllen, Texas native, Amanda grew up baking alongside her grandmother and even sold her own treats in high school, planting the first seeds of a lifelong passion.
That passion came with her to Austin in 2004, when she moved to attend St. Edward’s University. She pursued a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus in Marketing, thinking she might one day open a café and eager to learn the management side of the industry. But even as she studied business, her passion for baking was always there. “I really wanted to take my love for food and make it a career,” she recalls.
In 2008, Amanda joined Four Seasons Hotel Austin in a front-of-house role, hoping to grow into restaurant management. But each day, she found herself drawn to the pastry shop, always peeking in to watch the team at work. Eventually, she asked the Hotel’s Executive Pastry Chef about opportunities and was encouraged to enroll in the French Pastry School in Chicago for an intensive course. Within weeks she was on a plane, convinced she’d found her true calling.
Armed with new skills and a renewed sense of purpose, Amanda returned to Four Seasons Austin and, in October 2009, transitioned from the front-of-house to the pastry kitchen as a cook. The fundamentals she’d learned in Chicago quickly expanded as she immersed herself in the craft. On the early morning “baker shift,” she mastered laminated doughs for croissants and danishes and fell in love with breadmaking. “It’s such an art where you can truly see and taste the love coming through in the product,” she says.
From there, she rose steadily, becoming pastry cook, then Chef de Partie for four years, and ultimately earning the role of Executive Pastry Chef in 2016. Nearly a decade later, she continues to lead the Hotel’s pastry team, producing thousands of breads, cakes, amenities, wedding confections, plated desserts, ice creams, and sweets each week for Ciclo, Live Oak, In-Room Dining, banquets and events.
Her work has drawn wide recognition: she was highlighted in the first edition of Pastry Arts Magazine for her plated desserts, celebrated by the women’s culinary group “Dishin’ and Dames,” and has represented Four Seasons at annual community events including the Junior League of Austin’s Austin Entertains, and Daniel Curtis’s Pay It Forward benefiting Lone Star Paralysis Foundation. She also sits on the advisory board of the Escoffier Culinary School in Austin and has lent her expertise to support other Four Seasons properties.
Among her proudest projects are the Hotel’s annual gingerbread displays, which she has elevated into showstopping holiday installations that shift themes each year. Once a Bavarian village, the displays have since been reimagined into whimsical scenes that earned national press, including Forbes recognition as one of the “Best Gingerbread Displays in America.”
What keeps Amanda passionate after nearly two decades with Four Seasons? “Every day is different, and every year brings new challenges. Food never stops evolving, and I love that I get to keep learning,” she says. “Here, I get to do a little bit of everything, from wedding cakes to breads to ice creams - and that variety keeps me inspired.”
Looking ahead, Amanda is excited about reinventing menus, staying on trend, and continuing to surprise guests with innovative creations, all while keeping tradition, community, and love for her craft at the heart of everything she creates.
