French Pastry School’s Canonne receives Legion of Honor

Chicago’s culinary jewel celebrates 20th anniversary, as well as co-founder’s special recognition.

Herve de la Vauvre, president of the Alliance Francaise Chicago, pins the Legion of Honor medal on Chef Sebastien Canonne, M.O.F. and co-founder of the French Pastry School in Chicago.

Sunny Lee stands by her beautiful decorated showpiece cake created especially for the French Pastry School's 20th anniversary. Lee is a chef instructor in the school's L'Art de la Patisserie and L'Art du Gateau programs.

French Pastry School students serve an assortment of cheeses to accompany the breads baked by them for the school's 20th anniversary reception.

What better way to celebrate 20 years of turning out legions of formally trained pastry chefs and chocolatiers than with a Legion of Honor party for one of the French Pastry School’s co-founders, Sébastien Canonne?

Last Monday, before a collection of distinguished culinary giants from Chicago and across the globe, Canonne, a Meillieur Ouvrier de France recipient, was presented France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honor by Herve de la Vauvre, president of Alliance Française Chicago.

Canonne, who with his close friend, Jacquy Pfeiffer, founded the French Pastry School in Chicago in 1995, expressed his heartfelt thanks to a long list of mentors and friends as well as to his family.

Prior to the formal pinning of the Legion of Honor medal, the French General Consul of Chicago, Vincent Floreani, welcomed guests in attendance. Jean-Jacques Dietrich, honorary president of the Académie Culinaire de France and Phillippe Urraca, president of Meilleurs Ouvrier de France, extolled Canonne’s dedication to the craft as well as his ongoing humility.

Deitrich, who dubbed the FPS “the best pastry school in the United States,” underscored the fact that Canonne and Pfeiffer have remained steadfast in turning out the best practitioners of pastry arts for the past 20 years.

During the reception, local Chicago chefs showcasing their talents included the following:

Greg Biggers, Café des Architectes Sofitel Hotel
David de Quay, de Quay
Carrie Nahabedian, NAHA
Yves Roubaud, Shaw’s Crab House
Paul Virant, Perennial Virant & Vie
Andrea Bonitatibus, GT Fish & Oyster

FPS graduates were also in attendance, displaying their talents in pastry arts. They included:

Meg Galus, BOKA Group
Gina Hartwig, Lovely, Too: A Bake Shop
Elizabeth Madden; Rare Bird Preserves
Greg Mosko, NoMi; Park Hyatt Hotel
Adrian Saldana-Meadath, Flùr
Rieko Wada, Chocolatines
Scott Green, The Langham, Chicago
Jose Castellano, Cacao Barry
Daniel Rowe, Hinton Cannery

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With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.