Udi’s Foods, the brand with an artisan bakery, local restaurants and cafes and a full-service catering business, announced that Jason Lebeau has been named the new executive pastry chef. 

With 26 years of experience and a resume that reads like the who’s who of the pastry industry, Lebeau brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Udi’s.  Lebeau graduated from Baltimore Culinary College in 1987 and has since held positions of progressing responsibility at the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C., Hollywood Studios and Hotel Bellaire in Los Angeles, Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group, and most recently, executive pastry chef at Coohills 1400 in Denver. 

“Jason’s talent and experience will allow us to continue improving an already stellar pastry and dessert program.” said Etai Baron, president, Udi’s Foods. “His leadership is sure to deliver results both immediately and in the future.” 

Udi’s Foods is known for delivering superior taste and quality.  The pastry bakery currently bakes desserts, cookies, scones, and breakfast pastries for its own restaurants and cafes, catering business, farmer market stands and wholesale customers like Peets Coffee Shop and Whole Foods.  The addition of Lebeau is evidence of Udi’s relentless commitment to fresh and delicious food made from scratch by its own food professionals. 

“The folks at Udi’s are hungry to continue improving and growing their pastry business and I’m excited to help them accomplish that goal. It’s not often that a pastry chef is given the opportunity to create high-quality desserts for a mass audience.  Not to mention doing so in a state-of-the-art facility.  I walked away from our discussions thinking, ‘Let’s do this!’” said Lebeau. 

In addition to pastries, Udi’s has a traditional artisan bread bakery.  The bakery produces 15,000 pounds of bread each day and is led by master baker and third-generation bread baker, Maurizio Negrini.

Udi’s Foods was founded in 1994 in Denver, Colo. by Udi Bar-on and his wife Fern, originally named Udi The Sandwich Man. From a small and thriving catering business was born a multifaceted foodservice company that includes ten restaurants and cafes, an artisan bakery, farmer’s market bakery stands, and the original catering company. After swiftly growing two natural foods brands, Udi’s Gluten Free and Udi’s Granola, in 2012 Udi’s Foods sold both brands to Smart Balance, (now called Boulder Brands). One thing has never changed: Udi’s Foods is still a privately-held, family-run company dedicated to creating pleasure from the craft of real food and individualized service, which together contribute to customers, employees’ and families’ wellbeing. For a complete list of Udi’s cafes, restaurants and bakeries, visit www.udisfood.com/about.