Pastry Chef Brian Mercury of Harvest - Biography

Cambridge, MA

February 2015

When Brian Mercury first moved to Boston in 2004, he dined with his in-laws at Harvest. With that first introduction he knew he wanted to work in that sensibility: contemporary, refined, and local.

But that’s not where his fine dining career truly got its start. Having graduated from The Culinary Institute of America, Mercury first went to work at The Charles Hotel under Chef Peter Davis and Pastry Chef Dan Angelopolus. It was at The Charles where Mercury was first exposed to farm-to-table cuisine and learned about sustainability long before the trend took root. He also worked extensively with Pastry Chef Susan Abbott, when she was running the pastry kitchen at Rialto.

When it was time to move on, an email sealed the deal. Mercury reached out to Chef Mary Dumont and let her know that if a pastry position were to open at Harvest, he was available. That email led to a tasting and that tasting led to his being installed as executive pastry chef at Harvest. Building on his local cannon of ingredients, Mercury hand-harvests the salt used in Harvest’s pastry kitchen. In addition, he’s building a reputation for community, hosting the second annual Boston Sugar Rush in 2014 and curating the first annual dining event Overkill, a 12-course dinner with proceeds benefiting Lovin’ Spoonfuls.

Mercury was named Boston Magazine’s 2014 Best Pastry Chef and The People’s Best New Pastry Chef (East) by Food & Wine Magazine.