Tiny Lou’s Claudia Martinez Lands on This Year’s Eater Young Guns List

Each year, Eater compiles a list of the top young culinary talent from around the country, crowning them Eater Young Guns. Out of over 500 chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, bakers, general managers, and restaurateurs nominated by colleagues and readers from across the nation, a lone Atlantan makes the list of 12 culinary stars this year.

Claudia Martinez, the 26-year-old, uber talented pastry chef from Tiny Lou’s at Hotel Clermont, is a Young Gun, class of ‘19.

Martinez creates desserts for Tiny Lou’s which pay respect to her Venezuelan heritage and Hotel Clermont’s long and sordid past. Her menu includes an homage to Atlanta’s most revered adult entertainer, Blondie, who dances nightly crushing beer cans between her breasts at the Clermont Lounge beneath the French restaurant. The dessert features a brown butter blondie with curried bananas flambé, buttermilk ice cream, and hazelnut crémeux.

There’s the decadent chocolate Royale, made with mousse consisting of Venezuelan chocolate served with coffee cream, biscuit joconde (almond sponge cake), and cardamom ganache. The gypsy tart, inspired by the 1950s dancer for whom the restaurant is named, is Martinez’s take on an English pastry, featuring muscovado custard and fresh fruits, topped with toasted meringue inside a vanilla sable pastry. For a classic French dessert, she offers a delicate 32-layer crêpes Suzette cake made daily.

Ryan Fleisher

Check out the full Young Guns Class of ’19 list here.

• Do Not Skip the Dessert Course at Tiny Lou’s [EATL]
• Meet the Eater Young Guns Class of ’19 [E]
• All Eater Young Guns coverage [E]