About

Pastry chef Meghan McGarry has made herself a household name thanks to the iconic dessert makeovers she presents at Buttercream Blondie.

Since its inception, McGarry has used her blog to recreate America’s favorite desserts,  glamming them up one recipe at a time.

Before McGarry moved to her current home in the Boston area, the pastry chef got off to a much different start in the Bronx, NY. As a child, McGarry was an award-winning Irish step dancer, competing for 16 years across the U.S. McGarry credits the strict discipline she gained during long hours of technical training as part of her success as a chef.

“I thrive under pressure, and I’m competitive by nature,” she says. “I’ll do whatever it takes to be the best I can be.”

With anything in life, McGarry learned that success is only half-baked when there’s a lack of passion for what you do. The chef was studying for a finance and economics degree when she realized she was headed down the wrong career path. The Manhattan College student shocked her parents one spring afternoon when she told them she would be trading in her calculator for a Kitchen-Aid.

And so McGarry started from scratch – literally – as she baked her way through New York’s celebrated French Culinary Institute under dean Jacques Torres.

She has since taken her experience working alongside industry luminaries in New York kitchens and channeled it into building successful pastry departments from the ground up in high-end bakeries and popular eateries in the Greater Boston Area. All along, the Bronx native honed in on her mantra: “Flirt with dessert.”

“I take classic desserts and give them glamorous makeovers,” McGarry explains of her trademark style, which is highlighted by her love of pink, sparkle and high heels.

Her desire to reach a larger audience led to the launch of the immensely successful Buttercream Blondie blog, which features dozens upon dozens of mouth-watering recipes. The passion project is now read by thousands each month.

“I get so excited when I create something new that I just can’t help but share it,” McGarry says of the recipes she develops for her site.

McGarry’s creations have been featured in major media markets, including Atlanta, Boston and New York. Among the leading media organizations that have put a spotlight on McGarry’s ingenious style are the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Raycom Media and the Meredith company.

Most recently, McGarry has sought to share the classic French techniques she learned in culinary school and the insight she’s gained from running multiple pastry departments through video. She has been featured on numerous occasions on How 2 Heroes, and the pastry chef is now devoting her camera ready talent to a brand-new YouTube channel.

“One of the favorite parts of my job is when I get to teach others how to bake one of my new desserts,” McGarry said. “It makes me happy to know that I’m inspiring others to step inside the kitchen.”

In addition to her multiple media ventures, McGarry also does recipe development, restaurant consulting, custom cakes and dessert catering. When she is not baking, researching menus or writing her popular blog and working with her clients, McGarry enjoys running, traveling and attending the concerts of her favorite country artists.