Dolester Miles facts for kids

Dolester "Dol" Miles (born 1957) is an amazing American pastry chef. A pastry chef is someone who makes delicious desserts! She has been a finalist three times for the famous James Beard Award. This award is like the "Oscars" for chefs! Dolester works as the head pastry chef at Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Alabama. In May 2018, she won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef.

Growing Up

Dolester Miles was born in Victoria, Texas, in 1957. She grew up in Bessemer, Alabama. Her mother, Cora Mae, taught her how to make classic Southern desserts. These included tasty treats like pecan pie, lemon meringue pie, and peach cobbler.

Dolester finished Wenonah High School in 1975. She then went to college at Alabama A&M University and Lawson State Community College. She studied computer science. To help pay for her studies, she started working as a cook in Homewood, Alabama.

Her Career

In 1982, a famous chef named Frank Stitt opened Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham. He hired Dolester and her older sister, Diane, to work as cooks. Dolester worked very hard and slowly became the head pastry chef at the restaurant.

Later, she started making desserts for all of Frank Stitt's restaurants. These included Bottega, Bottega Cafe, and Chez Fonfon.

In 2016, Dolester Miles was chosen as a finalist for the James Beard Award. This was for the "Outstanding Pastry Chef" category. She was also a finalist in 2017 and 2018. Finally, in May 2018, she won the big award!

In 2018, a documentary film called "Dol" was made about her life. It was created by Ava Lowery.

Dolester's recipes have been featured in many magazines and cookbooks. You can find her recipes in Southern Living magazine. She is especially known for her amazing strawberry shortcake, lemon meringue tart, and coconut pecan cake.