Though this chef from the small touristy town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts has made a name for herself through national television appearances and magazine articles in major publications, Alina Eisenhauer likes to keep it simple.  At her restaurant, Sweet Kitchen and Bar in Worcester, Alina spends her days developing creative dishes with quality, local ingredients for her loyal customers.

Alina’s dedication to her craft can be traced back to her mother’s love of cooking.  A farm-to-table cook, she made everything from scratch and always had a vegetable garden. Taking her mother’s lead, Alina got to work in the kitchen creating her own baked goods, refining her culinary skills and indulging her cuisine curiosities by tasting and cooking everything she could get her hands on while taking jobs at local specialty restaurants as a young teen. 

While away at college, Alina developed an enthusiasm for fitness and became a national level fitness competitor and one of Boston’s top fitness instructors.  She eventually got married and while pregnant with her son, her husband mentioned he could not find a “decent loaf of bread” anywhere in their area. Rather than search for better bread, Alina opened her own bakery in 2003 called Sturbridge Baking Company, and grew her menu from breads & cookies to a full bakery and café serving breakfast and lunch.  Though pleased with her success, Alina’s competitive nature eventually inspired her to move her bakery closer to Boston, and five years later, in 2008, she opened Sweet Kitchen & Bar on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. 

While Sweet was a hit with everyone from local college students to foodies, Alina continued to set her heights higher.  She earned dozens of accolades for her mouth-watering creations including recognitions from Tripping.com, Yankee Magazine, Worcester Magazine, Pulse Magazine, and Worcester Living.  However, she wanted to test her skills further.  Alina entered and succeeded on several Food Network competitions including Chopped, Cupcake Wars, Beat Bobby Flay, Re-Wrapped and finally became the overall victor on Sweet Genius. 

Joining with a business partner in 2013, Alina moved into a new location tripling her staff and sales.  In addition to keeping her clientele well fed, Alina regularly serves as a muse for food publications thanks to her fondness for locally sourced ingredients, as well as her unique  background in fitness and her love for tattoos; Alina features her ornate cupcake shaped business logo on her right arm as well as the words Born to Cook.  Alina was one of 75 chefs chosen from around the world to be featured in the book, Eat Ink.  She has been interviewed on Phantom Gourmet and was featured in Where Women Cook, Foodservice Northeast, Dessert Professional, and Baking & Pastry North America.  Alina has also written for Foodies of New England Magazine which is nationally distributed.