Pastry Chef Jesse Divine

After you’ve treated yourself to Roka Akor’s renowned cuisine, such as the Roasted King Crab with Chili Lime Butter and Fresh Cucumber (market price) or Lamb Cutlets with Korean Spices ($32), you may want to indulge in some of our incredible dessert selections created by Roka Akor Pastry Chef Jesse Divine. His house made delicacies include Warm Chocolate Cake with Coffee Ice Cream and Caramelized Peanuts ($12), Fresh Mango and Vanilla Cake with Toasted Rice Ice Cream ($10), and Baked Green Tea Custard with Caramelized Banana ($8), among many others.
With more than 10 years of experience, Jesse Divine joined the Roka Akor Chicago team as Pastry Chef in July 2011. He knew at a young age he wanted to be a chef and since he attended a vocational high school, he was able to declare a major in culinary arts at the age of 13.
After graduating from Connecticut Culinary Institute and completing an internship at Payard Patisserie in New York City, Jesse begin his career at Mayflower Inn & Spa, a luxury hotel in Connecticut, where he worked his way up to Assistant Pastry Chef in his more than eight-year tenure, learning the ropes under Executive Pastry Chef and mentor Philippe Niez.
From there, Jesse moved across the country to take on the position of Pastry Chef at Scottsdale’s Roka Akor. Having relocated to Chicago in 2011, Jesse looks forward to treating Chicagoans to his house made specialties, including an array of ice creams and sorbets. Each dessert is made-to-order in-house daily, with many vibrant fruit flavors, which change seasonally. Dessert menu selections are complemented by Roka Akor’s wide variety of port wine, after dinner drinks and dessert wines.