Born and raised in Tucson, Kayla Draper, the Pastry Chef at HUB Restaurant & Creamery, has nearly 15 years of experience in the kitchen — BATA, Miraval, and Ares Collective, to name a few.
She knows the power of smile-inducing sweets and treats baking as an art form. I mean, she’s even worked at Walt Disney World — one of the happiest places on Earth — so it’s safe to say she has a knack for creating joy in the lives of many.
“I love being artistic! The flavor combinations and textures are fun to play around with,” said Draper when asked what she appreciates the most about baking. “I also really enjoy forming a pastry team. These people are with you all day during early shifts at 3 a.m., overnight shifts, sweat, cuts, and burns.”
Before mastering the art of pastries, she was turning up the heat on the line, where her culinary journey began 13 years ago. Draper, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale who’s also been baking for 11 years, now has five years as a pastry chef under her belt.
When she’s not creating her own desserts, she’s getting the goods from her favorite bakery in Tucson: Houlden’s Rise Above, “I love getting Hannah’s pastries at Presta when I get a latte. It’s the best,” she added.
From savory to sweet, she traded in the grill for the rolling pin, sharpening her skills in both worlds before diving deep into the sweeter side of the kitchen.
“I became a pastry cook because my chef asked, ‘Kayla can you do pastry?’ I said ‘No, I can’t do that! I don’t even know how to bake box cupcakes,” she laughed. “Next thing I know, I was scheduled for pastry training with a fellow pastry cook. My chef said, ‘If I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t have asked.’
She learned everything “the hard way through mistakes” and her first baking job was making Italian desserts. She learned a lot from some of Tucson’s best over time, one being her manager, Vito — a transplant from Italy who encouraged her to bake recipes from his childhood.
“I felt bad because I messed up so much,” said Draper. “It was embarrassing! Vito, who doesn’t really know this, helped push me further into baking. Working with him is where I was first inspired by regional ingredients. Different regions of Italy have different ingredients available.”
Chef David Solorzano is another chef who inspired Draper, showing her the ropes when it comes to regional ingredients. In the short time she had the pleasure of working with him, she learned so much, mentioning that he’s “very creative.”
Now, at HUB Restaurant, Draper is excited for folks to try her new Sonoran Desert-inspired ice cream flavors.
“At HUB, I am working on including local ingredients,” she said. “HUB’s ice cream will have a twist of Tucson — ingredients like chile, corn, mezcal, wine, and beer.”
There have been a few changes with HUB over the past couple of years — the closing of its standalone ice cream shop across the street, and then the big expansion into the former Playground dining room next door — but you can still bet on the ice cream being just as top-notch as it ever was (maybe ever more impressive now).
Draper is still making plenty of vegan ice cream flavors, and gluten-free dessert options are currently in the works. “My boyfriend is gluten-free and has a sweet tooth,” she added.
Whether you’re craving something sweet, salty, or distinctly Tucson, Draper’s ever-evolving dessert menu makes every visit to the downtown restaurant a new and exciting culinary experience — one you’ll definitely want to come back for. With her passion for local ingredients and creativity, she’s making sure every bite tells a story — one that’s filled with joy and the right amount of Sonoran sunshine.
Earlier this year, HUB and Playground began its merger into one mega-restaurant space on the corner of Congress Street and Fifth Avenue. HUB has replaced Playground’s menu, expanding its dining room to the bottom floor, and Playground’s rooftop bar is still intact and even serves brunch on Sundays.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. on Friday – Saturday, and brunch on weekends.
HUB Restaurant & Creamery is located at 266. Congress St. For more information, visit hubdowntown.com and keep up with the latest by following HUB Restaurant on Instagram.
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