When planning a vacation, meals are generally top of mind for travelers. At the Nonantum Resort, we have one of the tastiest Kennebunkport Maine restaurants, and our diners always make sure they save room for dessert. Why you ask? Because our pastry chef, Amanda Beun, is one of the best in the business and hand makes all of our desserts in-house daily.
Amanda is a native of New Jersey. In 2013 she moved to Vermont and went back and forth from Vermont to Montana, until 2016 when she set her roots in Maine. Right out of high school, Amanda wanted to pursue an art education, but felt it wasn’t for her. She went to the French Culinary Institute in SoHo in 2009 for the Pastry Arts Program and graduated top in her class. When she reflects on her dream of art education, she laughs and says, “now I create edible art”!
Her passion for pastry began when she was 15, working in supermarket bakeries (yes – things were actually made in stores). When she thought her time at the supermarket was coming to a close, she began pursuing work at a banquet hall in New Jersey. However, she was quickly promoted to bakery manager at the supermarket and she worked there full-time while attending culinary school.
After graduation, Amanda worked at the Hilton in Short Hills. Her talents were quickly recognized, and when the Executive Pastry Chef left their position, she stepped in and her experience propelled her to new heights. Looking back she says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the experience and knowledge I gained there”. She still craved some true bakery experience, so she moved on to the bakery Sweet in Hoboken, New Jersey and it was truly one of her favorite jobs. She got to “sling cupcakes all day and create really special cakes for specific occasions and worked with a really great team”. It wasn’t long before she got an itch to travel.
Amanda took a summer off to travel and took a position at the Basin Harbor Club in Vermont. She was able to have free range to experiment and discover her talents creatively. She most enjoyed being able to use fresh, local ingredients. While she was content with her position, she still craved to travel and headed West when the season was over.
Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana took Amanda’s talents for a season, where she catered to the rich and famous at high altitudes. However, she discovered this style wasn’t for her, and she found solitude working for a small local catering company and a little market in town. That was until Vermont called her home, and she packed up and came back East after 8 months of dreamy mountain living.
Settling down in New England has allowed for Amanda to be close to her family, friends and the ocean (and less snow)! She feels at home here in Maine and at the Nonantum saying, “it has been an absolutely amazing experience working here and I have fallen in love with Maine”.