About Us
The name “Pistores” holds great significance to our owners Andrea and Joel Reno. In medieval times, the latin word “Pistor” was given to the person who would make and bake dough for the town. There was a clear distinction made between a “Fornari,” who would solely bake bread, and “Pistores,” who were the sole makers and bakers of both dough and sweet dough in 1200’s Paris. With time and creativity, the profession grew and the term “Pistor” was replaced with “Patissier” to designate a pastry chef, and “Boulangerie” to describe a bread maker.
In honor of a long lost culinary art, Andrea and Joel chose the name “Pistores” to reignite the craft and showcase Joel’s work as a true modern day Pistor. By combining their distinct culinary talents and love of hospitality, with a great respect for tradition, Andrea and Joel are creating a culinary story all their own.
ANDREA ALVAREZ
CO-OWNER + CAKE ARTIST
Andrea Reno’s love of cakes and passion for baking dates back to her childhood days in Honduras where she regularly baked with her aunts and grandmas. She followed her passion, earning a degree in business and industrial administration, and with no classical culinary training, opened her own bakery, Sweets Cake Shoppe. It quickly became the most popular in town, but after four years of business, Andrea left the bakery in capable hands and traveled to Chicago to enroll at The French Pastry School. She spent the next four months in the L'Art du Gateau program studying French cake artistry and baking methods from world-renowned pastry chefs. It was there she met Joel and fell in love. As co-owner and lead cake artist, Andrea’s true passion and creativity brings her scrumptious works of art to Chicago. Andrea also owns Andrea Reno Design Studio as a sought-after calligrapher, painter and illustrator with an impressive clientele.
JOEL RENO
CO-OWNER + EXECUTIVE CHEF
Chef Joel Reno has worked in the upper echelon of pastry making for the past thirty years, from his early days in the kitchens of Roland Liccioni and Jean Joho to his time at the demanding and ultra-seasonal Quince in San Francisco. Joel spent almost six years at The French Pastry School in Chicago working and teaching under M.O.F. Sebastian Canonne and Jacquy Pfeiffer, and went on to open Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.5 billion property with a pastry team of forty-five. The experience fueled Joel’s vision of opening Pistores in the River North neighborhood in his favorite city of Chicago. As executive chef of Pistores, Joel is thrilled to be presenting his first savory menu after a storied career in pastry making and teaching.