Lauded baker closes shop

Baked to Perfection, the longstanding Port Washington bakery, has closed.

Owner Robert Ellinger started his career in fine dining, serving as executive pastry chef at the United Nations dining rooms, Manhattan's Water Club and the Garden City Hotel before opening his bakery in 1986. His goal was to blend the hominess of the family bakery with the artistry of the professional pastry kitchen. His hundreds of creations ranged from classic French pastry to New York black-and-white cookies.

Over the years Ellinger won scores of awards,  including the Societe Culinaire Philanthropique's Patisfrance Gold Medal for Pastry and Confectionery Presentation in 1997, Pastry Art & Design magazine's Top Ten U.S. Pastry Chefs in 2002 and the World Pastry Forum's Pastry Chef of the Year in 2012.

At one time, Port Washington boasted Long Island's highest concentration of great bakeries: Baked to Perfection, Saint Honore Pastry Shop (est. 1994) and Main Street Bakery (est. 2008) were all located within a half mile of one another. Main Street Bakery closed two years ago and now only Saint Honore remains.