JinJu Patisserie Wins Big, and My Diet Cries Itself to Sleep

So, Portland’s JinJu Patisserie just won Outstanding Bakery in America at the 2025 James Beard Awards, and honestly? My jeans are already tight just thinking about it. Owned by pastry wizards Kyurim “Q” Lee and Jin Caldwell, this magical little sugar temple on N Williams Avenue just beat every croissant-hocking hotspot in the country. Take that, Brooklyn.

Now, unless you’ve been living under a carb-free rock, you already know their hazelnut-chocolate kouign-amann is what angels eat after Pilates. And don’t even get me started on the matcha red bean pain suisse. It’s the kind of pastry that makes you want to abandon your children and move into the bakery’s display case.

This isn’t their first rodeo—they were finalists last year, too. But 2025? This was their year. Jin and Q walked on stage in Chicago, won the gold, and probably went home to fold laminated dough with the kind of intensity I reserve for hate-watching reality TV.

And let’s talk about Portland for a second. Between this and Antica Terra’s Timothy Wastell winning Best Chef in the Northwest, the city is one sourdough starter away from becoming the Paris of gluten.

Bottom line: if you haven’t been to JinJu, cancel your weekend plans. Go. Get in line. Eat the croissant. Buy two. Freeze one and pretend you have self-control.

Just know: you’re not coming back the same person.

And neither are your pants.M