CULTURE
From the Big Apple to the Mile High City
The Extraordinary Lives and Times of Pastry Chef Martin Howard and Drag Performer Chocolatina Q. Dessert, the Pie Queen.
July 3, 2025
Chocolatina -Image provided by Pastry Chef Martin Howard
Chocolatina -Image provided by Pastry Chef Martin Howard
Chocolatina -Image provided by Pastry Chef Martin Howard
Chocolatina -Image provided by Pastry Chef Martin Howard
USE ARROWS TO MOVE THROUGH IMAGES
By Mike Broemmel
The personage of Chocolatina Q. Dessert was about a dozen years in existence when crowned Miss Stonewall in 2009. She was christened as such on the 40thanniversary of the day LGBTQ+ people refused to go quietly into the night when police raided The Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village. The Stonewall was stormed by law enforcement for the umpteenth time on June 28, 1969, in what the ACLU pointedly described as commonplace: “Raids and arrests at bars where people (within the LGBTQ+ community) could socialize and meet others like themselves.” Indeed, at that historic marker, Chocolatina was the first drag performer bestowed the honor of Miss Stonewall.
According to Martin Howard, the award-winning pastry chef that first made his mark in the Big Apple, he created Chocolatina as part of a Manhattan annual event in 1996, For the Love of Chocolate. Invited participating restaurants needed to bring a Priscilla Queen of the Dessert-themed creation to that year. Presenting his restaurant’s delectables as Chocolatina proved to be a marvelous fit. On a related note, awards are no stranger to the dynamic pastry chef, including destination multiple times as one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Arts magazine.
On the heels of Chocolatina’s introduction to the world, Martin Howard himself would be featured in the New York Times Style Section that same year. By 1997, Martin was hired by the iconic Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center to pursue baking, his first love. “I grew up baking with my mother. Baking became my passion,” Martin explained.
Whilst in Manhattan, Martin would work at a variety of storied locations, including as Chocolatina at Lips. Chocolatina described the 8-hour shifts as the Lips Door Girl as being “not for the faint of heart.” Lips was something of a Manhattan star magnet where Chocolatina would cross paths with the like Celine Dion, Tyra Banks, and the crew from Jersey Shore.
Chocolatina -Images provided by Pastry Chef Martin Howard
Before that, Chocolatina was featured at Beefcakes, a burger restaurant with a large helping of male beefcake in the server brigade. “I would perform 40 minutes on stage after which the beefcakes would take over and do body shots with the patrons for the rest of the night,” Chocolatina explained. Martin also crafted his signature pastries at other iconic NYC establishments through the years, including Brasserie and Hudson River Club.
Awards are no stranger to the dynamic pastry chef, including designation multiple times as one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Arts magazine. Martin is also no stranger to presenting his delectable art at platinum events, like an AmFar benefit hosted by Elizabeth Taylor.
After 27 years in Manhattan, Martin the chef and Chocolatina the performer ventured to Colorado at the urging of a friend. Chocolatina has become an increasingly acclaimed figure across the Denver-metro scene. Moving to Colorado in April 2017, Martin and his stage-commanding creation – Chocolatina Q. Dessert, the Pie Queen – delights audiences and pastry lovers alike in venues and at events across the Mile High City and other Colorado environs.
Chocolatina -Images provided by Pastry Chef Martin Howard
Chocolatina maintains a schedule of regular appearances in Denver. Chocolatina and NYC performer Lavinia Draper will be on Denver Pridefest Center Stage on June 28, performing a Carpenters set. She can be seen at Fortissimo, a smartly appointed dueling piano bar located at 891 14th Street, adjacent to the Denver Preforming Arts Complex and Convention Center every other Saturday, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and on the first Wednesday of the month at 8:30 p.m.
She also is featured at the relatively new Champagne Tiger at 601 E Colfax, in the stretch becoming known as Denver’s Lavender Hill. Appearances at Champagne Tiger are every other month, with the next slated for June 18 and one following on August 20.
Chocolatina currently maintains a schedule of rotating performance gigs at an array of other locations where she appears with pies in tow available for sale. Performance dates and information on ordering pies can be found at www.thepiequeen.co. With each week, a fresh selection of pie flavors is available and a new listing of performance opportunities releases.
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About the author
Writing and journalism has been at the heart of Mike’s life after graduating from college with a degree in political science and journalism and beginning his career in the White House Office of Media Relations and Planning (and then in the Office of the First Lady). A primary focus of his work has been in the realm of political analysis and commentary. Mike is also a playwright with several productions addressing issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion that have been produced internationally.