Chef Renae Connolly studied culinary arts at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

After culinary school, Connolly returned to her hometown, Fresno, California where she continued to practice her trade and hone her skills at various restaurants. She then moved to the East Coast and took a position at Clio, working under Chef Rick Billings. Connolly rose up the ranks, ultimately taking over as Pastry Chef before leaving to travel and continue to expand her knowledge and technique.

Connolly spent two and a half years working and staging at different restaurants, ultimately finding a home at Marea in New York. But the Hub beckoned and she soon returned, rounding out her restaurant experience working behind the bar at Clio and as Bar Manager at Commonwealth in Cambridge.

She then found a new home as the opening Pastry Chef of Café ArtScience, before joining the team at Benedetto in the Charles Hotel, which opened at the tail end of 2016.

In 2022, she joined Benedetto co-owners chef Michael Pagliarini and Pam Ralston as the pastry chef at Moëca on Shepard Street just outside of Harvard Square, where her exceptional desserts continue to wow Cambridge diners.