A Hellertown pastry chef and business owner will appear on national television later this month.

Alan Pitotti, who owns Dolce Patisserie, will compete for a chance at $10,000 on an episode of the popular Food Network series "Sweet Genius" on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 10pm.

Hosted by pastry chef Ron Ben-Israel, "Sweet Genius" is a show in a which "four chefs, of confectionery and pastry, compete for a chance to win $10,000 based on the creativity and taste of each dish," according to the Wikipedia entry about the series.

According to information on the website The Futon Critic, "the chefs are presented with surprise ingredients and an inspiration with which they must create scrumptiously sweet dishes in a limited amount of time."

The show is now in its third season and the episode on which Pitotti is to appear is called "Samba Genius," according to The Futon Critic.

Dolce Patisserie is a boutique chocolate and pastry business located in the Shoppes at Hellertown on Main Street, where it opened five years ago.

In addition to Northampton Community College, Pitotti trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and his resume includes stints at the Hotel Hershey and Philadelphia's Le Bec-Fin.

For more information about Dolce Patisserie, visit www.dolcepatisserie.com.