Attention all foodies with a sweet tooth — which should be all of you — voting officially begins today for Food & Wine magazine’s The People’s Best New Pastry Chef.

This people’s choice award is asking YOU, the people who go nuts over that final treat at the end of a meal, to cast your vote on your favorite up-and-coming pastry chef this year. The best part is, Austin has three phenomenal chefs on the list of 50 nominees in the Central region: Parkside’s Stephen Cak, La Condesa’s Laura Sawicki and Josh Matlock of Paggi House. Not too shabby for a small music town in Texas.

Austin pastry chef royalty, Philip Speer of Uchi and Uchiko was thrilled to see his Austin compatriots get some attention. “I was so happy to see Steven Cak’s name on that list today,” says Speer. “And I extend a big congrats to Laura Sawicki and Josh Matlock, too. Pastry chefs don’t often get as much recognition as other chefs do and this is just another step forward for Austin as it continues to get play on the national sphere. I love seeing our team of culinary professionals on the map for things like this.”

Loyal fans of all of these establishments are already familiar with the dreamy dishes these three can come up with, but if you haven’t yet been in for a taste of what they can do, you have until February 14 — that’s right, Valentine’s day — to cast your vote by midnight here.

For a little background, Food & Wine magazine editors determined the 50 People’s Best New Pastry Chef nominees with help from their national network of journalists, chefs and other trusted sources. Only professionals who have run a restaurant pastry kitchen for five years or fewer are eligible. There will be one finalist from each of the three regions; the person with the most votes will be named The People’s Best New Pastry Chef.

The finalists and the winner will be announced on foodandwine.com on February 15th. The winner will be profiled in the “Hungry Crowd” column of the May issue of Food & Wine, which hits newsstands April 13^th. The winner will also attend the 30th anniversary of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 15-17, 2012, with GODIVA as part of the brand’s ongoing efforts to support the next generation of pastry chefs and chocolatiers.

“There is so much innovation in the pastry world right now, and we are excited to have the chance to celebrate it,” says Food & Wine Editor in Chief Dana Cowin. “Our new pastry awards allow us to spotlight cooking pros who don’t generally get the same recognition as the executive chefs for whom they work.”

Let’s be sure to give these guys the official Austin Bump. Do your civic foodie duty and cast your vote today!