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My culinary career started with our family-owned restaurants in
Tampa, FL. While working at one of my brother’s restaurants (Club
Key West), I had the opportunity to train under Chef James
Babian,
who is currently Chef at Fairmont Orchid on the big Island Hawaii.
After 10 years of earning my bones in the small houses of Tampa. I
was recruited by Gaylord Opryland in 1995, and I have spent the past
12 years working with world-class chefs and culinarians. Gaylord
Opryland offers a virtual culinary Valhalla, allowing creative
freedom with menus, hand-picked staff and a world-wide purchasing
network for product.
Working for Chocolate
When I was a kid, my brother and I would help my cousins with their
extremely large paper route. My aunt and uncle owned a small grocery
store and soda fountain, so for special payment they would let us
raid the penny candy rack. I always would go for the gold covered
chocolate coins. As a kid that seemed like a double treasure—the
shiny coin outside and the delicious chocolate inside.
Menu Planning: Break Out the Chocolate
Now, I feel chocolate is a necessity to any dessert menu. When
planning the dessert menu, you may cover a lot of different flavor
profiles, but you cannot leave out a chocolate dessert. You
need to put yourself in the diner’s seat or be in the mind set that
you are always designing something special for your Mom to eat.
Chocolate is like a drug. Name one product that
affects anyone of any walk of life like chocolate. Men, woman, old,
young—it doesn’t matter. Chocolate is a universal smile maker. If
some body is sad or feeling down, break out the chocolate. If
someone is celebrating, break out the chocolate. If you are
designing a dessert menu you better break out the chocolate; it’s
always a winner!
Chocolate Creations
When
I designed the Mud Slide I was trying to incorporate a sensual bar
dessert that would also touch on the Irish pub concept. This
particular dessert was going to be served on our Findley’s Irish Pub
menu. So playing off on the bar cocktail, the mud slide for the sexy
bar end of it, and using the Irish cream ice cream for the Irish pub
element, I came up with this the Mud Slide. It is our best selling
dessert in that outlet.
Earlier on while designing a new dessert menu for Cascades our
seafood restaurant, I came up with the Goo-Goo cake. At the time I
designed the Goo-Goo cake concept, I was trying to come up with some
fun, decadent, high profile desserts that would stand out, when
walked out on a tray thorough the dinning room. Also at this time
our pastry chef made a wicked multi-layer chocolate fantasy torte.
So I figured combining the Goo-Goo cluster candy topping with it,
would tie it into our Opryland culture or theme. You can’t go wrong
with a great candy on top of a decadent chocolate cake. |
