FOOd Feature - Simply Frosted Cupcakery

food feature
Sweet Taste of
Success
20 November/December 2012 | Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice News
food
Finding balance between tradition and innovation
By Sean Moon
As the closing act of many dining experiences around the world, the tradition of a sweet finale to a savoury repast
has evolved from simple ices flavoured with honey or syrup to molecular concoctions flash frozen with space-age
technology. Even though innovation may be the name of the game in today’s restaurant world, however, pastry and
dessert chefs have a unique way of retaining a certain sense of comfort and familiarity, while still being able to find
a way to surprise and delight diners.
“I see a lot of modern twists on what
I would say are classic North American
desserts,” says Richard Warren, pastry
chef at Winnipeg’s historic Fort Garry
Hotel, renowned for its Sunday brunch
dessert selections. “Everything from
s’mores to carrot cake to your favorite
chocolate bar done into a plated dessert.
This is fun because people are able to
instantly recognize the dessert and
relate to it. We just update it for you to
enjoy a new way.”
Listening to Consumers
Michael Givens, of La Rocca Creative
Cakes in Richmond Hill, Ont, believes
listening to the needs of both their
foodservice partners and the end consumer
is paramount in creating memorable
dessert offerings.
“Consumers’ expectations for a quality
dessert are very high. When they order
dessert, they expect it to be decadent, they
are looking for that explosive experience of
enjoying a fabulous dessert. It’s the
finishing touch to a good meal – it’s the last
thing that they eat during their dining
experience and it has to be good enough to
be remembered (and talked about!).”
From salty and savoury combinations to
drinkable desserts and ethnic favourites,
chefs polled in the 2012 CRFA Chef
Survey have highlighted a number of
recent trends that are turning tried-andtrue classics into memorable morsels of
innovation and creativity. In addition to
deconstructing dessert classics, the CRFA
Chef Survey indicates that some of the
biggest dessert trends are occurring in the
areas of ingredient experimentation,
serving size and combo plates, unique
presentation options and ethnic diversity
and influence. Although these are not the
only developments to watch out for in 2013,
they are certainly top-of-mind for Canadian
chefs today.
Savoury Meets Sweet
With the availability of so many unique
and flavourful salts on the market, pastry
chefs have begun to take advantage of
consumers’ increased (although still
tentative) desire for more culinary
adventure. Add to this a wildly popular
move toward salted caramel in everything
from lattes to layer cake, and diners today
have almost unlimited options when it
comes to the savoury-sweet combination.
“People are starting to get out of their
comfort zone with desserts and are
www.restaurantcentral.ca | November/December 2012 21
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becoming more adventurous,” says Givens.
“Salty and sweet is not new as a concept but
the combination in one dessert is something
that is quickly gaining popularity. Savoury
and sweet offers a fun way to enjoy flavours
that one would not expect to see, let alone
taste, together. But the savoury flavour is an
excellent balance to a sweet flavour and
done right, works very well.”
Ryan Marquis, corporate chef of C.W.
Shasky and Associates, Ltd., agrees, adding
that there are a number of advantages in
combining such diverse flavor profiles.
“The salty- or savoury-and-sweet
combination provides a rounded-out
flavour experience, lots of opportunities for
innovation, and allows chefs to use
traditional ingredients in a new way.”
Andrew Hodes, owner of Dawn’s
Desserts in Montreal, believes that
although the salty-sweet trend could
join others as a mere passing fad, the
unique attributes of the various
ingredients are a less-conventional way
of satisfying a consumer’s desire for
their favourite flavours.
“Theoretically, the sweet-salty
combination works so well because they are
both so addictive (i.e. chocolate is addictive
and potato chips are addictive). Put these
two together and we’ve got an offering that
tempts both the sweet addiction and the
salty addiction.”
Small Bites vs. Big Flavour
In addressing consumers’ concerns about
health, weight and food sensitivity issues,
pastry chefs are becoming ever more
mindful of a desire for smaller portions
while not having to sacrifice flavor. With
bite-size portions, mini desserts and
combination, family-style plates finding
their way onto more and more restaurant
menus, diners are savouring the opportunity
to experiment, indulge and share tasty
moments with family and friends.
“I don’t see people cutting back at all on
portion sizes for the main part of the meal,”
says Dufflet Rosenberg, founder of Dufflet
Bakery, a major dessert supplier to the
Canadian restaurant industry. “When it
comes to dessert, though, people are
sharing more and ordering smaller items.”
“People enjoy the bite-size portions
because they are able to try more than one
flavour without feeling as guilty for
indulging,” explains Vanessa Abate,
co-owner of Simply Frosted Cupcakery, a
new specialty bakery in Toronto. “These
bite-size offerings are great for all types of
parties and or corporate events.”
“Combo plates are fun because you can
play with textures and flavours,” says
Warren. “And the bite-size dessert area is a
great idea when you are having a dinner
party with pass-around food where people
aren’t sitting.”
Guilt-Free Indulgence
Weight management and calorie
consideration are not the only health issues
at stake, however. With an increasing
number of consumers expressing a need or
desire for gluten-free, sugar-free and
allergen-free options, chefs are faced with
the challenging task of offering pleasure
without the pain.
“Society has placed an important focus
on healthy eating and allergy awareness,
which has forced our industry to make
changes to our original recipes as well as
expand our selections,” says Abate.
“Through ingredient replacement, not
elimination, we are able to provide a balance
for our customers and a variety of healthy
eating options.”
“Combo plates and mini desserts allow
for indulgence with less guilt,” says
Marquis. “They provide multiple flavor
profiles on one plate to satisfy multiple
cravings, while at the same time contributing
to the community aspect of sharing.”
Drink Up!
One trend noted in the CRFA survey
that plays up the whimsical aspect of
dessert is a recent fascination with so-called
“drinkable desserts.” From La Rocca’s
Super Caramel Crunch currently available
at Ontario’s LCBO stores to shot glasses
filled with carrot cake, these sweet treats
are adding variety and fun to a number of
restaurant and catering menus.
“Drinkable desserts are great for cocktail
parties and an interesting way to put
familiar flavours into a drink,” says Warren.
Other chefs and operators, however,
see the term “drinkable” as being a bit of
a stretch.
22 November/December 2012 | Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice News
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dessert plate as well. This doesn’t always
seem to be the case, however.
“Although desserts from various cultures
around the world have become quite well
known, for some reason we still see the
traditional dessert flavours as trumping
other ethnic desserts in our local market,”
says Hodes. “For example many people love
(Greek) baklava, (Japanese) green tea ice
cream, or gulab jamun (Indian Milk Balls)
but these desserts are still not receiving
tremendous demand in traditional fullservice or quick-service restaurants.
Tiramisu, if we still consider this to be an
“ethnic” dessert, is an exception because it
has become so tremendously popular
across the board.”
Rosenberg echoes those sentiments,
adding that dessert has a much stronger
tradition in certain parts of the world
when compared to others such as India
and Asia.
“I haven’t seen a lot of emphasis on
ethnic desserts in the restaurant world,”
says Rosenberg. “I mean, if you go to a
Latin restaurant you are going to see
churros on the menu, maybe flan or
something like that. Dessert is such a
tradition in North America and western
European countries and not so much in
“The shot glass with a bite-size portion
of a traditional type of cake has shown
more demand than has the actual
“drinkable” dessert,” says Hodes. “Alcoholic
beverages that have used dessert flavour
profiles (such as a “s’more-tini”) have had a
surge and smoothies are wildly popular.
Neither of these, however, are necessarily
seen as ‘desserts’.”
“It’s a fun way to enjoy a favourite
dessert,” says La Rocca’s Givens. “But we
see it as a fad more than a trend. We feel it’s
a subcategory, a complement and not a
replacement for a real slice of cake.”
International Influence
Another CRFA survey dessert trend
which is seeing its share of debate is the
amount of influence that ethnic cuisine is
having on dessert menus. With the influx of
international restaurants across Canada
featuring such diverse foods as Indian, Thai,
Italian and Russian, it would be expected
that this trend would find its way to the
other parts of the world. In many places,
sweets are not necessarily an afterdinner thing.”
Opportunity for Growth
Marquis, on the other hand, sees plenty of
opportunity for the ethnic dessert segment
to develop, particularly considering the
changing Canadian cultural landscape.
“I think ethnic dessert options will
continue to expand due to changing
population dynamics and lots more
experimentation with food. Consumers
are much more open to new and unique
flavours these days.”
Ultimately, though, it will be up to
the consumer to decide what works
and what doesn’t when it comes to
d e s s e r t c h o i c e a n d i n n ovat i o n ,
according to Rosenberg.
“There are a lot of trendy things that
are on menus but they are not necessarily
things that are going to last,” says
Rosenberg. “Everybody is always
looking for something new. They’ll try
something and see if it sticks. We are
definitely innovative and we are always
into trying new things but at the end of
the day we are very conscientious of the
things that people actually want to buy.”
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www.restaurantcentral.ca | November/December 2012 23