Grand Geneva Resort & Spa Executive Pastry Chef Erin Swanson
Dough isn’t the only thing that’s rising in the kitchen these days. With the price of pastry staples like milk, eggs, butter, sugar, and chocolate on the upswing, chefs are feeling the pinch.
Supply chain issues, looming tariffs on imported goods, and environmental issues have trickled down, prompting culinary departments to rethink their menus for a la carte dining and special events. Here’s how some pastry professionals are maximizing their budgets in a fluctuating market.
Just Peachy
Earlier this summer, guests at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa indulged in a quintessential taste of summer: freshly baked peach croissants. The Lake Geneva, Wisc., facility featured this pastry variety on their newly updated menu, which was tweaked in response to the rising cost of goods.
“We used to have two special croissants and a Danish that would change with the seasons,” says Executive Pastry Chef Erin Swanson. “Now we offer one special croissant of the month, which reflects the season or if a month has a special day.” In honor of National Peach Month in August, she prepared a peaches-and-cream croissant using the summer-fresh stone fruit.
Swanson, who marked her fourth year at the resort in May, has been working diligently to continue delivering high-quality pastry while navigating a challenging marketplace. Because pastries are made in house, she is able to assume quality control without issue, but must still adjust production accordingly. Reducing portion size also serves to help offset the cost of goods. “All of our bars and brownies are now cut one half-inch smaller, giving us six extra portions,” Swanson explains, noting a significant decrease in kitchen labor.
To cut back on ingredient delivery and shipping fees, Grand Geneva has been working closely with local purveyors, showcasing their product in different culinary items each month. This past spring highlighted an area brewery, prompting Swanson to develop a cupcake incorporating their Peanut Butter Porter.
“I enjoy using local products, especially when it directly supports small businesses,” she adds. And when making her honey semifreddo recipe, Swanson looks no further than her backyard, using honey harvested from the bees on Grand Geneva’s property.
Click the photo for the honey semifreddo recipe by Erin Swanson, Executive Pastry Chef, Grand Geneva Resort & Spa
Cross-utilizing products, whenever possible, has also contributed to a more economical bottom line. Grand Geneva’s mixed berry sauce, a staple component, was previously made from Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) berries. When Swanson came aboard, she swapped them out for bruised berries, adding them to the breakfast menu, banquet dessert line-up and as sauce for the key lime pie in the resort’s steakhouse.
If escalating costs continue to persist, Swanson does not expect to pass on those fees to the resort guests. “Our next step would be looking into more profitable ingredients, such as the chocolate we use,” she says.
Old Westbury G&CC Executive Pastry Chef Karen Donadeo
The Chocolate War
If there’s one ingredient Karen Donadeo won’t substitute in her pastry recipes, it’s her preferred brand of chocolate.
“It’s a product I remain deeply loyal to despite the slight increase in cost per pound,” says the Executive Pastry Chef at Old Westbury (N.Y.) Golf & Country Club. “I like to rotate flavor-infused chocolates, so I use about four to five different flavored chocolates depending on the season or event. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and for me, [chocolate] is worth the investment.”
Click the photo for the full flourless chocolate cake recipe by Karen Donadeo, Executive Pastry Chef, Old Westbury G&CC
Fluctuating ingredient prices have not deterred Donadeo, who has spent the past three years at Old Westbury after a decade at Fresh Meadow Country Club in Lake Success, N.Y. Before entering the private club sector, she honed her craft in catering and fine dining, building a solid foundation in the pastry-making business. While initially concerned by rising costs, Donadeo is more encouraged by what she has seen as of late: a steady price drop—from 1.5 to 8 percent—in flour, heavy cream, sugar and eggs, particularly following the recent bird flu scare.
Whether or not ingredient costs will tick back up, Donadeo remains steadfast in her established partnerships with purveyors and sales reps who have never steered her wrong. These supplier relationships, some of which span upwards of 25 years, have resulted in favorable pricing and minimal-to-no delivery fees—all of which benefit her kitchen and ultimately the club membership.
Rest assured, when dining at Old Westbury Golf & Country Club, members and their guests won’t be finishing their meals with reduced portion sizes. Donadeo remains optimistic, albeit nimble, that she can continue to craft her pastry at the level to which they are accustomed.
“I remain vigilant in monitoring costs and understand that shifts in the market may eventually require some menu adaptations,” she says. “However, any such changes will be made with great care, always prioritizing quality and member satisfaction above all.”
The Country Club Pastry Chef Julianne Heath
A Menu Steeped In Simplicity
These days at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., heaping slices of coconut cream pie, key lime pie, and carrot cake are front and center for member dining. There are fewer plated desserts like the signature chocolate mousse petite gateau with raspberry coulis, lace cookie Chantilly cream chocolate crumble, and raspberry sorbet—an intricate dish that is currently on the back burner amid the rising cost of goods.
“We have shifted away from labor-intensive, multi-component pastry dishes and toward simple classics executed at a high level,” explains Pastry Chef Julianne Heath.
Having completed her first full year at the club, Heath has learned quickly how to adapt to an environment where the instability of market prices has become the norm. She primarily concentrates on classic pastries that shine without drastically impacting budget constraints. “When done well, these timeless desserts allow for better cross-utilization of ingredients across multiple culinary departments, while reducing the need for specialty items in more labor-intensive plates,” says Heath.
Incorporating more versatile, multi-purpose ingredients, such as carrots and olive oil (for carrot cake), as well as sweet potatoes (for vegan brownies), is the club’s latest strategy. Heath reports overall increases of ingredient costs, with olive oil by 18 percent, kosher salt up 14.8 percent and limes up 11.8 percent. In addition to using these products in multiple culinary departments, the kitchen is reliant on fewer specialty deliveries, diminishing fuel surcharges that can amount to $900-$1,200 every month.
Portion size is another way to control costs, especially in the club’s banquet and events operations.
“Creating smaller tasting plates featuring two- or three-bite options, such as opera cakes, cherry globes and assorted petit fours, allows us to utilize larger production methods that are transformed into refined, smaller portions,” notes Heath. The added bonus of fewer items requiring quality control enables her to perfect tasting standards.
With The Country Club’s prime season winding down and the culinary department eyeing the holiday season, Heath will soon need to consider how to approach menu planning for the months ahead.
“Our ability to deliver seasonal pastries has not been impacted,” she says. “However, our ability to experiment with new flavors that challenge the status quo has taken a backseat to delivering a consistent and quality product to our membership without an impact on our pricing structure.”
