Michelle Fountain, Pastry Chef, Biltmore Forest CC
When a recipe not only helps land a job, but becomes part of a chef’s personal portfolio, you know it’s a winner. Such was the case for Pastry Chef Michelle Fountain, who has been making a Frangelico Nut Torte at Biltmore Forest Country Club since she began at the Asheville, N.C., club three years ago. However, her signature pastry dish has been in circulation a lot longer than that.
Fountain first experienced the torte in 1998 while interning at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville. She later decided to make the dish while interviewing at the Country Club of Asheville. (Spoiler alert: Fountain got the job.)
“Members raved about it so much that I kept it as a dessert option,” she recalled.
When Fountain departed the club in 2004, she introduced the recipe to customers of her new bakery, which operated for 15 years. Bringing the nut torte to her next gig at Biltmore Forest seemed only natural—and yes, Fountain clinched the interview process by making this dish once again.
While the Frangelico nut torte has been a mainstay in Fountain’s repertoire, she has adjusted the recipe over the years.
“In the beginning,” she says, “the dessert was covered with ganache icing, and now I use a delicious chocolate glaze, which makes the appearance shiny and more visually pleasing,.”
And why does the flourless recipe continue to hold its own? It all comes down to taste.
“Its rich and decadent flavor profile is irresistible,” says Fountain.
