Cherokee Town & CC’s Executive Pastry Chef Alex Hwang shares her top tips for banquet-style desserts.
Alex Hwang, Executive Pastry Chef at Cherokee Town and Country Club (Atlanta, Ga.), knows the challenges associated with large-scale pastry preparation and service better than most. Cherokee T&CC prepares 95 percent of its pastry from scratch (the only thing the club buys is sandwich bread and some ice creams).
With seven culinarians in her pastry shop, Hwang—who was named 2011 Pastry Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation—has done plated desserts for weddings with guest counts as high as 500, and buffet-style dessert bars for events catering to upwards of 1,000 people.
Here are five of her top tips for delivering memorable banquet-style desserts:
Stay True to Your Signatures: At Cherokee T&CC, the most popular desserts on the club’s everyday menu are also the most well-received for events. They include approachable favorites like chocolate bread pudding, key lime pie, heath bar pie and the club’s famous almond basket. Figure out how to scale these types of items without changing the recipes.
Watch the Clock: Unless you’re serving desserts that can be plated ahead and held in a cooler—like cheesecake, for example—timing is everything when it comes to service, especially with cold components like ice cream. Coordinate with the Executive Chef so desserts can be served on time.
All Hands on Deck: For desserts with multiple components, make sure you have enough staff members to assemble them carefully. And whenever possible, keep the number of components on a plate under six for events over 125 guests.
Variety is the Spice of Life: For dessert buffets, always try to offer something from every category: chocolate, fruit, custard, etc. Also, make sure to offer a variety of special-diet sweets including gluten-free, nut-free and sugar-free options. When you offer members with special diets a choice of desserts, you improve satisfaction in immeasurable ways.
Personalized Pastry: Always offer customized dessert menus for a member or guest planning an event. There are many dessert choices that members might not know are possible, so be an advocate. Share what works, let them taste a sample and then execute it flawlessly.