The Presidents' Tarts

I really wish that I could claim that stunning orange Bavarian cream torte in the photo above, but that would be blasphemy. The man who actually made it is Roland Mesnier, the former White House pastry chef (for 26 years), and he deserves all of the credit for that masterpiece. Not only is he brilliant, he's hilarious and irreverent (two of my favorites).

But, now I'm getting ahead of myself. I did not travel to Washington, D.C. or take a special pastry class at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) to meet this famous chef. Nope. All I did was hop in my little Prius and drive 20 minutes to my alma mater - The Rel Maples Institute of Culinary Arts! The Culinary I teacher there, Chef Joe Cairns, started a program there called "Visiting Chef Series." He is the one I really have to thank, because how else would people in teensy little Sevierville, TN ever get to meet and learn from a man who served 26 years worth of presidents his culinary confections?


There he is! How precious is this man? He grew up in a very poor family (he said he even had hand-me-down underwear... of his sisters) in France, and then wound up in the white house! Amazing! But, it didn't take me long to realize how he "wound up" there. Not luck, but talent. This man created some of the most beautiful creations I've ever seen out of sugar, chocolate, sorbet, and fruit.

He enlightened us with hilarious tales of Mrs. Reagan and what a perfectionist she was (No roses in the rose garden? Just have the staff wire individual roses onto each stem in the entire garden!), Mrs. Clinton's favorite cake (Mocha), Mrs. Carter's warm and understanding personality, George W. Bush's hot dog cake that he didn't quite understand how it could possibly be a dessert if it was clearly a hot dog, and Bill Clinton's period of eating his meals very much alone.



In his demo, Chef Mesnier made an effortless chocolate ganache (he recommends using 36 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips to 2 cups of heavy cream) and turned it into a chocolate buttercream frosting. He then iced a three-layer chocolate cake with it, which was depressing to watch knowing how long it would take me to do such a task.

I ended up buying his "Dessert University" recipe book and had him sign it. And, like icing on top of a cake, he turned the "R" in his name into a little smiling person with a chef's hat. How much do I love that man? A lot.

I'll have to post when I make something from that book. And if you are in the market for a dessert cookbook that explains everything very well and is a no-nonsense approach to gorgeous and delicious desserts, I would point you in his direction!

~ Mari