Photo Diary: Star Chefs & Vintner's Gala Desserts

It was my second year volunteering at the Meals On Wheels Star Chefs & Vintner’s Gala. Local chefs came together to prepare a multi-course dinner for donors who generously gave money to provide meals for seniors in the Bay Area. Raffles were also held to raise funds. That happened to be my area of responsibility that evening, and afterward I was given the opportunity to attend the dessert reception.

Glowing chandeliers hanging from the exposed ceiling at Fort Mason Center

The theme was black and white. Surrounding the dessert tables were clusters of sleek white seating and black coffee tables with ranunculus bouquets and candles.

The hall before the start of the reception. While waiting for it to begin, I may have gone around all the booths to scope out my favorite chefs’ locations and peruse their menus.

Once again the Kara’s Cupcakes Karavan was parked inside and the window had a Meals On Wheels display. The tastings were mini cupcakes in three flavors: passion fruit, chocolate velvet and the seasonal Mississippi Mud Pie.

I loved Taste Catering’s display. It was an all out Betty Crocker, Susie Homemaker style table with gingham window drapery and kitchen supplies spray painted in bright orange. Their desserts were modern takes on classic treats such as apple pie, strawberry shortcake and root beer floats.

One of my favorite desserts of the night was Taste Catering’s version of the strawberry shortcake. What looks like a sushi roll was actually a tuile cookie with a filling of mascarpone vanilla cream and fresh strawberries. For color, a garnish of microgreens. It was like a lighter version of a cannoli.

I want to mention Taste’s apple pie because it was playful and creative. The base was flaky cinnamon crisp to mimic a pie crust with a green apple pate de fruit on top and fresh cream.

Last year The Ritz Carlton, Half Moon Bay offered up a take home treat, so they definitely got bonus points for that considering how much everyone stuffs themselves with at the event. This year the dessert was similar, in that it was a chocolate bar but instead of peanut butter and caramel, this year it had a chocolate peanut butter ganache. The interesting thing was the chocolate did not overpower the peanut flavor. I spoke with Chef Xavier Salomon and he said when making the ganache, the cream was infused with peanuts. That’s all the peanuts contributed to the flavor. It was really so good. It was paired with a peanut ice cream which was equally delicious.

Another favorite of the night was this pavlova from Chef Yigit Pura. Last year was his first event as Chef/Owner of his pastry shop Tout Sweet. While the shop didn’t open till fall, he gave a preview with a spread of 8-10 different flavored macarons and his spot was one of the most popular of the night. It was just as much of a frenzy this year, or perhaps even more now that the shop has opened. He brought back macarons and added on a few other meringue options. This Meyer lemon pavlova was so lovely. It had a whipped citrus ganache, a fresh strawberry on top and garnish of an edible petal.

The other crazy spot of the night was at Craftman & Wolves. Just as the staff replenished empty trays…

Hands were swiping at everything. I joked to the staff that they should just hand things to us, but of course that wouldn’t be sanitary nor proper for a food establishment. Since I was taking photos I missed things quite often so I basically stood at their table for a good 15 minutes until I could manage to get a sample of each item.

My absolute favorite of the night was this strawberry sablee with an almond gianduja filling with dried strawberry on top. It was just a burst of my favorite fruit flavor in my mouth. And then there was this … on the right. It was a chocolate cube with ginger and a thai sauce inside a pipette. We were instructed to eat the cube first and then squirt the sauce in our mouths. I loved the interactive element and it was a really interesting combination. While it was fun though I still prefer the flavor of the strawberry offering.

I also really enjoyed this bird’s nest. The “yolk” was a lemon curd with a thin slice of pineapple and the “nest” was a pretzel crust. Biting into it, the lemon curd was a burst of tangyness and then I got the saltiness from the pretzel. I also want to mention the cool craggily white plates that they used. Spot on with their brand identity.

I hit my limit about half an hour in and I was jittery for a while after. Oh the things I do for pastry. All worth it.