Forest Dunes Golf Course in Grayling, Michigan, that is. I was asked to upgrade the desserts at this beautiful restaurant inside the club house. It is called Sangamore's and it was built by the Carpenter's Union not too long ago. It is a lovely club surrounded by a very difficult golf course. I have been at other events, and of course for dinner. The dinners are always enjoyable, really tasty actually. The desserts are a sore subject with the staff and the customers. I could understand after seeing them. They were ordered from an 0ff-site place and so no one on staff had a hard time criticizing them.
With hunting season upon the north woods, the hunters are arriving and they are hungry. In response to this need, the restaurant had decided to offer a Wild Game Dinner Night. To accompany the gamey selections on the menu, I came up with some desserts that would do the dinner justice. I selected two heavy choices and one light choice, for the hunter in the group who wanted something less filling. I prepared the Opera cake with its mocha buttercream, almond jaconde cake, dark chocolate ganache and coffee simple syrup. Secondly, I created a flourless chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce and chocolate plaquettes. The lightest choice was a simple cream puff with ice cream and a duo of sauces, chocolate and caramel. I was told that every patron ordered dessert, which is unusual and exciting.
For the following night, which was actually the opening day for hunting, was dedicated to the ladies. "Ladies, Ladies, Ladies", as my friend Drew McCurdy would say. Well, they answered the call to the tune of 175 women. If you knew how remote this location was you may understand how incredible a turn out that is and from how far away they must have come. I demonstrated how to make the creme brulee and the chocolate cake (18 pounds of chocolate worth for the whole night), to which the women were most attentive. As an audience, they were inquisitive and funny. I made some of the same things as the previous night, albeit in petit four size. I also made caramel candies, lemon curd cakes, poppyseed madeleines with a caramel run sauce and vanilla creme brulee. There were 1200 pieces in all, and they were gone in 2 hours. Good Lord, I was shocked. But happy.
One of the highlights of the weekend was my little assistant. He was my little Chef Alex, Chef Jake's son. He was never in the way and he took away my dirty dishes and brought me his special concoction. He made it up by mixing fruit punch and lemonade and told me, "I just can't quit drinking it". He had sold me. That was my drink, but only for so long. He is little and I am old. It was realllllly sweet. He did me the favor of eating the broken chocolate plaquettes (just some tempered chocolate smoothed over a decoartive cocoa butter design). He tasted a fingertipful of the sauces and even ate a tiny bit of edible gold leaf. I told him that he was increasing in value as he swallowed. He showed up both days and we discussed flavors, textures, aromas and he did not want to leave on the second day. He was to go hang with his Grandpa. He tried to convince his Dad not to take him. I found him, red eyed and sniffling, trying to cover his face, by the walk-in cooler. I pretended not to notice that he was crying, but I could feel for him. I wanted him to stay. Hell, he carried on a hell of a conversation. Did I mention he was still in elementary school? (I had to chant this mantra as I fell to sleep, "You are too old to have another baby, You are too old to have another baby").
I am always nervous entering another Chef's domain. I always thank him (or her) for allowing me the use of their space. Then I ask them to let me know if I am ever using a space that they will be needing or am in the way of any sort. I gave Chef Jake a caramel and he asks, "did you make this?". I reply in the affirmative and throughout the evenings, he would ask the same question about different things, always with my same reply. Yes, I made the desserts, the curd, the chocolate plaquettes, the curls, the tuiles, the chocolate cigarettes. He then saw me plating up the Opera for the Game Dinner and said, "ah ha, did you make the chocolate covered espresso beans?" I could finally answer "no". There would be no point. The quality was high enough for me. I added that I also did not make the berries. If it had been a few months earlier, I could have said that I had grown those too. But, we are in the north woods and it is coooold.
