Restaurant Chefs Are Doing It for Themselves

But such a philosophy has its difficulties for others, and hiring talent remains a long-term goal. "I am not a trained pastry chef," Curto-Randazzo admits. "I find doing the pastries at Talula a challenge, and sometimes a frustration that I struggle with on a daily basis. I have the creative ideas and visions, but having the time and trained skill to execute them is another story. In savory cooking we chefs can usually fix a mistake -- but when it comes to the world of sweets, nine times out of ten, you mess it up, you're SOL."

Perhaps that's why other chefs do the exact opposite when placed in a similar situation. For instance, "When I came to Zemi, I contemplated doing the desserts myself," Michael Schwartz says of his newest venture in Boca Raton. "But with my limited repertoire, I thought I'd be shortchanging the guests. Sure I can make some solid desserts, but I felt that I needed to find someone who is as passionate about sweets as I am about savory." And he did, in Stephanie G. Wong, whom he calls "a joy to work with ... unassuming and very talented. We often collaborate and she makes things to enhance some of my dishes."

Still Schwartz will agree with Chispa chef-owner Robbin Haas, who says that "one of the reasons we do not see a lot of restaurant pastry chefs down here is purely financial" and that finding someone as special as Nemo's Hedy Goldsmith is a rarity. "I've been so spoiled over the recent years from having Hedy and never having to worry about that department," Schwartz muses.

Goldsmith herself, who supplies the sweets for Prime 112 as well as Nemo and Big Pink, finds the current trend of restaurant chefs playing with pastry dismaying: "[Suddenly] we're an amenity, a luxury. Plus some chefs like to do the pastries now because then they can control everything. Schwartz really knew the value of having someone equal to his savory talents."

Though they may work in different cities now, clearly Goldsmith and Schwartz are still in concert. Schwartz notes: "I should say that for certain situations hiring a pastry chef is an expense that some operations cannot afford, but in the fine-dining arena I think it's money well spent." As for the talent pool, he adds, "I think it's a shame that some chefs take matters into their own hands and treat the desserts and the dessert menu like a red-headed stepchild. It's true that there is a glut in the industry for talented pastry chefs but there are some up-and-comers that just need a little direction."

For Haas, doing without a pastry chef was never an option, though he will acknowledge his luck. "We are fortunate. My chef, Adam Votaw, is also a trained pastry chef," Haas says. "He was trained by the Roux brothers in London, he was my pastry chef when I opened the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, and he was also my chef at Little Palm Island. He is as good in hot food as pastries, and has the background to back it up on both."

Like Nemo and Chispa, Cacao has built its reputation on both the savory and the sweet elements, and so can't do without a full-time, in-house pastry chef. As restaurant rep Dindy Yokel puts it, "Cacao restaurant needs one for the intricate desserts and handmade chocolates. But [in other restaurants], as the economy worsened, I think that pastry chefs were among the most costly of the staff and therefore the first to go or the first not to be hired at a new restaurant.

"Anyone can whip up a simple dessert or buy them from Bindi (no relation) but the true art of pastry is rare in Miami these days," she continues, sympathetic to the needs of the sweet-toothed public. "With portions at most restaurants so huge, so much bread being served, most people don't want dessert -- a sad thing. Most people go home looking for something sweet if they didn't order dessert, and that's when the midnight madness sets in and people eat really weird stuff to satisfy the craving. Wouldn't Hedy Goldsmith's apple pie or key lime cheesecake be so much better?"

Other independent restaurants -- such as 32 East in Delray Beach, whose Max Canter was recently featured in Food Arts, and Tsunami in West Palm Beach, which has Jason Laukhuf, until recently the executive pastry chef for all Mark Militello's restaurants -- feel the time and money it takes to find and publicize the best in the field is part and parcel of running a restaurant. OLA MIAMI owner Ed Lieberman is emphatic in his response: "It is important for the overall success of a restaurant to invest in an executive pastry chef. Executive chef Rick Gonzalez is happy to share responsibilities with executive pastry chef José Luis Flores. With a pastry chef who possesses equal talents as our executive chef, we know the dessert will complete the dining experience."

Predictably, New World cheftrepreneur Norman Van Aken feels strongly. "Oh my God!" he says. "Live without a full-time pastry chef? What is the world coming to?