Tom Douglas

Valentines Day at the Dahlia Bakery and Our New Executive Pastry Chef!

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the Valentines treats and sweets (photo top right) that will soon be on the menu at the Dahlia Bakery. Glorious cakes, decorated cookies, beautiful little cupcakes and more.  If you want to say LOVE in capital letters, just pick up some of these delicious delights for your sweetie.

Have you noticed the ever widening array of boxed up and ready to go sweets, savories, and treats on the Dahlia Bakery shelves (photo top left)?  I love the neat, single stacks of cookies (photo bottom left) and also the handmade caramel corn and Rice Crispies treats.  Last week I tasted a sensational cellophane-wrapped fruit and nut bar. The TDR signature candies, like Dahlia mints and Etta’s gummy fish, are available in plastic boxes, too, for just $2 to $5. I think any and all of these would make sensational little Valentines Day gifts for favorite co-workers and pals, not to mention your soulmate.

All the specialty Valentines items were designed by our new Executive Pastry Chef, Stacy Fortner.  Though we are very sad to lose Garrett, we are thrilled to have Stacy. (The super-talented Garrett Melkonian has moved on; you can find him at Spring Hill.)  Here’s a little bit about Stacy, in her own words:

“I was born and raised in Kentucky.  I have been cooking for my family since I was 11.  By the time I was 15, I started working at a small restaurant.  I would take my own money down to Mullin’s General Store so I could buy the food I needed for whatever recipes I could find.  Six years later, I graduated from Sullivan University with a Bakery and Pastry Arts degree.  Although my roots are definitely in the South, I pull inspiration from my travels through Latin America.  I love to see the ever changing flow of food, culture, and people from country to country.”

Before coming to Tom Douglas Restaurants, Stacy was Pastry Chef at Columbia Tower Club and Mistral.  She has also spent some time on the savory side of the line at Brasa, Marjorie, and 727 Pine.

(Posted by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor)

January 25th, 2010