Rolling Into the Upper Crust

Savanna Brodar just celebrated her first anniversary at The Country Club of North Carolina, and now holds the very long title of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Pastry Chef of the Year. She’s previously held titles of runner-up and people’s choice, but this year, savory touches to sweet recipes were able to butter up the judges.

“I usually go a little too all-out, which can be overwhelming to the judges, so I took a step back this year and tried to just make a simple dessert as pretty as possible,” says Savanna, who has been competing for four years. “I focused more on the ingredients and their flavor profiles than the look of it.”

Her creative process starts by figuring out what’s in season. Then she uses those ingredients to create a recipe inspired by her childhood in Lexington, NC.

“My granny lived right next to me and taught me to cook and bake, so all these are my ways to pay tribute to her,” she says. “I think of things she grew in the garden and put a modern touch on it.”

Memories with a Southern grandma seem to always involve shelling peas. So to her first entry, she added pureed and candied sugar snap peas and sugar snap pea ice cream to a vanilla yogurt mousse with strawberry and mint compote. The second round was also a nod to her son’s favorite fruit: cantaloupe fromage cheesecake with dehydrated chanterelle mushrooms.

The competition lets Savanna think outside the dining room — the country club clientele “likes pies, cobblers and basic things that can still be really good, but if I put a cheesecake with mushrooms on it on the menu, I don’t think they would order it,” she laughs. “In competition I can put those really ‘out there’ ideas out there, and know that these judges are going to love it.”

Savanna was one of 84 chefs who competed in two rounds across the state. See the full list of winners here, and more of Savanna’s work on Instagram.