Jessica Little Fu

Update Review, April 2026

Back in November, I attended an event run by the tea club at my office where they ordered a selection of desserts from a local home baker, Jessica Little Fu, to pair with the teas.  The desserts were exceptional.  Truly, exceptional.  Flawless execution, complex and interesting flavors, everything.  My mind was blown.  And I lamented the fact that this was not a very accessible option to get to try more things from again, and she only does catering and some pop-ups.

And then the host of the tea club ordered from her again, about 6 months later.  To say I was excited when I saw the placards introducing the lineup was an understatement.  I couldn't wait to try more items from this clearly extremely talented baker.  And the best part?  Our host had selected all new items (one was a different flavor of something we had before, but the rest were all new), including two cakes, and one pie, 5 items total.

And again.  Just, wow.  Seriously, seek this baker out any chance you get!

Strawberry Daifuku.

"Ichigo Farms Albion strawberry wrapped in white bean paste and house made mochi."

In the interests of picking my first two choices only to be polite, I skipped the daifuku initially.  It was the simplest of all the items after all.

When I returned for a second pass, after everyone had their initial fill, alas, they were all gone.  I really was interested to try it, the white bean paste in particular sounded unique, but, everyone else grabbed them.  Alas.

Strawberry Mochi Mousse Cake.

"Mochi, strawberry mousse, roasted strawberries, whipped cream and vanilla chiffon."

The one item that was a slight repeat from the previous event was the mochi mousse cake, however this time it was strawberry.  I skipped this my initial pass too, since I had something similar before, but I was thrilled when there was a tiny piece left when I went back for my second round.  When I had it last time in passionfruit form I was blown away by the passionfruit mousse, and I was curious how the more common strawberry would compare.

It was a delicious creation yet again.  The soft pliable mochi wrapping it, the flavorful insanely fluffy mousse ... yep, no words.  The flavor was a bit more "boring" compared to the passionfruit, but I still really quite enjoyed it, and gladly would have another and another and another of these.  I need more homemade mochi wrapped cream items in my life!  4.5/5.  My favorite of the items I tried.

Yuzu Blueberry Meringue Pie.

"Flaky butter pie shell filled with blueberry compote, yuzu curd and torched meringue and makrut lime leaf whipped cream."

I also skipped the pie offering, yuzu blueberry meringue, in my first venture up to the dessert table, even though I had *adored* the pie we had last time (black sesame banana cream pie), and in particular I adored the crust, but I tend to not like lemon/citrus curd and again, wanted to be polite and not take everything, even though I still loved the sound of the blueberry, the meringue, and the crust.  And honestly, if any baker was going to have me like a citrus curd, it could very well be her!

Alas, when I went back, this pie was also gone, except for a shard of crust.  I did snag that shard of crust, and it was just as flawless as last time: soooo crispy, soooo flaky, soooo buttery, just, perfect.  Five star crust, but I can't review the rest.  What I had though, was my second favorite bite.

Pineapple Earl Grey Cake.

"Three layers of vanilla chiffon, earl grey white chocolate whipped ganache, pineapple lemongrass curd."

The cakes were where I focused initially. The first cake was the tea inspired offering, perfect for the event, with earl grey and a fascinating sounding pineapple lemongrass curd.  The decoration was extremely classy, it gave wedding adjacent vibes. 

Pineapple Early Grey Cake: Inside.

The layers were well constructed, with light simple vanilla chiffon, all equal size layers, with an appropriate ratio of the earl grey white chocolate ganache, and thin layers of the curd.

The chiffon was again just soooo light and truly what chiffon should be, although still not a favorite cake style for me.  The cake needed a base though, and any other style of cake would be too heavy for these fillings, so, it makes sense.

The earl grey white chocolate ganache was thick, rich, and had enough earl grey to taste it, but it wasn't overly strong.  The sweetness level was low for white chocolate that is so often overly sweet, but still sweeter than many Asian style desserts.  The curd was slightly tangy, slightly tropical.

It was all well made, delicate flavors, that worked well together, but none are flavors I necessarily gravitate towards, so it didn't wow me.  3.5/5 because I can appreciate how well done it was, even if it wasn't the item for me.  My least favorite, only due to preferences.

Black Sesame Strawberry Cake.

"Three layers of vanilla chiffon, black sesame pastry cream, strawberries, roasted strawberries and whipped cream."

And lastly, the one I was most excited for, the black sesame strawberry cake!  I was excited for every single element of this.

It too was beautifully decorated, with gold shimmer for a touch a class, and brilliantly juicy strawberries that drew me in immediately.

Black Sesame Strawberry Cake: Inside.

The layers of this were expertly crafted as well: even layers of cake, plentiful black sesame cream and whipped cream, large hunks of berries embedded within.

The cake was essentially the same, light, the right style for this kind of cake, but not my preferred kind of cake.  The berries were perfectly ripe and vibrant.  Eating these made me lament a bit more than I missed out on the strawberry daifuku.  The whipped cream was fresh and not overly sweetened.  These are all simple elements, but, done exactly right.

And then of course, the black sesame pastry cream!  It reminded me of the black sesame mousseline from the black sesame banana cream pie, just a bit less firm, which makes sense for a cake filling compared to a pie filling that needed to retain structure for slices.  It was delightfully nutty, and a great combination with the berries.  So put it all together?  Yep, no edits really.  5/5 execution, 4.5/5 for my own enjoyment.

Original Review, December 2025

It is rare for me to really be impressed with a baked good or dessert these days.  I was spoiled by years of having an ex-Michelin star pastry chef creating nightly desserts for my group at work (and a succession of equally talented pastry chefs before/after that) and by having a couple years of doing extensive fine dining.  That is all in my past, but more recently, I've spent my last three summers in New York City, where I've made eating top notch pastries and baked goods a priority.  So most things I encounter in everyday life in San Francisco just don't really wow me.  Sure, there are some that stand out (e.g. yes, Arsicault), but most, even if good, I'm not like "ZOMG" about.

So I had no expectations when I recently attended a tea and dessert event featuring a popup vendor I'd never heard of: Jessica Little Fu.  Let me tell you: um, you should pay attention to this pastry chef.

Jessica Little Fu is a pastry chef and baking instructor, and hails from a background working at the Michelin starred restaurants State Bird Provisions and The Progress (and later, Stonehill Matcha).  She now sells at popups, and special orders from her website.  I know little else about her, besides that, well, she's crazy talented.  

"Today, I can be found at occasional pop ups around the bay area, working on passion projects and teaching what I have learned to baking enthusiasts. My pastries showcase California seasonal produce and often have a touch of Chinese pastry nostalgia."

She's sorta low profile, just doing her thing it seems.  Her work features a lot of Asian flavor profiles, but modern unique creations, with high level of mastery of technique.  She incorporates a lot creams, fruits, cakes, and flavored whipped creams.  Mmm, all things I love.

Our event had 6 items: 1 sheet cake, 2 types of pie, 2 kinds of panna cotta, and one individual sized cake/mousse.  I read through the menu with my eyes getting wider and wider.  I wanted them all.  As a first pass, I selected my top two choices, but when it was clear that there was plenty, and that most people were loading up platters and taking some home, I returned to get more.  In the end, I had 5 of the 6 items, and all were ... flawless?  To say I was impressed is an understatement.

Black Sesame Banana Cream Pie.

"A pie filled with layers of silky black sesame mousseline, malted milk sweet cream and bananas encased in a flaky pie crust with a thin layer of milk chocolate."

The one I went straight for, my first pick to try, was the black sesame banana cream pie.  I love banana cream pie.  I adore black sesame.  This sounded, well, perfect.  I loved that it came pre-sliced into 8 very large slices.  I also loved that other event attendees didn't seem inclined to try to cut them in pieces, so taking a full slice seemed appropriate.

Black Sesame Banana Cream Pie: Close up.

"Flaky butter pie shell brushed with milk chocolate and filled with black sesame mousseline, bananas and malted milk whipped cream."

The pie was a stunning 3 layers of bananas and black sesame mousseline, plus a very generous layer of the malted milk whipped cream, all sprinkled with some black sesame seeds.  I was impressed with the structural integrity as I took a slice.

The crust was everything I want in a crust: super crispy, super flaky, high butter, fantastic.  I suspect the light layer of milk chocolate lining it helped keep it crisp against the filling.  The crust alone had me impressed.

But this pie kept on giving.  It was loaded with bananas, fresh, ripe, not too mushy.  Very strong banana focus, as you can see visually as well.  The bananas were enrobed in the glorious black sesame mousseline.  It was creamy, rich, and sophisticatedly nutty.  As someone who grew up eating a lot of bananas with peanut butter as a snack, this immediately worked for me, and just felt like a grown up spin on a flavor profile that sparked comfort and nostalgia.  And then, the very generous layer of whipped cream on top, which was not just any old whipped cream, but, malted milk whipped cream.  It had just that extra touch of depth and again, sophistication, that felt both familiar and a bit upscale all at once.

Put it all together and you have a very unique and complex spin on what is otherwise a fairly basic nostalgic comfort food pie (banana cream) and childhood snack (nut butter on bananas), melded together into a showstopper.  There is literally nothing I'd suggest be done differently with this, the flavors, textures, and technique just all were top notch.  4.5/5, tied for first place for me in favorites.

Passion Fruit Mochi Mousse Cake.

"Mochi, passion fruit mousse, strawberry sauce, whipped cream and vanilla chiffon."

My second pick when honing in on selecting just two to try to start was the mochi mousse cake.  It was certainly the most unique looking, and I was fascinated by what it might be like inside as well.  The mochi blanket embracing it was so soft and pliable, and really quite pleasant to eat, just a subtle rice taste.

Passion Fruit Mochi Mousse Cake: Inside.

And then, within.  The base was a very light vanilla chiffon.  It was an uninteresting component of the desert, and I'd prefer some other kind of base, but there was nothing wrong with it, and its plainness did offset the intensity of the other elements.

The majority of this was a stunner, a sensational passion fruit mousse.  It was fluffy and creamy, fruity and tropical, slightly sweet and slightly tart, and studded with sooo many passion fruit seeds for lots of crunch.  It never seemed too heavy nor too sweet, and had just the right level of intensity, all from real passionfruit, no fake taste to it.  I adored the mousse.

The whipped cream was a minor component on top, and was nice to balance the mousse a little, but the mousse was so good I barely felt it needed it.  The strawberry sauce turned out to be just that dot on top, none within, so it added a sweet additional fruity burst, but then was gone. 

Overall, such a unique item, and it did all work together well, but I almost think I would have enjoyed it more if it was just mochi filled with passion fruit mousse.  Still, I devoured it, and would get another in a heartbeat. Strong 4/5, the passion fruit mousse though was an easy 5/5.  My second favorite item.

Chestnut Oolong Cake.

"Three layers of vanilla chiffon, Phoenix Honey Orchid oolong tea pastry cream, chestnut whipped cream."

After securing my top two choices, I moved on to take a look at the large format cake.  The cake looked slightly more homemade than professional (obviously by a talented home baker, but it didn't scream out professional at first glance), and at first I thought this might be a different source than the other items.  But then I saw the description, and saw how it fit right in.

While the cake and oolong components, and the less polished look of it didn't quite draw me in, the mention of chestnut is all it took for me to slice off a small piece, to at least give it a try.

Chestnut Oolong Cake: Close up.

The cake had three very equal layers of chiffon, and what seemed to be the same filling (albeit studded with chestnuts) and frosting.  I had somewhat expected the inside to be the oolong tea pastry cream, and outside to be the chestnut whipped cream.

I often comment on how chiffon cake is my least favorite style of cake (I may adore Asian flavors and desserts from around the world, but, American style dense butter cake is still my preferred cake, chiffon, sponge, genoise ... eh).  However this was moist and light as air, and really did seem appropriate with the delicate flavors of the oolong pastry cream.  This was actually the first bite of anything I had (before the previous items), and I was immediately impressed.

Then, the pastry cream / whipped cream.  Light and fluffy.  There was a mild hint of tea that lingered on the finish, but it was very mild, as you'd expect from oolong.  The filling within the layers of cake was studded with little bits of chestnut.  At first I thought they were red bean actually, as the taste and size of the bits immediately connected in my brain as red bean, but actually, this was the chestnut.  It was more ... nutty? Legume-like? than I expected.  It was quite savory, and the pastry cream/whipped cream wasn't very sweetened either, so this really was not a sweet dessert.

Overall this was my least favorite of the items I tried, as I prefer things a bit sweeter, I prefer non-chiffon cake, and I'm not excited about oolong, but it was still a very good cake.  4/5 on execution really.

Hojicha Dulcey Cream Pie.

"Cocoa cookie crumb crust filled with hojicha dulcey chocolate cremeux and caramel whipped cream."

In my initial priority stack rank of items to try, I had this near the middle of the pack, after the cake.  I adore dulcey chocolate, but I'm not really a tea lover (I don't mind it, just, not my top choice of flavor to go for), and the cocoa cookie crumb crust seemed less interesting than the elements of the other desserts.  I still was curious to try it though, given how successful everything else was, so when there was still a bunch of slices of this left, I broke the mold of taking full slices and actually cut one in half, so I could just try it, but not take a full slice (which, totally mangled it, alas).

The cocoa cookie crust was actually pretty good.  Crispy, compressed, deep cocoa flavor, slightly bitter in a good way.  It was a nice thickness to really taste the cocoa, but not too thick to easily break through with a fork.  But as I expected, it just wasn't all that exciting to me on its own (but, I also hate Oreos, so, consider that fact).  When you combined it with the  caramel whipped cream on top though ... brilliant!  There was no denying the fact that it was caramel, so sweet, so intense.  I loved it, and it did indeed go well with that crust, in a way that elevated both elements when consumed together.  I would be happy with just this crust and topping as a pie!

But there was more.  The main body of the pie was actually the hojicha dulcey chocolate cremeux.  Oh, wow.  For all the lack of intensity in the oolong pastry cream in the cake, this one had in spades.  The tea flavor was strong, and really kept drawing me back in.  It was bitter but tempered by the dulcey which gave a hint of caramely sweetness (and of course, it was balanced out with the crust/whip as well if you ate it all together).  The consistency of it was remarkable too - soooo smooth.  It was quite thick, far thicker than the passion fruit mousse, the oolong pastry cream, or the black sesame mousseline, yet velvety smooth.  It really was exceptional, and I found myself wanting more and more of it.

I ended up liking this quite a bit, and would have easily consumed a full slice (perhaps saving half for the next day).  I actually preferred the crust/whip as one dessert, and this cremeux as its own thing, as I felt the flavors were allowed to shine a bit more that way, but, such a surprise hit for me.  Shockingly tied for first place. 4.5/5.

Elderflower Panna Cotta.

"St Germaine panna cotta with fresh berries and passion fruit."

And finally, the last item I grabbed, a panna cotta.  This may come as a surprise that it was the last thing on my priority list, given that my blog has a label dedicated to pudding AND one exclusively for panna cotta, and I do love it, but, I actually just thought it was the least likely to impress compared to the more elaborate items.  Plus, the St. Germaine didn't draw me in.

It came topped with a few berries (raspberries, blueberries) and fresh passionfruit.  

The panna cotta was, as you may have guessed by now, executed flawlessly.  Well set.  Thick.  Rich.  Smooth.  Fresh cream taste, mildly sweet.  The vibrant fruit on top, particularly the passion fruit, offset the slight plainness of the base panna cotta.  As for the St. Germaine, I'll admit I didn't taste it.  But it really was a fantastic panna cotta nonetheless.  If I had one note it is that I would have preferred some additional flavoring, be it the St. Germaine or something like buttermilk, but still, this was very, very good.

This really was textbook execution of panna cotta, you can tell the pastry chef is a master of her craft from this simple dish alone.  4/5.  My third pick, only because the others were more interesting, but, yeah, flawless.

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Traiteur de Paris

Update Review, June 2025

I wasn't particularly pleased with anything from Traiteur de Paris when I reviewed several of their products a few years ago, but they provide mini desserts for the catering company that my office uses sometime, so I'm a captive audience and tried more items.  I found a few bites that were actually decent enough, or at least, better than the others.

Mini Dessert Cups.

"Our Mini desserts cups with their intense color enable a meal or a cocktail party to be finished with a dash of freshness. In fact, these little glasses are always much appreciated and offer time savings for the caterers and event organizers. You can also use them as an accompaniment for coffee with dessert."

"The classic flavors (chocolate, lemon meringue, Tiramisu-style and raspberry vanilla) have been carefully chosen by the Traiteur de Paris chefs to achieve varied tastes which will please the greatest number of your guests."

This assortment of dessert cups come in 4 flavors: chocolate, tiramisu-style, vanilla & raspberry, and lemon meringue. I tried all but the later, as I don't generally care for lemon desserts or that style of meringue.

They also make an assortment with 4 other flavors: chocolate & whipped cream, "exotic" shortbread (mango/coconut/passionfruit), red fruit panna cotta, and vanilla caramel.

Tiramisu-Style Amuse-Bouche Glass.

"Biscuit soaked in coffee, mascarpone mousse, Chantilly cream, cocoa powder."

I appreciate that they call these "tiramisu-style" rather than just tiramisu, as they aren't exactly tiramisu.  That said, they were pretty tiramisu adjacent.  The little bit of biscuit/cake in the base was soaked in plenty of coffee, and was very moist and flavorful, although there wasn't much of it.  The majority of the glass was filled with a thick, rich mascarpone mousse.  It didn't quite taste like mascarpone to me, but it was really thick and rich, and had a nice consistency.  Chantilly cream on top was good too.  

Overall, a decent little dessert.  3.5/5.

Update review: I was so excited to see these a month later, but this time, I was much less impressed.  It just tasted so muted, so subtle, and the consistency of the main mousse was a bit grainy and not very pleasant. 2.5/5.

Chocolate Amuse-Bouche Glass.

"Chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse and cocoa sauce, white chocolate shavings."

This one was even better.  The base was I think the chocolate mousse, the lightest of the three layers.  It was basically just exceptionally good milk chocolate pudding.  Above that, I think the "cocoa sauce" that was thicker than most sauce but thinner than fudge, super rich, super chocolately, very good as well, and really amped up the over the top chocolate flavor.  And then, the top layer, the ganache, that was a bit thicker, far richer, and just pushed this into highly decadent levels.

Every single layer of this was a high 4/5 on its own, and combined this neared 4.5/5 territory.  The only slight negative is that I wanted something crunchy in here for texture - some cocoa nibs would go really far (and of course, I just added them myself).  But wow, shockingly good.

Update review: Yup, I had another of these a month later too.  It was definitely considerably better than the tiramisu, and each layer was good, but it actually was just a bit too rich for me this time around, and I found myself really wishing it had just some plain whipped cream to balance it out. 3/5.

Vanilla & Raspberry.

"Biscuit soaked in raspberry syrup, vanilla-flavored sabayon, raspberry jelly, raspberry and chopped pistachios."

This was the least good of the trio.  

The base was a fine crumble, akin to what some cheesecakes have, not what I'd consider "biscuit soaked in raspberry syrup".  Just, compressed, lightly sweet, crumble.  The "vanilla-flavored sabayon" wasn't really frothy like a sabayon usually is, and was more like a panna cotta.  It was fine, but, just a different consistency than expected given the description.  I really did not care for the raspberry jelly on top, just a mass of gelatin, not a good consistency at all.

So, the base was fine but not as expected, the panna cotta-like layer was fine but not as expected, and I quickly discarded the top.  Low 3/5.

Original Review, October 2021

I've reviewed many wholesale bakeries before, but most have been US based.  Traiteur de Paris, as you may guess from the name, is actually a French foodservice distributor, based in, yup, Paris.  They do however have a US based distribution channel, so I was able to order some of their goods.

"Your Personal French Chef Is Ready to Serve You! Traiteur de Paris - celebrated for their frozen hors d’oeuvres, accompaniments and desserts - offers true haute cuisine, heated and served by great restaurants, hotels and caterers around the globe. Once sworn to secrecy, this ultimate Chef’s helper is now available for gourmets and aspiring Chefs at home."

From their own accolades, their offerings sound great.  The "ultimate Chef's helper!"  Great to show off to your friends and relatives and make them think you are a great home cook!  Served at fine establishments!  Oh my.

Traiteur de Paris makes a large variety of items, but it is only the dessert line that I focused on.

Lemon Meringue Pie.

"Tart, fresh, and light, this lemon meringue pie offers a mix of wonderful textures and a presentation that is at once modern and elegant.

This incomparable dessert is made up of a bed of crispy butter shortbread topped with a creamy and lightly tart lemon custard and a dollop of Italian meringue.

As the final touch, the lemon meringue pie is sprinkled with flaked almonds, as well as orange and lemon zest for a refined finish."

Like most foodservice products, this arrives frozen, which seemed ambitious to me for meringue.  And you could tell, it was very deflated.

The crust was described as "crispy butter shortbread", but, that really isn't what it seemed like to me.  It was gritty and crispy, not buttery, and not anything like shortbread.  It crumbled like rubble.  And it had no flour, doesn't shortbread have flour?  It wasn't bad necessarily, but really strange texture and not shortbread.

The lemon layer I hated, as I generally don't like lemon desserts.  It was so tart and eggy.  And the deflated meringue?  About as good as it looked.

I did like the candied nuts.

I extracted the crust and nuts, and added my own whipped cream, and just made my own little crumble dessert, and was happy enough, but, uh, I don't think that counts as endorsing this product.

2.5/5.

Gianduja Shortbread Cake.

"The Chefs of Traiteur de Paris have joined chocolate fondant cream and Gianduja nuts with crumble crunch to create a mix of textures and flavors that will dance in your mouth.

Ready to serve, the Gianduja shortbread cake is enhanced with a gourmet design composed of almond matchsticks, crushed hazelnuts, bits of candied orange, and crumble crunch."

This was ... pretty.  And it sure sounded fancy.  But I hated it.

The crust was gritty, which wasn't a problem itself, but the flavor was awful, I think I just didn't like the almond powder in it.

The "chocolate fondant cream" was indeed chocolatey and creamy, but, it wasn't particularly good.

The toppings were a mix of crushed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios) and bits of candied orange, all of which kinda contrasted.  Not a fan.  But it was pretty?

One star ... for looks, but nothing else redeeming here.

Panna Cotta Mango Shortbread.

"A light and refreshing dessert, with a sweet note of coconut." -- GourmetXpress, distributor

"Refreshing and modern, the Panna cotta and mango shortbread is the ideal dessert for the summer.

Enhanced by a touch of coconut, the panna cotta is delicately placed on a elegant coconut crumble base. All is covered with a layer of gelled mango and several pieces of candied mango." -- Traiter de Paris

Since I adore panna cotta, I was pretty interested in this one, although, um, clearly it wasn't quite what I was thinking of when I think of panna cotta ...

This was ... ok.

The crust was my favorite part, a coconut crumble, kinda sweet.  I wanted it with whipped cream.

The panna cotta layer, in the middle, was highly mediocre.  Smooth, decent texture, but, rather flavorless and uninteresting.

The top was the worst part, just, mango flavored goo.

Overall, nothing wrong with it exactly, besides the goo factor, but, just not very good.

2.5/5.

CARAMEL DELIGHT WITH SALTED BUTTER WITH GUÉRANDE SALT.

"Our Caramel delight with salted butter with Guérande salt is a dessert made of 100% caramel which have your caramel-loving gourmands swoon.

Offering a wonderful mix of textures, it is composed of a crumble base, topped with creamy caramel and an airy cream perfumed with caramel, all punctuated with crisp crumble bits. The surprise of this dessert lies in its tender salted butter caramel center (with Guérande salt)." -- Traiteur de Paris

"A crumble base is topped with a light toffee cream with a delicious filling of soft caramel Toffee and Guerande salt." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

How amazing did this sound?  Salted caramel.  Crumble.  "Airy cream".  It sounded amazing!

How amazing did it taste?  0 amazing.  Actually, no, 11000 amazing.  It was awful.

The crust was way too crumbly, and fell apart immediately.  It tasted like sawdust.

The layer above that was sweet, clearly caramely, so I guess it had that going for it if you want way overpowering sweetness.

The layer on the very top was also too sweet, but at least it was fluffy.  The crumble on top?  More sawdust.

The description was right about one part though - the only surprise was the gooey caramel in the center.  It was a surprise in that it was decent, unlike the rest of it.

Clearly, this dessert was not a winner, and, it seemed so promising!

Another one star.

Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona.

"The pastry chefs of Traiteur de Paris have selected the internationally renowned Grand Cru Taïnori® chocolate to create an exceptional dessert. Containing 64% cacao from the Dominican Republic, this chocolate has an intense and fruity flavor profile.

The Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona® is meltingly soft with a smooth and gooey chocolate center that yields a rich gustatory experience." -- Traiteur de Paris

"Made in France, our fondant is made with 22% of VALRHONA® TAÏNORI® Chocolate from Dominican Republic (64% cocoa) and premium ingredients, such as whole eggs and natural vanilla flavor. Its fruity and intense flavor gives its genuinely unique signature." -- White Toque

Valrhona makes good chocolate.  I know this, I've reviewed their products before.  So, I was excited to try this.

But it wasn't served hot (!), nor with whipped cream or ice cream (!!), both of which were mind boggling to me.  Molten chocolate cake needs to be warm, and it needs something to cut the richness!  Clearly, not the fault of Traiteur de Paris, but rather of our catering team, but still.  Criminal!

So I tried a bite at room temperature, to evaluate, and then took it home to warm up, and serve properly.

At room temperature, it was fine, but boring.  Fairly loose chocolate pudding-like center.  Cake around the outside.  Fine, good quality chocolate, but not particularly interesting.

Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona: Warm!

Once warmed up, it was better.

The center really did turn molten.

But the chocolate flavor wasn't nearly as deep as I expected for something made with such high end chocolate.  I was surprised.

Still, fine, but a molten chocolate cake should be more than fine.

3/5.

Fondant with Taïnori® chocolate from Valrhona.

The catering team brought these back a few months later.  This time, also stone cold, and it didn't look like they had even *tried* to warm them up, whereas before I think they had warmed them, just, way in advance of service?  These looks like solid cakes.

At room temp, yup, just a soft chocolate cake.  Microwaving it made it properly molten, and adding mexican chocolate ice cream topped it off nicely.

Not my top choice of dessert, but, decent enough.

3/5.

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Sheraton Grand Krakow, Executive Lounge

In the years leading up to the Covid pandemic, I travelled quite a bit for work, regularly 100-120 nights a year on the road, with Marriott hotels (originally Starwood) as my loyalty chain of choice.  As such, I had fairly high status, and with that, executive lounge access at properties that have them.  I didn't know prior to all those nights in hotels how much I'd value such an amenity, but lounges have become key elements of my stay as a hotel guest, and I highly value a nice lounge.

"Sheraton Club is a space designed for relaxation where you can enjoy refreshments throughout the day and a wide selection of hot and cold snacks and alcoholic beverages in the evening. Access to the Sheraton Club is additionally charged."

When I was in Krakow this year, I had access to the lounge at the Sheraton Grand.  It was easily the least impressive lounge I've been to internationally, and seemed highly underutilized.  During the day, I literally never encountered another guest there when I would cruise through for a drink or snack.  The fact that it isn't open for breakfast, the time when I think most elite business guests really value it, is odd to me.  So, it was pretty ho-hum and boring overall, but I did absolutely adore the crispy peanut snacks they had all day, and some of the desserts were shockingly good.  A nice-to-have, but not defining feature of the property. 

Setting

The lounge is located on the 2nd floor, down at the far end of the hallway.  If you didn't know to look for it, you would not know it was there, just on the lowest guest room floor tucked away.  It is open daily from 6am-11pm, but is largely empty and unattended, quite different from most lounges I've visited.

Seating.

The lounge is fairly small, with just one section.  There are a few soft couches with coffee tables, and a few small dining tables, plus an area where the evening buffet gets set up.  Not really the type of place people linger around outside of the cocktail hour.  It is open to the interior atrium of the main hotel, overlooking the restaurant below.

Drinks

Soft Drinks.

Soft drinks are available to grab all day long.  Sadly no sparkling water, and only sugared drinks.

They had a self-serve filtered water tap that made still or sparkling water, but was located very close to the counter, so you couldn't use it to fill your own bottle (likely intentionally for hygiene reasons?).

There was also beer on tap.

Coffee Machine.

A standard robot coffee machine is also available all day, with cups to go.

Water and Tea.

Spa water and tea bags were available all day long.

Red Wine.

Red wine, vodka, gin, and scotch are available nightly from 6pm-8pm.  No white wine.

My first night, there were two red wines.  Pluvium Spanish wine and Castillo Lagomar Semi Tinto.  I tried both, and didn't care for either.  Both not generally the style of wine I go for anyway.  I don't get the impression that wine is big in Poland - everyone else in the lounge was enjoying the beer on tap, or the vodka, and we saw very small wine lists in general when dining out.

Red Wine Night #2.

The second night a third wine was added, Alto Barrica Red Semi - Dry.  It also wasn't very good.  

Wine selection: below average, **+.

Savory Food

The savory food lineup features several hot dishes, plus cold canapes, and your standard cheeses and charcuterie.  I didn't find anything particularly good.  It changed nightly.

Fennel Soup / Couscous.

Every night started with a soup and a grain.

The fennel soup was ok.  It was very thick.  It needed seasoning, and I wanted something a bit more going on, but it was ok.  **+.

I didn't try the couscous.

Minestrone Soup.

The next night it was minestrone, which I didn't try.

Chicken Strips / Porridge with Bacon.

Nor did I try the chicken strips or porridge, also on offer the second night.

Pork Meat / Pasta with Tomatoes.

The other hot dishes didn't look good, but I tried them anyway.

The "pork meat" was some kind of stew, lackluster quality meat, lackluster flavor.  I didn't care for this.  I think this is a fairly traditional Polish stew.*.

The pasta was literally just basic penne with tomato sauce.  The flagship restaurant on site is an Italian restaurant, so I somewhat expected more from the pasta offering. *+.

Polendusice (?) / Potato.

The next night, for the meat and carbs we had ... this.

The first dish was ... a mystery.  The word it was labelled with, "Polendusice", doesn't translate to anything in English from Polish, and I can't find it anywhere.  I later asked about it and was told it was pork tenderloin.  It was ... not very good.  Tender, but not great flavor in the pork, and it didn't seem very high quality. The brown gravy tasted like from a jar.  *+.

The potato wedges were ok, not great, clearly not freshly fried, but they had good seasoning, and there were tasty sauces to dunk them in.  **+.

Pickles, Olives, Condiments night #1.

I liked the mixed pickles.

The first night had just mayonnaise and "burger sauce" which I didn't try.  The next night though this was bbq sauce and garlic aioli, both of which were tasty.  The garlic aioli was particularly flavorful.  ***+.

Tartines with turkey, salad fixings,
charcuterie, cheese, fruit, nuts.

Most nights had some kind of crostini or tartine, basic salad fixings, and cheese and cold cuts.

I didn't try the turkey open faced tartine.

The salad station was mixed leaves, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  Nothing special, but not bad.  Nice to have some vegetables.

I also tried a few things from the charcuterie platter, including an ok rillettes style product.  

Eh.  **.

Cheese Platter.

I tried a few things from the cheese platter, not knowing what any was exactly, and didn't care for them either.  One looked really promising, grilled, halloumi-like, but I hated the flavor.  From my later research on Polish food, I think this was grilled oscypek (which I confirmed when I saw it at breakfast too).  I later learned (from the excellent description cards at breakfast), that the one that looked like Gouda, but then surprised me with its different taste, was Amber cheese, an aged yellow cheese.  **.

The next day at breakfast, at the restaurant (review coming soon!), I found many of these same items, with labels, which was much more helpful.

Sandwich offering day 2.

The second day this area had a tortilla with cheese (cream?) and cucumber instead of the tartine, which I didn't try.

Tartines with Egg Paste.

Next, another tartine, this time with "egg paste".  I tried this one.

The crostini base was overly crispy.  The egg paste, e.g. egg salad, was fine.  Yay for a little more freshness from tomato and arugula too.  **+.

The next night had a similar item, but on softer baguette slices.

Mushroom & Cabbage Strudel?

The second night had this item, with no label.  I think it was a mushroom and cabbage filled strudel? There may have been leeks too.  The mushrooms were the kind that taste like from a can sadly.  I really couldn't tell if it was leeks or cabbage, but, there was some kind of very cooked down vegetable in there.  Not particularly well seasoned.  The pastry on top was flaky, but was entirely raw on the bottom.

Just not very good. But yay pastry? *.

Canape with Fish Paste.

Did not like this either, very fishy odd taste to the paste. *.

Burrata Salad.

The salad selection the first night was burrata. Again, given the Italian restaurant on site, I had high hopes for the burrata.  The restaurant, and the casual rooftop bar, both feature burrata preps on the menu.

It was ok?  Not as ripe and oozing cream as I'd like, but it tasted fresh.  The drizzle of olive oil and maybe pesto was a decent compliment.  Eh to beets, but that's just my preference.  **+.

Macaroni Salad with Chicken.

The next night the salad was "macaroni" (as labelled) with chicken.  It was just some basic corkscrew pasta with tomatoes and slices of chicken.  Not particularly good. **.

All Day Snacks.

Every day, all day, had some kind of coated peanuts.  I became addicted to them.  Super crunchy shell, flavorful coatings (different color/flavor every day, these were paprika I think?  Other days had orange bbq? ones and green wasabi? ones), all with a peanut inside.  Highlight of the lounge.  I adored these.  Why do we not have them in the US?  *****.

Sweet

So the drinks, the savory food, not really netting the Sheraton Grand Krakow lounge any points in my book.  But you know how much I value good desserts, and here, they shockingly did deliver on some items.

Cake / Filled Croissant.

During the day, a few sweet bites are available.

I tried the filled croissant, it seemed to be filled with some kind of jam.  It was a darker style pastry dough, like it was trying to be wholesome and healthier?  Not much buttery flavor.  Vague fruity filling.  Not very good.  **.

Nutella Donut.

The next day, during the late morning/afternoon, there was a nutella filled donut, the same kind that Marriott hotels have worldwide in their breakfast buffets, and I do kinda like.

Other days had other fillings.  Many of which I hadn't had before at other properties, such as Biscoff or white chocolate, both of which were great.  I do like these, in their own way, but when in Krakow, if you want a donut, I highly recommend going to get an actual Polish donut, even if you just go somewhere like Dobra Pączkarnia.  ***+.

Banana Cake.

In the evening, the afternoon cake was back, but more dressed up this time, with a little cream and dried apple slice.  I did not try this.

Nut Cake.

Another night it was nut cake, that I also didn't try.  Again very dressed up.

Chocolate Cake with Pistachio.

One night, the cake offering was much better looking: chocolate cake with pistachio.  This wasn't really "cake" though, it was VERY rich, and very excellent, flourless chocolate cake style cake.  

So dense, so rich, so chocolatey, so very very good.  Consistency, texture, flavor, all done really well.  It had a fantastic crispy base as well.  I wanted whipped cream to lighten it, or some fresh strawberries or raspberries, but it really was excellent.  ****+.

Brownies.

The second night the other option was brownies, that I didn't try.

Cheesecake.

My final night it was the cheesecake, the same offered in the cafe downstairs, or served in the restaurant, for 40PLN.  Literally same item as the display case in cafe.  Very big slices.

It was good cheesecake.  Ricotta style I think, some lemon to it.  Tasty crust.  ***+.

Tiramisu.

"Mascarpone | savoiardi | cocoa."

Every night also had some kind of pudding.  This thrilled me, as I adore puddings (hence why my blog has a label devoted to pudding reviews!).

The tiramisu was fabulous.  Truly fabulous.  Great actual amaretti flavor from the biscuits on top, well soaked moist but not mushy ladyfingers within, thick rich cream, notes of coffee and chocolate.   Probably the best tiramisu I've had in many years.  I'd gladly get this again.  ****+.

Tiramisù Classico is on the menu at the restaurant for zł 43.

Mascarpone with Peach.

The next night, I was delighted to see another type of pudding-pot, as I just adore puddings in general.  Mascarpone sounded good to me.

It was ... ok-ish.  The base of the jar had the peach, which honestly somewhat reminded me of baby food puree.  Like applesauce, but, peach.  I love fresh peaches, but I wasn't really into this.  There was a lot of it.

Above that, the mascarpone.  It was thick, rich, not very sweet.  It had a strange bitter aftertaste.

The berries on top were fine.

I really wanted to like this more than I did in practice.  *+.

Vanilla Cream with Raspberries.

Another day, another cream.  This one didn't say mascarpone, but I think it was.  And again, there was something just not ... right about it.  Such an odd aftertaste.  "Raspberries" were just goo in the base. Did not like. *.

Panna Cotta with Apple.

Another night, the pudding offering was even more appealing to me: panna cotta!  I even have a label on my blog just for this particular type of pudding, so, clearly a favorite of mine.

It was good.  Well set.  Rich.  Strong cinnamon flavor.  Sweet enough.  I didn't really care about the apple compote or little cookie on top, but the panna cotta was good.  I did want a touch of whipped cream to complete the deal, but it wasn't needed.  ****.

The restaurant has a version of this on their menu too, although that one has rosemary.

Apple Crumble.

And finally, my last night, apple crumble.  (Side note: they really seem to like using amaretti cookies for garnish.  They made no sense here.  I also was not into the tart cherry-apple thing on top).

But the apple pie filling was good, a mushy style with thin sliced apples, but well spiced, and good.  The crumble topping had no clumps, but good flavor and sweetness level, added some texture.  I really wanted it warm with ice cream, but it was good.  ***+.

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