Community Corner

Bacon Caramel Corn? Yeah, That's a Thing.

The Cellar's new pastry chef brings a worldwide vernacular to her sweets, from Virginia to San Francisco to France to Australia.

Kat Smith takes sweets seriously. Like, I'm-going-to-move-to-France-to-eat-their-pastries seriously.

A pastry chef born in Virginia, trained in San Francisco and tested in restauraunts from France to Australia, Smith has recently started as the in-house pastry chef at the Avenida Del Mar restaurant The Cellar.

The Cellar built its reputation on a big selection of wine and cheeses. But the addition of Smith has expanded their dessert menu exponentially even as the new chef Daniel Villalovez is adding more substantial fare to the dinner menu.

Smith is adding confections like her grandmother's red velvet cake with chocolate crunch, white chocolate mousse and raspberry glaze; an oatmeal cookie sundae with salted caramel, toasted marshmallow and chocolate-covered raisins; and mascarpone cheesecake with lavender caramel and huckleberry compote.

She's also put together a dessert tray to share with the table which includes a serving of bacon caramel corn and assorted bonbons and macarons.

Yeah, bacon caramel corn. There's a reason people put bacon in everything.

Smith said she's deeply versed in the classic French pastry-making techniques, and she also likes to experiment with new-fangled molecular gastronomy methods she's picked up in her travels.

"I'm taking a bit of the old and playing with a bit of the new," Smith said. "I'm trying to match The Cellar's style of sharing [dishes with the table]."

Check out Smith's confections for dessert after dinner, or some for carryout. The items mentioned above and more will be on the new summer menu she's crafting.


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