From the Mouths of Babes

Pictured here is St. Michael’s Cake. Not a saint, really. But, as a grandson, close enough. Responsible, wildly enough, for the best-selling dessert in our soul food kitchen.

The story goes — and it is absolutely a true story — is that Michael pronounced long ago that the simple sponge cake he adores should be added to our menu. I was skeptical. I was wrong. Way wrong.

I can be slaving over an order for hours, working on reduction sauces, adding little side flourishes, configuring the plating finishes. And the overwhelming response from our guests: “The food was amazing, especially the sponge cake.”

There are times when I think I should just re-configure our menu to be more like this cake: easy to make, inexpensive, crowd-pleasing. Forget all the little details, etc. But then again, it’s probably all that frilliness that makes the simplicity of our grandson’s cake so outstanding.