7 desserts that pastry chefs and chefs never order in restaurants

“I once went to a restaurant famous for its cheesecakes. I bought a whole cake and was told I had to wait an hour for it. It immediately became clear that the dessert was not prepared on site, but delivered frozen,” explains pastry chef Gus Castro. According to him, in the case of cheesecakes, this is a common thing: it is almost impossible to find fresh ones.

You’ve probably seen similar shows on social media: hot berry mousse is poured over a ball of chocolate, and it melts, revealing its contents. But according to chef and cookbook author Saura Cline, it probably won’t taste good.

“If the dessert features an incredible arrangement of gold flakes and fancy chocolate swirls, or the server is very focused on pouring something on it or setting it on fire, then you’re probably paying for the show , not for the food,” says Saura.

As pastry chef Joe Scrivner explains, this Italian dessert is made with eggs and crème fraîche, ingredients that make the cake extremely perishable. “Many restaurants serve old tiramisu in the hope that the coffee flavor will mask the bad taste,” he says. Joe also adds that for the price of two or three small portions of tiramisu at a restaurant, you can usually make an entire cake at home.

Classic crème brûlée is made from a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, milk or cream. However, says chef Daniella Lee Rada, most restaurants use a powdered base instead, adding a strong-smelling imitation vanilla—this helps reduce the cost of the dessert and hides the ingredient substitution. Plus, according to Danielle, this crème brûlée is almost always overcooked.

Chef Becky Geisel agrees with the latter. “You’re dealing with delicate egg yolks and cream. You have to cook them in a bain-marie, to the nearest second, otherwise the result will be terrible,” she explains.

“I never order brownies at restaurants,” says pastry chef Amelia Geist. — It is one of the desserts prepared on an industrial scale. It’s much cheaper and easier to buy brownie mix and bake it at home – you’ll get the same or even better results. If you want to make the brownie fancier, add more chocolate chips or a layer of peanut butter.

You will definitely get the fondant fresh – it is a cake that is served immediately after being taken out of the oven. But if you really love chocolate, consider a different dessert: As Léa explains, fondants are usually made from cheap, high-sugar chocolate. She advises paying attention to the description on the menu: you can make an exception if the percentage of cocoa is indicated there.

Read also: Vegetable desserts: 4 unusual but very tasty recipes

Saura advises ordering ice cream in a restaurant only when the menu says it was made there. “Otherwise it makes no sense: why pay extra for vanilla beads of unknown origin, which may have been purchased in a nearby supermarket?” – she said.

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