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Passionate About Dessert

Posted: July 22, 2010 01:58:24 PM

JW Marriott Desert Ridge Pastry Team with their Award Winning Creations It’s no secret that I love desserts.  My favorite job growing up in our company was working the soda fountain at our Hot Shoppe restaurant in Salt Lake City while I was attending the University of Utah.

I used to make what was our best dessert, which was a hot fudge ice cream cake.  It was basically a pound cake.  We’d cut the piece of cake in half – it was about three by three inches square – and we’d put a square block of ice cream next to the lower level of the cake, and then we put the other piece of the cake on top and covered the top with hot fudge.  Then we put a cherry and a big dollop of whipped cream on the top.  You had to be very careful when you put the hot fudge on the cake to leave a hole in the center of the top piece of cake so the whipped cream would stay on the cake and the cherry would stay on the whipped cream, otherwise it would just slide off if it was covered with hot fudge.

Anyway, it was a fabulous dessert and we sold a lot of them.  They were hard to make, but I ate a few of those myself.

Earlier this summer, one of our hotels, the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Arizona, hosted an event that fans of sweets, like me, would love – it was called the World Pastry Awards.  Top pastry teams from countries around the world like Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea came to our hotel to take part in this competition.  The U.S. was represented by our current national champions, who just happen to be the pastry team at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge.

The competition required the participants to make a sugar showpiece, a chocolate showpiece, a cake, a frozen dessert, three types of chocolate bonbons, three small cakes, a plated dessert and a chef’s special creation.  All of these pastries were then evaluated by three panels of judges for quality of the creation, taste and artistic beauty.  Being one of the judges who gets to taste these creations sounds like real a dream job to me!

After the two day competition was over, the judges awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to the top competitors and I’m proud to share with you that our JW Marriott Desert Ridge team came in third place, taking the bronze.  With the third best pastry team in the world working there, I’m definitely going to have to pay a visit to that hotel sometime soon!

I know there are a lot of people out there with a sweet tooth just like me.  I’d love to hear what your favorite desserts are, so please leave a comment and share them with me.

I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.

Passionate About Dessert


Comments

Posted By: Rick Swindlehurst (07/22/2010 at 02:17 PM)
Comment:

Mr Marriott

Many of your loyal customers would like to have a response from you to the 172+ responses we made on your blog about the new timeshare program.

Would you please extend us that courtesy?

Thanks

Posted By: Syed T. A. Naqvi (07/22/2010 at 02:48 PM)
Comment:

Mr. Marriott,
Growing up in the Washington DC area, Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake was my favorite desert. It was an incentive to complete home work or just the chores such as mow the lawn etc. It brings back memories. It is greatly missed. Is it possible to introduce the same desert in the Marriott Hotel restaurants? If it is available anywhere in US I will appreciate the information. Thank you,
Syed T. A. Naqvi, Platinum Emeritus

Posted By: Leslie Bramhill (07/22/2010 at 03:17 PM)
Comment:

Bill, That's a 'sweet'story. But what is happening to your company? thousands od vacation club owners are upset and angry with the way in which your company has ruined their vacation opportunities, and you apparently have nothing to say on the matter!

Posted By: Dee O'Horan CTA (07/22/2010 at 03:44 PM)
Comment:

My favorite desert was my grandmothers rice pudding .
She made it in the oven and the smell was fantastic.
The best part was that it was served after our evening meal as we all enjoyed each others company.
Thank you

Dee O'Horan CTA

Posted By: Hank Mancini (07/22/2010 at 03:59 PM)
Comment:

Don't think that I have ever had a bad desert! But...my favorite is strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. I am a big chocolate fan, but to me, nothing beats strawberry shortcake! Enjoyed staying at Desert Ridge a few years ago, but I did not have desert!

Posted By: Tom Strubeck (07/22/2010 at 05:16 PM)
Comment:

Bill,
Congratulations and cudos to the Desert Ridge culinary team! As a former Marriott employee (now with Sodexo), I have stayed at the Desert Ridge several times; from the first months it opened to the past several years, and the staff continues to do a wonderful job. A great property!
Regards,
Tom Strubeck

Posted By: Wilfredo "Fred" J. Murillo (07/22/2010 at 05:23 PM)
Comment:

Mr. Marriott,

It is very hard to beat a well made banana pudding!

Best regards,

Wilfredo "Fred" J. Murillo
Marriott Platinum Member

Posted By: Dale at Hospitality Re-Defined (07/22/2010 at 05:48 PM)
Comment:

Great story Bill.... I think we can probably all remember a favourite story that involved dessert at some point, and who doesn't love dessert?

Posted By: Nancy Schwalm (07/22/2010 at 07:49 PM)
Comment:

Dear Mr. Marriot,

I am not certain that this is the correct place to write this, but I would highly commend your staff at the Spring Hill Suites in Colorado Springs. The front desk staff, especially Eileen, went out of her way to help me with places to visit, stamps and mailing postcards, things I had misplaced. They were tremendous! Smiling and eager to accomadate all of us. Thank you for having such a good staff!

Posted By: JEFF KANEFF (07/22/2010 at 07:54 PM)
Comment:

When I was growing up, dinners were at the Hot Shoppe restaurant in Silver Spring Maryland. I would rather have had a hot fudge ice cream cake over any dessert even my Mom's own cake. I'd love to be able to have one again.

Posted By: John & Carol McClain (07/23/2010 at 05:31 AM)
Comment:

I grew up in the DC area and we use to go to Hot Shoppe and get the Hot Fudge ice Cream Cake all the time. It was the best thing in the world. It would be so wonderful if you would bring that back to your Marriotts. There have been many imitations of your dessert but none have ever come close. Please please bring to your hotels. Thank you. John McClain

Posted By: Jim Chapman (07/23/2010 at 06:29 AM)
Comment:

any chance of learning who came in #1 and #2?

Posted By: Sandy Causey (07/23/2010 at 07:10 AM)
Comment:

Bread Pudding -- best I ever had was at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs

Congratulations to the staff at Desert Ridge -- Kudos to all --- great job!

Posted By: Barbara & Edward Garabedian (07/23/2010 at 07:33 AM)
Comment:

I just sent congratulatory remarks and just realized I made one huge "faux-pas" that if my wife of 34 years were to see it, I would certainly find myself in a huge mess - I indicated we would be in Paris for our special day in November - actually we shall be at the Shelbourne in Dublin for our anniversary - I was so glad to be conveying congratulations to you and your family that I forgot the fact we have 2 dates - a civil ceremony and then a church wedding - one of which is 11/13 and the other 12/18 - so perhaps if my wife should read my postings I will not catch "h---" for my lack of attentiveness.
Again many thanks for all the great memories while staying as guests in your hotels!!!!

Posted By: Gwen Allemand (07/23/2010 at 08:16 AM)
Comment:

My favorite dessert is Death by Chocolate--Bake Brownies
crumble in trifle bowl--Chocolate mouse--then Heath Toffee Bars crumbled and then whip cream. YUMMY

Posted By: Danielle (07/23/2010 at 01:26 PM)
Comment:

Oooh, you're so lucky to be a judge. I think it's a great honor to hit number three! Go Marriott!

Posted By: Parissa (07/23/2010 at 02:34 PM)
Comment:

Great story, Bill Marriot, and congrats to your team. I love anything chocolate. That's the first thing I'd normally look for, on the dessert menu.

Posted By: Virginia Gilmore (07/23/2010 at 06:04 PM)
Comment:

I remember one of your favorite desserts Lemon Daffodill Cake. I made it for your birthday many years at Camelback Inn. We did make the ice cream cake squars with fudge topping and whipped cream and a cherry. The only thing different was we used chocolate cake.
You brought back many memmories.
I retired after 30 years with Marriott.

Posted By: Ned Leavitt (07/24/2010 at 05:45 AM)
Comment:

We just returned from having fabulous desserts at your Marriott Saigon, Marriott hotel & Resort in Bangkok, Thailand and Marriott JW Phuket! Keep up the great desserts!

Ned Leavitt
Platinum Member

Posted By: Mike F (07/24/2010 at 12:42 PM)
Comment:

Just get me a New York Cheescake and a cup of coffee. No decaf and don't mess up the cheescake with fruit. That fudge cake sounds good too. The cheesecake is easier to serve and easier to eat. Keep up the good work.

Posted By: Edie Bates (07/26/2010 at 12:36 PM)
Comment:

One of my favorite desserts was an old Stouffer Hotel's recipe called "plantation cake". It was a gingerbread cake sitting on top of a gooey molasses sauce topped by a lemon cream cheese icing - sinful!

Posted By: Harley Mayersohn (07/28/2010 at 12:44 PM)
Comment:

I had the pleasure of meeting chef Chowdhury at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge just prior to the competition. He and his team are geniuses. Just that simple.
As to my favorite dessert it's anything with the words 'ice cream' and/or 'cake' in it. Also my father-in-law's cheese cake which is TDF.
So I'd echo an earlier suggestion and feature your hot fudge cake in your restaurants. We'd all consider it a personal favor.

Posted By: melissa stephens (07/28/2010 at 01:36 PM)
Comment:

Mr. Marriott

I would like to know how to apply for a job in your lima peru hotel. I live in the united states and would like to move there.

Posted By: Robert Hull (07/28/2010 at 05:06 PM)
Comment:

Bill,
Good story. I have found Marriott's a good place to have lunch or dinner while traveling. However, there should be some way to get the message to locals about specials. If this were don I would be will to go to the one's near by home.

Posted By: Peter Wells (07/30/2010 at 09:08 AM)
Comment:

Dear Mr Marriott As an ex-employee of Marriott, I am now in the lucky position of owning a hotel in the English Lake District, (Castle Inn Hotel). I think we sell the best dessert in the world. Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding, Toffee Sauce and Clotted Cream. Simply amazing !

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I'm Bill Marriott, Chairman & CEO of Marriott International.

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