Although the menu at The Fearrington House regularly changes, there’s one item that’s remained a constant: the chocolate soufflé. This dish was introduced by Edna Lewis, during her eighteen month stay in 1983 and 1984 as guest chef, and it has remained on the menu ever since.
Over her lifetime, Edna wrote four cookbooks and helped popularize a Southern cuisine that uses fresh, seasonal local food. She also loved to make all sorts of soufflés, but nothing gained more notoriety than her chocolate soufflé. For example, the dish graced the cover of Gourmet magazine in 1984 in an article on the restaurant, then only four years old (the article can be seen next to the kitchen viewing window).
In fairness, Edna created the chocolate soufflé before coming to Fearrington House. She served it while cooking in New York in the 1950s at Café Nicholson, a favorite haunt of creative types. A food critic who ate the dessert later told her the dish was “as light as a dandelion in a high wind.” It is rich.
Several years ago we opted to “lighten” it somewhat by heating it in a slightly smaller ramekin – so its size better complements the entire dining experience – but otherwise it has remained untouched over the years.
When I became executive chef in late 2008, R.B. Fitch, the restaurant’s proprietor, told me I had free reign to adapt the menu, but there was one item that I couldn’t remove: the chocolate soufflé.
I now understand why. Having worked in the pastry area before, I know how temperamental soufflés can be. Often it comes out of the oven inconsistently or loses its shape by the time it reaches the table. This is the only soufflé I’ve known that doesn’t do either. It always looks good.
At Fearrington House, part of its magic is not just the sight, smell and taste of this chocolate dessert but the theatrical aspect. A waiter finishes preparing the dish at the guest’s table; with a spoon, a hole is carved in the top of the soufflé and then hot chocolate sauce is poured in the cavity and in fact all over the plate. Whipped cream is then added. This experience always delights guests.
Next time you’re at Fearrington House, save room for this decadent dessert!