Today is

By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

Dessert bars

Although sounding a little saccharine for most tastes, Dessert bars are "a niche area of the eating out market" according to Enterprise Quest, an online provider of practical information for UK small business owners. They encourage their clients to invest in the idea because "the dessert bar indulges the ultimate 'foodie Fantasy' of being able to forget starters and main courses, and go straight For pudding". With its "novel yet intimate and romantic" appeal, couples on dates may look to a dessert bar, as well as families.

There certainly appears to be a lot of truth in this. Whereas starters tickle your taste buds and main courses fill the stomach, the dessert is an elegant creature in its own right. Companies are now realising that if they truly want to spoil their clients, they must look further down the menu to this edible embodiment of luxury. Desserts are also timeless; whether it is elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner, it is never the wrong time to treat yourself. The flexlbility of the gastronomic experience, the nicheness of the idea and its exclusive association with luxury all add to the propagation of the trend.

But we British have a lot to learn before we can wholeheartedly swallow this culinary challenge. Racking my brains to think of traditional English desserts, all l can churn up is the unappetisingly-named 'Bread and Butter Pudding' and 'Spotted Dick'. Leaving nothing to the imagination, any sniff of a delicate Frisson of flavours is sent running by sugar and bulk that wallop our palettes into submission.

Enter William Curley. With a smorgasbord of awards and accolades. including Best British Chocolatier 2007 , William Charley has worked in numerous Michelin-starred restaurants. last year he and lds equally-talented patissier wife Suzue decided to take Britain head on by opening the Uk's first dessert bar.

Snuggled in the luxurious backstreets of Mayfair, the William Curley Dessert Bar, much like its owner, is Far from pompously Imposing. With a Distinctly Parisian feel, a sleek streamlined bar is edged with black, elegant seats, clusters of tables and chairs are tucked into the corners, and exquisite chocolate and pastry delights are on display to buy. The chic bar itself surrounds a culinary stage, where customers' desserts are prepared for them from scratch in front of their eyes, today by Willian Curley himself.

While Ella Fitzgerald's caramel voice soothed in the Background, I tried my pre-dessert, a chilled chocolate and mint drink, topped with crime Chantilly. It was a zippy, fresh and delicious indulgence far from the maddening cloud of cream that drowns your average hot chocolate. I watched, intrigued, as the sofitly-spoken Scot made my Tarte au Chocolat. We started to chat, the atmosphere informal and creative
"Desserts are something that we British are bad at.

Thc British palette is quite conservative. We Don't really have any classic British dishes: I think the industrial revolution probably had something to do with it. Before that, we had more of a food culture, but people were driven into the cities and your life changes as convenience takes over", he explains Added to this is the negative connotation of the dessert as a naughty and unhealthy extravagance, because unlike people on the continent we don't normally eat dessert.

William emphasised that desserts can, and should, be prepared with the Highest quality ingredients (there is in fact the 'caviar' of butter, which he let me take home) and therefore savoured, not consumed en masse. It was not until the eighties that our perception of Desserts began to change, William continued. Although ths has affected high- end restaurants, in your average restaurant the main portions and the starters can be very acceptable, but the desserts become an afterthought.

l am hoping to raise people's awareness of what standards should be. It is sad that people have a good meal but at the end their lasting memory is of an average dessert". Certainly, l volunteered, most places don't even cook their desserts in-house. He briefly stopping cooking and added sadly, "yes, even in ok places you will be lucky to get a piece of apple pie From Brake Bros that's been bought in. It's getting tragic".

It is a bizarre concept, when you think about it. lf a restaurant ordered in a starter or main course, diners should be outraged, but no one seems to mind about desserts. Since the nineties food revolution died down, William has, as he explained with characteristic modesty, hoped to start something new: "But I'm a little player in the whole thing. I also think that London should be more relaxed - I don't want to eat in a suit, or in a tie, or dress up".

Essentially, eating should be about what it is: a formal ceremony of taste, not atmosphere.TalKing of taste, he had finished making my dessert. Described as a 'warm house blend 65% chocolate tart accompanied with a raspberry compote and Kyoto green tea ice cream', the result was even better than the tantalising Description. Thick chocolate oozed out of the crisp pastry, whilst the bittersweet raspberry gave it a fruity edge, and the green tea ice cream kept the flavours fresh and energetic.

Perfect.Mid-chat, l realised I had completely forgotten my manners - l'd used my fingers to lick the plate clean and was talking enthusiastically with my mouth Full. The situation definitely opens yon up. For nervous first dates, there is the distraction of the making process to fill in those awkward silences.

The couple I met there on their wedding anniversary could intimately chat together and then join in the Fun. For Arose who are entertaining a client but want something a little different, the bespoke, made-to-order service adds a touch of personal, decadent je-ne-sais-quoi. As I finished licking the chocolates from my fingers, I realised that for whatever reason people choose to pamper their taste buds, it looks like the dessert bar is here to stay.