Tweaking tradition: Darrin Aoyama, pastry chef for the U.S. Culinary Olympics team, likes to present old favorites with a twist. (desserts).

For Darrin Aoyama, the secret to creative cooking is coming up with a new angle on an old favorite.

The executive pastry chef at Houston's River Oaks Country Club, Aoyama likes to take a traditional combination--such as cherries and chocolate--and give it a tweak. Like the brandy cherry white chocolate mousse that he presents with dark chocolate sauce.

His holiday gingerbread isn't the dry, cardboard confection of Christmases past. Instead, he serves up a warm sour cream gingerbread cake with fresh pear compote and cinnamon ice cream.

"I like to evoke the emotions of the guests by bringing them something they haven't had for a long time, but put a twist on it," said Aoyama.

For Aoyama, a good dessert has three basic components: the main item, the sauce, and the garnish. The object is "textures." "I like to include cake in the item--and to include something that is creamy--like ice cream, mousse, or pastry cream," he said. "I also try to leave some type of crunch."

But fruit on the plate is almost an Aoyama trademark. Having grown up in California, he loves to slip seasonal fruit into his creations and citrus is a particular favorite. "I also like to include a little bit of chocolate."

But that's not to say every dessert will include every element. "I don't always get them all on the plate," he said with a laugh.

The Accidental Chef

For Aoyama, a career in food was almost accidental. In 1990, he graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in nursing. He'd been a registered nurse for several years when he decided to take a break to go to grad school. With a little extra time on his hands, he signed up for a class at the newly opened Los Angeles Culinary Institute. "I loved it so much, I never went back to nursing," he said.

"What I like most about the pastry arts is there is a great deal of creativity and artistry involved," said Aoyama, who graduated from the Los Angeles Culinary Institute in 1993, then taught there. Artistic by nature--watercolors are a favorite hobby--he was attracted to a cooking form that seemed tailor-made to his skills. "The balance of shape and form lends itself well to pastry," he said.

Along the way he co-owned an L.A. bakery, and later became the executive pastry chef at the Hollywood Park Racetrack and Casino, before joining Houston's River Oaks Country Club as executive pastry chef in November of 2000.

When Aoyama entertains or cooks for himself, he'll whip up something like a fruit tart. "Usually something with chocolate," he said.

At the holidays he does a lot of baking--something he picked up from his grandmother. For presents, he sometimes gifts friends with baskets of homemade chocolate truffles, muffins, and traditional baked goods like zucchini carrot bread and lemon pound cake alongside more exotic flavors like strawberry bread and banana lemon cake.

At the Club

The secret to country club cooking is listening to the members, Aoyama said. "In a country club, the clientele stays pretty standard," he said. "You really need to find out what their tastes are like."

For instance, in California, where Aoyama grew up, locally grown almonds and walnuts are the nuts of choice for various dishes. But in Houston, where he lives now, pecans are the favorite. So he's converted many of his recipes accordingly. "You have to give [members] the comfort flavors they really like," he said. "And it's easy, once in a while, to put a twist on things."

His home state has left its mark on his cuisine. "The great thing I love about California is you can always get produce fresh." The area's adventurous approach to food also made an impact. "Things are very trendy, always changing, always new combinations."

Aoyama also likes to focus on ingredients that are in season in the region. "You're getting the best flavor out of whatever it is," he said. "And it's more economical."

Nationally, he's noticed that country clubs are rediscovering the importance of good baking. "[Clubs] are really getting back to doing their own pastry. There's a real movement to get back to having pastry chefs," he said.

At the same time, clubs and their members are demanding some health-conscious alternatives to the popular desserts of old. But Aoyama thinks it's a mistake to remake the traditional favorites in a new low-calorie, low-fat form. "Someone has expectations of what banana cream pie tastes like," he said. "They'll be let down. When you create a heart-healthy dessert, create something that stands on its own."

When he's putting together a lighter dessert, he might work with angel-food cake because, "there's no fat." Then the cake is dressed--perhaps with a citrus syrup or buttermilk sorbet. Or it might be served "sitting in a pineapple citrus passion fruit soup with coconut ice cream on top," he said.

One popular healthy dessert that made a good impact on members was a fruit and yogurt terrine with a raspberry coulis.

For small club parties, Aoyama likes to create a selection of two or three desserts, so that diners have a selection of tempting treats. "At our club, people come to relax and get away," he said. "They want things more like comfort food--coconut meringue pie and crisps or cobblers on the menu."

Chef, Olympiad

These days, much of Aoyama's time is spent practicing for competition. Earlier this year, he was selected as the pastry chef for the American Culinary Federation's 2004 national U.S. Culinary Olympic Team. Officially known as the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung, the International Culinary Olympics is held in Germany every four years, attracting the creme of the culinary world.

For Aoyama, 35, it will be the second time he's competed on the U.S. national team. At the 2000 competition in Erfurt, Germany, the team brought home six gold medals, ranking it sixth in the world overall.

But Aoyama isn't about to rest on his laurels--or rest, period. When he's not cooking for River Oaks, he's practicing for Team USA. "It's a big balance between getting the job done at work and the team," he said. His secret: "planning and organization."

"There's a three-day practice every month," said Aoyama, who's won over 20 awards and is a member of Le Toque Blanche, the prestigious French chef's association. "My weeks in between are spent researching and developing recipes."

The team is also prepping for the big event by competing in a host of smaller international contests--all of which require practice and travel time. "I haven't competed in two years," he said. "This is my first major competition since the [2000] Olympics."

One of the things he loves about competition is the opportunity to learn from so many other top chefs. "All chefs can really be influential," he said when asked who influences him the most. "Country club chefs approach things differently from restaurant chefs, who approach things differently from hotel chefs."

Thomas Vaccaro, CEPC, executive pastry chef at Trump Plaza Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, and John Hui, CEPC, executive pastry chef at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, have had a particular impact, Aoyama said. But he learns something from everyone he works with: "You can always get a great idea from somewhere, change it, twist it, and make it your own."

Aoyama likes to experiment with flavors, and he likes to surprise the diner with contrasts on the plate. "Contrasts in texture, contrasts in temperature--and different flavors that complement that combination," he said. Some classic combinations he likes to include: chocolate and nuts and citrus with seasonal fruits.

So what does the award-winning chef count as his favorite dessert? "Ice cream," he said with a laugh. "Any flavor," he said, but especially fruit, like strawberry and peach. "What I like to eat is my comfort food," Aoyama said. "And I like ice cream."

Ready-made Options

If you don't have a pastry chef on staff, or you're slammed with events at your club, you may want to consider some of the excellent ready-made options that are available. At top is a raspberry almond tart from Bittersweet Pastries. Below is a ribbon torte from Galaxy Desserts.

Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.