...See the clever double entendre? har.

Easily the most complicated plate I've ever had to make. We had each of the components on hand, but everything needed to be assembled to order, and the designs had to be drawn. I got a little adrenaline surge every time someone ordered one, almost like stagefright, and I panicked just a bit if a table ordered four.

We start with an artists' palette (yes, a proper palette from an art supply store), and I draw two sprigs of holly and a ribbon on it with chocolate sauce, raspberry coulis, and vanilla bean creme anglaise. Then, I lay down six different bite sized desserts - a chocolate cookie topped with chocolate bavarian cream and milk chocolate sprinkles, a circle of vanilla genoise cake topped with a lime mousse and candied lime peel, coconut Italian cake, a gingerbread truffle, a sour cherry tart, and a chocolate cup filled with eggnog mousse and a brandied cherry.