Meet Maggie Malouf, diva of desserts at Hamilton's

Maggie Malouf makes cheesecake at Hamilton's. "Maggie has her own little fan club," says the restaurant owner. / Photo by Ann Passey

By Ann Passey

December 13, 2004 | She is 19 years old, 5-foot-2 and stands on two milk crates to reach the counter. Never went to high school. And she does sinful things with chocolate, according to Ted Pease.

Maggie Malouf is the dessert chef at Hamilton's restaurant in North Logan. She is a self-taught chef and has a following of diners that are attracted to Hamilton's just for her desserts.

"It's cool that a restaurant that is a steak and seafood restaurant attracts people just for desserts," said Justin Hamilton, owner of Hamilton's. "Maggie has her own little fan club."

"Her crème brulee is like heaven on earth," said diner Megan Forbush. "She is so young, but she is so good at what she does."

Malouf had been interested in desserts since she was very young. "We used to have this huge, pretty cookbook. My friends would come over when I was younger and we'd just sit and look at it." She soon started making the desserts and began to teach herself.

Malouf is given a lot of liberty to create and experiment at Hamilton's. "I must have four desserts every night: mousse, chocolate cake, crème brulee and cheese cake." Once those are made, she has the freedom to create whatever she would like.

Her most popular creations are her French espresso torte, flavored cheesecakes and her apple flambé. Her desserts, however, change with the seasons.

The apples for her most popular dessert, the apple flambé, come straight from her father's apple farm.

"This dessert is perfect for Maggie," said Hamilton. "She is always bringing apple things for us; whole apples, apple chips and apple cider. What better dessert for her than an apple flambé."

The apple flambé is a tableside presentation made with cinnamon, nutmeg and apples, among other things. Rum is also added to the dessert to create the flames. The delectable dessert takes between 10 and 15 minutes to prepare at the side of your table. "It gives the customer a chance to interact with Maggie, and be involved in the creation of their food," said Hamilton.

"You could have a traditional apple pie, but this is taking apples to the next level," said Hamilton.

"And it's huge," said Malouf. "Only once have I had one man eat the whole thing. It's a dessert that can be shared by the whole table."

This popular dessert will continue to change as the seasons change. The apples were a perfect fit for the fall, said Hamilton. "In January we're going to create it with bananas and cherries. In the summer we'd like to try peaches."

Hamilton sees these desserts as a crucial part of the Hamilton's dining experience. "We want to provide excellent quality, and consistent food in good atmosphere that will lead up to a complete dining experience," said Hamilton. In other areas when people are done with dinner they'll sit around and have a drink or some coffee. In Cache Valley people often need something else to fill that void, said Hamilton. And Malouf's desserts do just that.

"We want people to wait for that dessert," said Hamilton. "We want it to complete the dining experience."

Malouf will only get better at she already does so well. She has always forged her own trail and enjoyed creating things on her own. When she was 17 she took the GED and went on to college. Since taking the GED she has attended San Juan College in New Mexico and Utah State University.

In the fall she plans on attending the Arizona Culinary Institute in Scottsdale Arizona. The curriculum is broken down into four block sessions that are six weeks long, for a total of 24 weeks. There is also a nine-week internship when she is finished with her coursework. Tuition at ACI for the 36 weeks of course work is over $23,000, a price not uncommon for culinary school.

While at ACI, Malouf will polish her baking skills while learning more difficult baking, pastry and dessert techniques. The curriculum includes advanced pastries, chocolates, ice cream, gelato and sorbets. Sugar casting, pulling and spinning are also taught at ACI.

Emphasis will be placed on the presentation and the appearance of the desserts created at ACI, which is something Malouf and Hamilton already recognize the importance of. "When the dessert has an excellent presentation, it just tastes better," said Hamilton.

Complex cake baking including wedding cakes is also taught at ACI. Malouf has a lot of experience with cakes in general, and has a few wedding cakes under her belt as well. She even offered to make me one, now all I need is someone to marry.

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