5 Desserts Pastry Chefs Avoid Ordering and the Alarming Reasons Why

Pastry chefs create the sweet treats we love, but not all desserts are made in-house. Chain restaurants often get their pastries from off-site kitchens to ensure consistency, while smaller spots may not have the budget for a pastry chef. Many chefs are wary of mass-produced desserts, like basic cakes or brownies, and shared their red flags for skipping certain dessert menus.

Avoid ordering Crème Brûlée decorated with strawberries

“I never order crème brûlée,” said Daniella Lea Rada, the executive pastry chef for Signia by Hilton Atlanta’s five dining spots. She added that many restaurants make it using a powder base and imitation vanilla to save money and cover up the powder’s artificial taste. According to her, it’s often overcooked, has a grainy texture, and isn’t properly torched. Plus, she points out that 99% of the time, it’s topped with strawberries, which she thinks is outdated.

Say no to poorly garnished desserts

Not everyone’s a fan of whipped cream, at least not pastry chefs. One of them, Martinez, points out that whipped cream piped with a star tip, garnished with mint, and strawberries shaped like a rose are telltale signs of a dessert coming from a commercial baker. She says this kind of generic, uninspired plating usually means the person handling your dessert lacks professional plating skills.

But going overboard with garnishes isn’t a great look either. Castro explains that desserts loaded with sugar—like those drenched in caramel, chocolate sauce, or covered in candy—are a no-go for her. “To really enjoy a meal,” she says, “desserts need to be light and just sweet enough so people can actually finish them.”

We all love Brownies, but avoid ordering them if possible.

Amelia Geist, the pastry chef at The Lodge at Flathead Lake, shared that she never finds herself ordering brownies or pies from a restaurant for dessert. She believes these are the types of desserts that often stand out as being commercially made rather than prepared from scratch. For her, it’s pretty obvious because brownies, for example, are simple and cost-effective to make using a mix, which many restaurants turn to for efficiency.

Geist suggests that if you’re making brownies at home, it’s better to enhance them by adding extra chocolate chips or even a layer of peanut butter to make them more decadent. She recommends saving your dessert choice at a restaurant for something more special or complicated to make, something that offers a unique experience rather than something easy and common.

It’s hard to say this, but yes, also avoid ordering cheesecakes if possible.

To Martinez, a classic cheesecake is one of the biggest signs that she might be in a mass-market or touristy restaurant. Gus Castro, the pastry chef for Foundation Social Eatery in Alpharetta, Georgia, recalls an experience at a well-known restaurant famous for its cheesecakes. He bought an entire cake only to be told he’d need to wait at least two hours for it to defrost because they received the cheesecakes frozen. That was all the proof he needed to know it wasn’t made fresh in-house by a pastry chef.

While restaurants with skilled pastry chefs might offer more elevated versions of the classic cheesecake, Geist admits that if it’s made in-house or by a local bakery, she’s often tempted to order it. However, even that doesn’t guarantee a great experience. Saucedo shares that in two separate instances, he was served spoiled cheesecake, and in one case, it seemed they forgot to add sugar. Since then, he’s become wary of cheesecakes.

Pies, too.

There’s nothing quite like a freshly baked pie, but many pastry chefs don’t trust the pies they see on dessert menus, believing they’re often not made in-house. Instead, they’re some of the most commonly outsourced desserts. Geist explains that unless it’s a seasonal special, pies are often commercially sourced because they’re easy for restaurants to store and keep fresh in the freezer. They also tend to be a low-cost option that restaurants can mark up significantly.

Castro adds that pies are a default choice for many restaurants because they’re cheap to buy but can be sold at a high price. Vasquez specifically avoids lemon meringue and cherry pies, as they often rely on flavor enhancers rather than real fruit. But perhaps the most criticized pie is key lime. Martinez dismisses it as underwhelming, overly sweet, and usually frozen, while Lea Rada is repelled by the soft crust, overly sweet lime curd, and artificial flavor. Geist sums it up simply by saying that key lime pie is not something to choose if you’re looking for desserts made fresh from scratch.

Why do chefs avoid certain desserts at restaurants?

• Many desserts are commercially made, not freshly prepared in-house.
• They are often mass-produced, with low-quality ingredients to cut costs.
• Desserts like pies and cheesecakes are typically outsourced because they are easy to store and have a longer shelf life.

What desserts should you not order at a restaurant?

• Brownies and pies, as they are often commercially sourced.
• Cheesecake, especially if it’s frozen and defrosted before serving.
• Key lime pie, which is usually too sweet, frozen, and lacking in creativity.
• Desserts with too many sugar-heavy toppings or artificial flavoring, like caramel or chocolate sauce overloaded with candy.

Are restaurant desserts made in-house?

• Not always. Many desserts, especially pies and cheesecakes, are outsourced or pre-made.
• Some upscale restaurants or places with skilled pastry chefs might offer made-from-scratch desserts.

What are the most overrated desserts according to chefs?

• Key lime pie: often too sweet, lacking creativity, and usually frozen.
• Classic cheesecake: can be disappointing when it’s made with low-quality ingredients or defrosted.
• Brownies and pies: commonly made from mixes or outsourced.

How can you tell if a dessert is fresh at a restaurant?

• If it’s made in-house with quality, fresh ingredients.
• Desserts that are not frozen or defrosted before serving.
• When garnishes and plating show attention to detail and creativity.
• If it’s something seasonal or specially crafted by the pastry chef, rather than a pre-made item.

BONUS: What to order

Chocolate mousse is usually a better choice when ordered from restaurants. Certified pastry chef Jo Scrivner explained to Insider that it’s actually easier and more affordable to enjoy chocolate mousse at a restaurant than to make it at home. She points out that to make a good chocolate mousse, you need high-quality chocolate, which is usually sold in bulk to restaurants at prices that are too expensive for most home bakers. Because of this, ordering chocolate mousse from a restaurant is often a more cost-effective way to enjoy a high-quality dessert.