Mocha coffee cake is Senator Hillary Clinton's favorite dessert and she would often call down to the pastry kitchen personally requesting it. Just one of the little secrets I picked up this week from a White House insider.

I was invited this week by executive chef Chris Ward (pictured left) to come and meet former White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chris, you may remember was short-listed to become White House chef for President Bush. This year is the tenth anniversary of Mercury Grill in Dallas, the restaurant is the flagship of the M Crowd Restaurant Group and anniversary celebrations included a six course $250 per person dinner in which Chef Mesnier presents his "Trio of White House Desserts"

Roland spent over 25 years in the White House pastry kitchen - he affectionately refers to as his "shop" - and cooked for five U.S. Presidents (darn, he beat me by one- smiles) I narrowly missed meeting him in Houston, we both taught classes the same week at Central Market. The chefs there couldn't speak highly enough of him; his demonstration was professional, his food amazing and his stories captivating, so you can imagine how much I wanted to meet him.

While I may have cooked for four of his five bosses Roland had cooked for both of mine. Princess Diana, with Prince Charles visited the White House just after their wedding and Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. I was with her majesty on that trip, though didn't get to the White House, we flew on ahead to join the royal yacht Britannia in Tampa. Roland showed me a photo of the chocolate carriage dessert he had prepared for the Queen at that banquet and I understood why he lasted 25 years.

After chatting with him I found out we had another thing in common too. We had both worked at the Savoy Hotel in London for two years and under the same head chef Sylvino Trompetto. Roland Mesnier is a fantastic chef, a lovely man and I can't wait to read his book titled All the Presidents' Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House.

I was cooking in Malibu last weekend. Read all about it ... Malibu Times

Staying in Santa Monica I stumbled upon the farmers' market. What a lovely surprise, the produce, as you would expect is SO fresh.

A guiding principle of Santa Monica Farmers' Markets is to accommodate as many California farmers as possible. This ensures the greatest variety of seasonal produce grown in the state.

In addition to the many social and economic benefits that accrue to the communities in which they occur, farmers' markets give farmers a chance to experiment with new and old-fashioned varieties of fruits and vegetables not grown commercially.

Berries so fresh they reminded me of when we used to pick them off the canes in the Balmoral Castle gardens for the royal table. I just wish some clumsy oaf hadn't thrown his briefcase on top of my beautiful carry on when we boarded the plane. Oh well, they made excellent ice cream.

Just heard this morning that we have enough people for my culinary trip to london so it's a go - still a couple of places though if you want to join me !

COOL ! I can't wait. The five day trip starting July 31st 2008 will see me as personal tour guide around Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace.

Throw in Tea at the Ritz, Lunch at Harrods, dinner cruise on the Thames, a tour of Borough Market and one of my cooking classes while we are there and you can see just how much fun this trip is going to be.

Watch the 2 minute clip all about the trip here... London trip clip

Call Southlake Travel on 817 657 9866 and see if you can talk Karen into squeezing you in.

I would make this cake at least once every couple of weeks for Her Majesty when I was at Buckingham Palace. She loved it. With Mothers Day just around the corner why not have a go at this for your mom - the Queen in your house.

1. At least 6 hours before baking the cake prepare the filling. Melt 8 oz of the chocolate and bring to the boil ½ pint of the cream.
2. Pour the cream onto the chocolate and whisk it until smooth, then refrigerate until set.
3. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and set a pan (large enough to hold a mixing bowl) half full of hot water on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Line an 8 inch sponge tin with parchment paper and grease.
4. In a mixing bowl add the eggs, yolks and sugar and whisk together. Place over the bowl of hot water to allow the mixture to heat up.
5. Sieve the flour and cocoa and set aside.
6. Whisk the egg mixture until it doubles in volume and then fold in the butter and flour mixture. Spoon the mix into the cake tin and bake for about 20 minutes until the sponge springs back when pressed.
7. Remove from the oven onto a cooling wire and make the topping while the sponge cools.
8. Melt the remaining 8 oz of chocolate and bring to the boil the remaining ½ pint of cream. Pour the cream onto the chocolate and whisk it until smooth and then set aside off the heat.
9. Slice the sponge into three discs and spread the filling onto the bottom two discs and reassemble. Add the remaining chocolate mix to the hot topping and whisk in.
10. Place the sponge back onto the cooling wire and ladle the topping over the sponge allowing it to run down the sides. Cool the cake for at least 2 hours before decorating with chocolate and serving.

In a paparazzi-fueled world where everyone is scrabbling to make a buck off of 15 minutes of fame, Darren McGrady is a refreshing exception. The Royal Chef, as he's known, has turned 15 years of service to England's royal family (the last four as Princess Diana's personal chef) into a charitable effort of which the princess would be proud. McGrady has donated the advance and royalties of his cookbook/memoir, Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen (Thomas Nelson, 2007), to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. "Two of Princess Diana's charitable goals were children and AIDS and I put the two together," he shares.

Read the full article - Click here

Still not decided what to buy mom for mother's day ? It's less than a week away. How about a copy of my cookbook/memoir. It's just $25-00 a copy and that includes FREE two day shipping. Tell me moms name and I will sign it to her too. Check it out on the link below.

EATING ROYALLY - recipes and remembrances from a palace kitchen

Until next time...... Darren