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Stately desserts shine on Mansion's crystal

The occasion of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s performance on the Governor’s Mansion grounds Oct. 3 also saw the debut of donated Waterford crystal pieces worth perhaps half a million dollars, mansion administrator Don Bingham said.
The occasion of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s performance on the Governor’s Mansion grounds Oct. 3 also saw the debut of donated Waterford crystal pieces worth perhaps half a million dollars, mansion administrator Don Bingham said.

Ooo, that lamestream media is up to its tricks! All the health stories this year are hatin' on sugar, the stuff of soda fountain romances and ice cream socials and Nanna's hot apple pies. Real America, don't let 2016 be the Year of Unsweetness. You have the governor's support on this.

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Cake, pie and parfait were a few of the glorious desserts available to the crowd immediately following the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s performance on the Governor’s Mansion grounds Oct. 3.

Or at least, the Governor's Mansion.

Last month I was at a banquet at the mansion. There were two buffet lines with curried shrimp, roast beef and sides. It was delicious, but guests just took their plates and sat down at an open table -- no fanfare. Then, the dessert.

Folks, I am not kidding when I say the evening was interrupted to present dessert. Don Bingham, mansion administrator, took the podium to declare it served, and that declaration was set to a symphonic allegro the explosion of which through the hall's speakers would have pleased Cecil B. DeMille. A procession of white-gloved servers shouldering silver platters marched down the grand stairs like Cossacks, imparting rum raisin crepes with hot ganache, cream and mint sprigs.

Over the last year, the first of the Asa and Susan Hutchinson era, I've noticed a subtle shift in the hors d'oeuvres and entrees at the Governor's Mansion. They're a little less delicate, a little heavier, perhaps more recognizably Southern. For instance, Bingham, himself a chef, did a lunch last week that turned on the Southern New Year's tradition of eating black-eyed peas, greens and cornbread, and the entree was a spinach roulade with pork rib meat.

The shift on savories has not been dramatic. Not like dessert.

"Dessert has been brought to a new level," Bingham says.

It is, after all, the capstone, the finale, and if Bingham and the staff have their way, "the showstopper, the icing on the cake, as it were."

In October, the mansion hosted the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, which played a short concert on the grounds -- first lady Susan Hutchinson joined at the piano for Carnival of the Animals -- before retiring to the Grand Hall for champagne and desserts.

This spread of sweets was to beat the band -- elaborate cakes and pies and parfaits in fluted glasses.

The occasion also saw the debut of Waterford crystal pieces donated to the Hutchinson mansion by Jane Jackson, Bingham said. The entire set of donated crystal may top half a million dollars, he said. One of the cake stands alone is $7,000.

"Hence, a little bit of a reason for the sparkle and glisten and the excitement of the presentation of it" that night, he said. "But there were some fabulous homemade desserts on that line."

Oh, they didn't go unnoticed.

Nor should they.

I hope 2016 brings more of these conversation-piece dessert offerings. Such surprises should mark a night at the mansion. People should take out their phones and tag this place in social media posts.

"Susan and Asa Hutchinson want the Governor's Mansion, as every first lady and governor does, to be the front door of hospitality" in Arkansas, Bingham says.

Deliver my just desserts here:

bampezzan@arkansasonline.com

High Profile on 01/24/2016

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