Pastry Chef Grew Up in Troy With Comfort Food Cooking

You don't know the complexities of chocolate until you order the Trio Chocolate Mouse at the in downtown Rochester.

To hear chef Mark Slessor explain it, it's an art form.

"Each layer is lighter than the next," said Slessor, the Royal Park's new pastry chef, about the dessert.

"As it hits your mouth, you'll taste the creaminess of the white, then it gets creamier with the milk chocolate, then finally the dark chocolate overtakes all of them."

Slessor's make-me-crave-it description of the dessert helps illustrate his love for his craft.

Growing up in Troy, Slessor remembers his mom and grandma baking classics like blueberry buckle and strawberry shortcake—two comfort desserts that remain among his favorites to make today. He took his first culinary arts course at Troy Athens High School and later mastered the intricacies of the profession at Oakland Community College.

He worked as a chef at the Pine Lake Country Club in West Bloomfield before joining the staff of Birmingham's award-winning Big Rock Chop House.

He came to the Royal Park in June.

"I'm happier than I've ever been at this restaurant," he said. "It's my dream job."

Slessor, 31, lives in Rochester Hills with his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters. (Yes, Slessor says, the birthday cakes in his house are pretty awesome.)

He is an award-winning ice carver, too, which further illustrates his artistic side.

"I can visualize the end product, which I guess is a gift," he said. "It's all about the presentation—nobody ever wants to see their dessert served on a plain round plate. We're trying to create an experience."

Slessor's first big project will be the creation of the giant gingerbread house that will decorate the hotel's lobby starting in November. He has plans to revamp the roof and add even more candies to the creation than ever before.