Phantom Gourmet: The Chocolate Bar At Cafe Fleuri

BOSTON - For nearly three decades, Cafe Fleuri at Boston's Langham Hotel has been putting on a dazzling display of over 100 decadent treats every Saturday afternoon, for a true food fantasy known as the Chocolate Bar. The all you can eat chocolate buffet is open every Saturday, September through June, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Executive Pastry Chef Ryan Pike is the confectionary wizard behind it all. While his delicious works of art are only on display for four hours a week, they take days to prepare.

"It's a three day process," he explained. "We start prepping on Wednesday, getting everything ready on Friday. Saturday morning we're garnishing and we're finishing off all the cakes. We just try to make everything the best that we can and over the top. We want people to just- we want their eyes to light up when they come through the room."

Connect With Phantom: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

While it may be chaotic in the kitchen, out front is far from it.

"You check in with your hostess. She'll seat you at your table. You start to work your way around the stations," Ryan said. "A lot of people they just want to explore a little bit. Kind of take it all it all in and then they dive right in."

For customers, choosing a plan of attack can be challenging, but taking it slow and steady is key according to Executive Chef Mark Sapienza.

"I don't know how they actually pace themselves. I see people walk by with plates filled with food and have the opportunity to go up as many times as they want and they actually do."

The tables upon tables of treats are truly a spectacle. There are adorable miniature chocolate dipped apples; an entire table of chocolate truffles; giant urns of chocolate soup; and cotton candy spun right before your eyes. If that doesn't get you nostalgic, the S'mores in Glass definitely will.

"As a kid growing up, everybody had campfire S'mores and this is just the way to bring people back to when they were kids and just enjoy it," Ryan said. "It's a Valrhona chocolate mousse and we take fluff and we layer it with fluff, graham crackers, and then we torch it to get that toasted marshmallow feel to it and we serve it in a little shot glass."

While the Chocolate bar is full of all of your standards, the kitchen looks out for adventurous eaters with creations like dense Maple Bacon Fudge, a Salted Caramel Mousse and a Banana Bacon Tart.

"It's pastry cream in a tart shell, sliced banana. We top it with meringue, toast the meringue, and then we top it with some of that candied bacon," Ryan described. "It's something where people think, 'Do I want to try this?' They try it and then you see them go back for another."

For an Asian inspired sweet, sink your teeth into the Fried Apple Spring Roll, a crispy wonton wrapper stuffed with spiced apples and deep fried.

While all of the artful chocolate made back in the kitchen is nice, Ryan described the dessert stations where you can customize your special treats.

"We have a dessert crepe station. We have chocolate and vanilla crepes. We'll flambé it for you with Grand Marnier. There's a lot of different combinations and people love it year over year."

"The fountain is a real popular one for the kids and the big kids at heart. It's just a waterfall of chocolate that just catches your eye and everybody kind of gets over there and circles around."

"We have a warm chocolate chip cookies and milk station. People's eyes light up. They can smell the chocolate from the chocolate fountain. They can smell the warm chocolate chip cookies. I mean who doesn't love a warm chocolate chip cookie and milk?"

"We also have the cold stone station which is an ice cream mixing station. You pick out whatever fillings that you would like. The girl will put the ice cream on the cold stone, put the fillings inside, mix it all up. And then we have hot chocolate sauce, whipped cream. Basically everything that you would want in a sundae."

No matter which delectable desserts you go for, you're bound to go home happy.

You can find the Chocolate Bar on Saturday afternoons, at Café Fleuri inside the Langham Boston hotel. For pricing and reservations, visit their website.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.