Behind the Curtain at Disney World’s Top-Secret Flavor Lab

The resort’s head pastry chef spills the beans on blue orbs, Goofy chocolate, and much more.

Disney Imagineers—the inventors of rides, attractions, and experiences for Disney Parks—get all the hype and fanfare. But there's another hallowed guild of zany creators in Orlando whipping up magic for Walt Disney World Resort: the chefs at Disney's Flavor Lab.

This top-secret test kitchen is tucked backstage at the resort and it's here where chefs experiment with textures, temperatures, color-changing ingredients, and more to create foods from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars franchise and other fantastical places. These are the chefs who decide what color panna cotta would be if you made it with alien Bantha milk. They figure out how to make edible matcha terrariums for EPCOT's annual flower and garden festival. And no over-the-top seasonal churro is sold without first passing through the lab for trial-and-error toppings, drizzles and sauces. Here's a peek into the Flavor Lab and the mind of one of Disney’s creative chefs whipping up the magic.

Meet Chef Stefan Riemer

Chef Stefan Riemer is responsible for one of the most out-of-this-world and delicious desserts at any Disney Park: The blue mousse orbs (officially on the menu as Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse) at Satu’li Canteen in Pandora - The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The certified master pastry chef has been inventing and baking at Disney for 25 years. And his dessert roots run deep. Raised in Germany, Riemer’s family owned a gelato shop (and, yes, one of his favorite park treats is still a classic Mickey ice cream bar) and they encouraged him to pursue his pâtisserie and confectionery dreams even as a teenager.

In his current role as pastry culinary director on the F&B Culinary Development team for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Riemer blends classic recipes and modern techniques with current trends to create, develop, and implement pastry menus and new pastry brands such as Amorette’s Patisserie and The Ganachery at Disney Springs.

Riemer shares his sweet insights into all things flavor at Disney.

What’s your all-time favorite, must-have Disney treat in the parks?

My favorite treat is a chocolate ganache square from The Ganachery at Disney Springs, especially the Caramel Fleur de Sel chocolate or our custom-blended dark chocolate with Egyptian sea salt. Perfection!

What is the Flavor Lab, what do chefs do there and is it as cool as Willy Wonka’s factory? Because that’s exactly what it sounds like.

The Flavor Lab is really a hub where we train, research, test, and collaborate with Disney culinarians on new concepts. Disney Food & Beverage is all about collaboration, and we empower everyone from cooks to chefs to culinary directors as well as our award-winning beverage professionals to create unique themed menus our guests will love.

There’s a must-try allure to food at Disney that makes it an attraction all on its own. How do you make food at Disney more magical?

Disney is known for storytelling and creating happiness, and that’s absolutely true when it comes to food. We balance taste, texture, and flavors, then create an iconic look, with a shape or color that may even be inspired by Disney characters. Our food is nostalgic for guests and has started its own trends throughout the years.

What are some of the most unique dishes or snacks you’ve created for the parks?

The Mickey Mouse Dome Cake at Amorette’s in Disney Springs is one of our most iconic and popular desserts, made with premium ingredients and the highest quality milk chocolate. I also had the honor of collaborating with our merchandise development team on the Donald Duck Lemon and Blueberry Disney Munchling cupcake plush. Donald Duck is my favorite character—he’s so much fun—and I was excited about creating an accompanying dessert in the character’s colors. The blueberry and lemon tanginess balanced with sweet meringue and topped with a drizzle of jalapeño gel was a tribute to Donald’s outgoing personality and fiery temperament.

What food trends are you seeing in the real world?

We’re definitely seeing a renaissance of classics right now, everything from chocolate to cheesecake and custards. Our chefs enjoy reinventing classics in fun and exciting ways. During Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month, we created a Basque cheesecake that utilizes a completely different cooking method from the usual New York cheesecake. And at Connections Eatery, we offer the popular Liege Waffle–a unique waffle that uses brioche dough dipped into pearl sugar to give it a beautiful caramelized texture. We serve it with the classic strawberries, cream, and chocolate sauce.

Another food trend I’m excited about is the incorporation of unusual flavors that aren’t traditionally used in this country, such as yuzu, matcha, and ube. There’s also an increased interest in plant-based foods, including chocolate, so there is plenty of opportunity to experiment with flavors.

What flavor and spice trends are you seeing in the real world? And how do you bring those trends to life in the parks?

Salts from around the world are popular right now, and I love experimenting with them. Lava salt pairs well with breads, Egyptian salt with dark chocolate. Fleur de sel provides a nice balance to caramel, and Himalayan salt is delicious with butter.

Another trend I enjoy is the blending of spicy and sweet. In fact, people are often surprised at one of my favorite spices—black pepper! Sweet strawberries marinated with balsamic and a pinch of black pepper offer an incredible and unique flavor. I also love experimenting with sweet and spicy curries. The right curry can offer the perfect hint of spice to white chocolate or a fruit such as mango.

Disney World food plays with texture so well. Why is texture just as important as taste?

Texture is important, whether it’s a single piece of silky sweet chocolate that stays on the palate, or a dessert layered with sponge, creamy mousse, and meringue. The right texture can give a hint of nostalgia, reminiscent of how our guests feel when they return year after year. When making a chocolate bar in honor of one of our most loved characters, Goofy, I considered his bright, fun personality and his movements, then added popping candy to silky semisweet chocolate. The candy offered an interesting and fun balance of textures reminiscent of a childhood favorite.

How does color motivate you when creating new foods?

I like to play with color, especially when they’re inspired by our favorite characters: blue/yellow for Donald Duck, red/yellow/black for Mickey Mouse, and blue/orange for Goofy. Colors can represent personality, setting, style and more, and the right color can stimulate happiness. We know guests love taking photos of their favorites, so we want to give them the most beautiful desserts we can create.

The sheer amount of themed eats inspired by Disney movies is incredible. What’s your creative process for adding new movie-inspired treats to the parks?

Storytelling is an important part of our process at Disney. To create movie-inspired desserts, I watch the characters and observe the movements, color patterns, shapes, and location or region where characters are from. Then I isolate these colors, textures, and senses into layers and sketch out my design.  When creating the dessert for Satu’li Canteen in Pandora—The World of Avatar, I observed the tropical setting, the blue-toned skin of the Na’vi with bright yellow eyes, and their personalities. I created layers of light sponge cake, blueberry cream cheese mousse, passion fruit curd and topped it with dehydrated meringue for texture. The dessert appears otherworldly but with flavors that are familiar to our guests.

Read the original article on All Recipes.