When it comes to the pair behind the desserts at The Continental and Audrey, I’ll put it to you plainly: I’ve yet to have a bite of theirs that was anything less than perfect. Take The Continental’s cream-ice cart. I could spend a hundred words (and have) talking about the pure nostalgic bliss that is their frozen vanilla custard, their take on chocolate and bananas, or their apple-butter beignets with cider and sherbet. But my favorite thing about their dishes isn’t their ingredients — it’s the way they balance the cutting-edge and the classic. They start with something you know — vanilla ice cream, apple cider — and they fancify it in wild and wonderful yet still purposeful ways. There’s cranberry ice on the custard, yuzu granita on the banana foam, and cucumber and olive oil on the spring-herb sorbet. While you’d never imagine these pairings yourself, suddenly you can’t imagine why they aren’t everywhere.
The reason? Most people can’t pull them off. Keaton Vasek and Michael Werrel can because they have skills. Both are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America. Both are veterans of Eleven Madison Park. Both moved to Nashville in 2020 to work with Sean Brock — but the similarities stop there. Growing up in New Jersey, Michael Werrell learned about food from his family. His grandfather was a cook in the Korean War, and his mother taught him to bake. At age 5, he knew that he wanted to be a chef. Keaton Vasek, on the other hand, didn’t get his start in hospitality until later in life. During a trip to Spain, he dined at Michelin-starred restaurants and decided he could do that. And while he made his way to Nashville via Europe and New York, he’s actually closer now to where he came from: a military family in Clarksville, Tenn. Now, do you need their full résumés to enjoy their desserts? Absolutely not. But it’s even more fun to revel in their goodness when you know the tradition, travel and foundation of family all their food stands on. Let’s hope they stay awhile.
