Venerable local candy company Goo Goo Cluster has been scrambling a bit this summer as they remodel their popular downtown candy shop with plans for a Labor Day reopening. With no permanent location to draw their fans to, the company has undertaken a series of pop-ups around town this summer. This has added a little bit of a monkey wrench to their annual Summer Chef Series, where local culinarians previously created their own versions of premium Goo Goos to offer for sale for limited times at the Goo Goo Shop.
To simplify the series a bit, this year they have decided to go with some old favorites for the seventh edition of this classic rite of summer. They’ll be revisiting favorite previous Summer Chef Series collaborators and bringing back some recipes from the past. The selections will be released three at a time and available to purchase at googoo.com, Goo Goo Cluster’s summer pop-up locations and each chef’s respective restaurant. Once again, 10 percent of all sales from the Summer Chef Series confections will be donated to the Nashville Food Project.
For July, they’re bringing back this trio of classics:
• The Margoo from Margot McCormack of Café Margot: salted caramel, candied hazelnuts, hazelnut-butter caramel ganache and Willa's Classic Shortbread, all coated in rich dark chocolate
• Mocha Bananza from Megan Williams of Etch, Etc. and Jasper’s: brown butter blondies, banana jam, candied pecans, salted caramel and coffee-white-chocolate ganache, in a roasted white chocolate shell
• Holy Cannoli from David Tieman of Five Point Pizza: whipped ricotta ganache, mini chocolate chips, cannoli shell pieces, candied orange peel nougat and honey roasted peanuts in dark chocolate
Come August, they’ll rotate to three new offerings:
• The Gertie from Karl Worley of Biscuit Love: peanut butter, pretzels, caramelized-banana jam and vanilla wafers, all covered in dark chocolate
• Tennessee Waltz from Rebekah Turshen of City House: chocolate caramel ganache and espresso pecan praline nougat, covered in a rich, dark chocolate
• Ninahot from Nina Singto of Thai Esane: basil milk chocolate ganache, rice krispies and chili caramel in milk chocolate
“Our Summer Chef Series has become a highly anticipated, fan-favorite event each summer,” says Beth Sachan, vice president of sales and marketing for Goo Goo Cluster. “The only complaint is that when they’re gone, they’re gone…until now! We are so excited to get to spend this summer with a flashback appearance of some previous Summer Chef Series’ superstar creations.”
Don’t miss out on these sweet treats!
