I went to a 5-course dessert dinner

and this is how it went! Dishing everything about Charlotte's 2025 Sugar Shock~

Jun 30, 2025

“Sugar Shock” is a fundraising event founded in 2016 by pastry chef and Sweet Spot Studio owner, Jossie Lukacik. The event showcases the pastry talent in Charlotte through a coursed, dessert-only dinner experience, with all proceeds going towards a scholarship fund that helps aspiring chefs to pursue their culinary dreams. Dropping the event details below!

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Monday, June 23, 2025

Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM; 👉 it ended around ~8:30 PM

Location: Bar One Lounge (Uptown); 222 S. Church St.

Tickets: $80 per guest; 👉 which included: hors d’oeuvres, 5-course plated desserts, soft drinks, live music, gift bag, validated parking only for 206 S. Church St. Garage

The Featured Chefs!

Jossie Lukacik – Owner and Lead Instructor, Sweet Spot Studio
Samantha Ward – Pastry Chef, L’Ostrica
Ashley Boyd – Chef and Managing Partner, 300 East
Laney Jankel Parrish – Executive Director, Piedmont Culinary Guild
Keia Mastrianni – Owner & Pie Lady, Milk Glass Pie
Justin Fry – Owner and Chocolatier, JF Chocolat
Corey Seigel – North American Director of Culinary Development, Electrolux Professional
Drew Beuttel – VP of Operations, Bar One Lounge

✨ All proceeds from the night benefited the Kendall Ross Culinary Scholarship Fund, which was created in memory of Kendall Wayne Ross and his passion and drive as a young chef (one of the savory chefs, Corey Siegel, personally knew him). Kendall’s culinary career was tragically cut short at the young age of 29 due to a drunk driver. During his life, Kendall was able to pursue exciting opportunities that showcased his talent (like cooking for Ed Sheeran’s World Tour!) — and thanks to the fund, others will be able to do the same in his memory. ✨

HORS D’OEUVRES

All of the hors d’oeuvres were extremely tasty—honestly, I could’ve just had endless rounds of these 🤤 It was very thoughtful that the tickets also included savory bites (I’m a traditionalist and still prefer my dessert after a meal 😝)—the appetizers left me just enough room to enjoy 5 dessert courses without feeling sugared out. Here’s how I’d rank the 4 hors d’oeuvres 👇

Wagyu Beef Tartare + Crispy Potato (Corey Seigel)—the crisp of the potato with the well-seasoned beef tartare was perfection
Italian Coppa + Pimento Cheese Gougere (Corey Seigel)—there was SO much flavor going on, yet it all blended together masterfully
Ratatouille Cucumber Bites (Drew Beuttel)—a refreshing & flavorful vegetarian appetizer
Caprese Canapés (Drew Beuttel)—a taste of herby, warm summers

THE DESSERT DINNER

COURSE 1

Ashley Boyd – Chef and Managing Partner, 300 East; known as: “The Original Pastry Goddess of Charlotte”

This pound cake was refreshing and summery—I was surprised with how light and moist it was compared with other pound cakes I’ve had! The flavor profile from the rhubarb and raspberry combined with the elderflower milk reminded me of a strawberry shortcake but jazzed up. All of the components just melded together so well, like one of those multi-faceted ice creams where you can get a bit of everything in one lick. The nuttiness from the candied buckwheat was the cherry on top, bringing fun caramelized popcorn notes. (rating: 10/10)

COURSE 2

Keia Mastrianni – Owner & Pie Lady, Milk Glass Pie; she used to live in Charlotte & write about Charlotte food

The homemade peach jam was absolutely stellar—the peach chunks were to die for! In comparison, the fig leaf cream was a little too mild for me. I wished the flavor was more concentrated to balance out the peach jam. The pâte à choux seemed a little soggy and deflated, but that could’ve been due to its being made in advance, transported, plated, etc. (rating: 6.5/10)

COURSE 3

Samantha Ward – Pastry Chef, L’Ostrica; known as: “the queen of combining savory with sweet”

First off—I love that Sam’s inspiration was “girl dinner.” The delivery was extremely on point! While each component of the plate was tasty on its own (I love me a good chocolate-covered anything, the candied bacon reminded me of candied pecans, and the macaron was a cool blend of garlic-y sweet), I found myself missing the wildly unique and complex creations I’ve had before at her former bakery, Wentworth & Fenn. (rating: 7.5/10)

COURSE 4

Laney Jankel Parrish – Executive Director, Piedmont Culinary Guild; all about local sourcing

Laney came in with a bang with her huge emphasis on local sourcing—everything in this coupe glass is grown/milled/farmed in North Carolina! The ice cream was creamy and its sweetness paired very well with the super tangy plum jam that rippled throughout. The pickled blueberries added nice pops of sweet & sour and the nasturtium leaf was sort of minty. The spiced crumble was a bit too crunchy in some bites, and was so hard that sometimes I thought I was about to chip a tooth 😆 I also couldn’t pick out too much spice, so would’ve loved more of whatever “spice” element was intended. All in all, the entire dessert flavor profile was very similar to Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp, just more tangy, which left me yearning for more creativity. (rating: 7/10)

MIGNARDISE

Justin Fry – Owner and Chocolatier, JF Chocolat; spends 3-5 weeks in recipe development on average per recipe

Something Justin said stood out to me: how with confections, he has only 1-2 bites to impress his customers, while the rest of the plated desserts have 5-6 bites of a chance to make a lasting impact. What a new perspective on plating and food!

But these confectionaries: just amazing! The Hazelnut Quinoa was like a Crunch Bar x Butter Finger x Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with a strong dark chocolate & nutty peanut/hazelnut flavor. The texture was an unbelievable airy crispy crunch that I could experience on repeat. The Chocolate Raspberry truffle had a hard & snappy chocolate shell that gave way into a tangy & refreshing raspberry filling that was soft & malleable but not runny. I was expecting the Chocolate Raspberry to not have a filling, so when it wasn’t 100% chocolate in the middle I was surprised. While I adjusted quickly, I can’t help but wonder if it would’ve been better with solid raspberry-flavored chocolate. (rating: 10/10)

concluding thoughts

This year is my first year attending, and I loved seeing the pastry community come together to support a good cause. It was a cool experience to see all of the different pastry chefs in person (most of whom I had either only heard of their name or their restaurant, but hadn’t seen before) in the same room, where you could get a glimpse of their personality and style through their plated dishes. Overall, I thought the experience was well-priced—honestly, quite a steal, if you factor in everything that was offered and that the primary goal of the event is to raise money to support culinary education. I highly recommend you keep an eye out for the next one 💥