KC Flavor Champion: Claire Jessen

“Cheese is my love language,” declares Claire Jessen, VP of culinary, Nothing Bundt Cakes. “As a child, my Irish mother would give me artisan cheese as an afterschool snack, and those memories eventually sparked a passion that led me to a career in the food industry.” Thus, she was especially tickled to learn her California Baked Brie & Apricot French Toast had been selected a Kitchen Collaborative 2025 winner by sponsor Real California Milk. “I got the email while I was in our test kitchen and was stopped in my tracks. I don’t typically participate in competitions, so to be among the top chefs selected is a delight and honor,” she says. That it was a menu concept where cheese was the hero element “was the cherry on top.”

Jessen’s decadent brunch build highlights Triple Crème Brie from Marin French Cheese Co., paired with an apricot compote and almonds, both selected to dial up the California profile, she explains. Directed by a request from the sponsor to consider how to apply its high-quality cheeses in accessible applications, she set out to make an entrée concept that could be modified for larger-scale operations with minimal ingredient and technique tweaks. “Guests really like to see fun twists on classics, especially in the breakfast/brunch space,” she notes.

Jessen starts by placing slices of Brie between two pieces of brioche. “This allows the ‘sandwich’ to stick together while soaking in the egg-milk base and pan-frying/griddling a la minute. It also saves time and mess on the line—soft cheeses can be hard to handle in the heat of the moment,” she explains. The chef turned to brioche for its soft texture and tendency to caramelize, but notes that most enriched breads, including challah or Vienna would also work well. Leaner breads, like a French or sourdough, require extra soaking time and should be baked instead of griddled.

The idea of a cheese plate or charcuterie board pairing Brie with fruit and nuts informed her other ingredient decisions. For example, amaretto is added to the egg-milk base to lend almond flavor and aroma. Jessen took it a step further by dredging the soaked bread in slivered almonds to add a toasted, crunchy, textural contrast. “When finishing with a little powdered sugar, this definitely gives off some almond croissant vibes,” she explains. For brand concepts that need the dish to be alcohol-free, chefs can swap the amaretto with bitter almond extract or leave it out altogether, she advises.

Use of a dried apricot compote also connects back to the cheese plate concept. “It brings some acid to create a beautiful balance with the rich, creamy cheese. I chose dried apricots because their flavor tends to be more concentrated, caramelized and consistent than fresh. The flavor and texture of fresh apricots changes so rapidly that rehydrating the dried apricots in a syrup and a little more amaretto yields a more consistent result,” Jessen says.

But these choices play supporting roles to the hero element: the Brie. “This is quite possibly one of my favorite cheeses, and it was very difficult for me to not just eat it by itself!” she recounts. In this dish, the almond elements bring sweet aromatics to complement the funk on the cheese, while the acidity of the apricot balances the creamy cheese and buttery brioche. “The complete dish is not intensely sweet, but a celebration of the Brie and the flavors of California.”

KEEPING FUN FRONT AND CENTER

Created in 2020 by Summit F&B and Flavor & The Menu, the Kitchen Collaborative recipe ideation program has repeatedly challenged participating chefs to bring their A-game in creating flavor-forward inspirations. The 2025 iteration refreshed the program with a once-in-a-lifetime prize incentive: Menu concepts were judged blindly by sponsor teams who evaluated descriptions, photos and other relevant information to select outstanding dishes. The winners will travel to Dubai with Flavor & The Menu and Summit to attend Gulfood 2026 and experience the region’s culinary highlights firsthand.

“The Kitchen Collaborative program was such a fun way to stretch my culinary muscles,” says Jessen, noting that her professional life has been concentrated around cake development over the last four years. “I normally prioritize learning about the economy, business concepts and consumer behavior. This was an opportunity to grow technically by working with different products and applications. I love a good puzzle, absorbing the sponsor briefs, playing with the ingredients in different applications and trying to tell a story with each concept.” She and her 9-year-old daughter spent multiple weekends together in the kitchen enjoying “plenty of tasty outcomes.”

Looking ahead to her upcoming trip to Dubai, her first to the Persian Gulf city, Jessen says, “I am excited to eat! Of course, I’m also looking forward to taking a break from normal life, being immersed in a different culture and learning about the area’s food scene.” She’s eager to share the unique experience with winners who share a similar passion for culinary craft.

MORE INSPIRED TAKES

Jessen’s cake-development respite resulted in a few other menu concepts that reflect her playful spirit and culinary savvy.

 
Watermelon Wedge

The Watermelon Promotion Board, a Kitchen Collaborative 2025 sponsor, asked participating chefs to create outside-the-box concepts. For Jessen, that challenge became the reinvention of the traditional iceberg lettuce wedge salad with watermelon at the center, giving the fruit a bit of “attitude” through salt, spice and the perfect accompaniments.

“As a Southern girl, I grew up eating salted watermelon. Adding a little salt to watermelon enhances its sweetness and juiciness and even masks the hint of bitterness. It really allows the melon flavor to come through,” she explains. “After salting, the watermelon reminded me a bit of the crispiness and slight sweetness of iceberg lettuce.”

Jessen used a ring to cut a large circle of watermelon, before dividing that into even wedges. Committing to the wedge salad flavor system, she added bacon and blue cheese to create a “dressing.” Each slice is topped with creamy Point Reyes blue cheese (courtesy of Real California Milk), crispy, salty bacon, a bit of green onion and chili crisp oil from Lee Kum Kee. The chili crisp drizzle brings some zing, while the fat from the cheese makes the starter more savory, she credits. The dish was presented on tableware from Libbey.

“The beautiful thing about enhancing watermelon this way is that you don’t have to have the most righteous, sweetest version of the fruit,” says Jessen. “You can enjoy it in its original integrity, but with a twist. Crispy, crunchy watermelon is always a delight.”

 
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Upon her first taste of the IQF breaded mini chicken bites from Kitchen Collaborative sponsor Tyson, Jessen’s head filled with ideas. “I could definitely see this product being a useful item in the pantries of different foodservice establishments,” she notes, citing large, multi-unit family dining concepts, sports arenas and K-12 school cafeterias. She credits the versatility of the small-sized pieces, their ability to be coated and a “super-quick” fry time. Also inspired to use a crumbly Gorgonzola from BelGioioso in a fun way, she built the Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese as an approachable, easy-to-execute dish.

“It’s a classic mac and cheese with a twist,” says Jessen. She used the sponsored Cowgirl Creamery Wagon Wheel cheddar from Real California Milk with the pasta. “It shreds and melts nicely in sauces, bringing sharp, nutty notes, similar to Gruyère, but a little smoother and sharper.”

On top, the chicken bites are tossed in a Buffalo sauce, drizzled with blue cheese dressing and sprinkled with Gorgonzola for additional pops of intense blue cheese flavor and the sporadic crunch of calcium lactate crystals—“my favorite,” she reveals. The dish, plated on tableware from Libbey, was garnished with fresh celery leaves, “because we all need our greens.”

“Mac and cheese is such a well-loved and nostalgic dish. It’s ripe with opportunity to add flavor and texture contrasts. Here, the base is creamy and soft, standing well against the crispy, vinegary Buffalo chicken bites. The garnishes of Gorgonzola and celery leaves also provide contrasts,” Jessen explains, citing the funk and crystal crunch of the Gorgonzola and the herbaceous notes and slight chewiness of the celery leaves. “Overall, this is a fun, new way to serve a ubiquitous flavor system—and one that can continue to be translated into other applications to suit your base guest needs.”

Don’t miss the last Kitchen Collaborative 2025 Flavor Champion profile later this month!

Kitchen Collaborative Project Management: Summit F&B
California Baked Brie and Apricot French Toast photo: Photography: otysonphoto.com // Food Styling: Peg Blackley