Chef Mark Freischmidt hovers over a gleaming white plate on a steel countertop holding a spoon containing a plump, jellied droplet of pure concentrated peach. Like a painter adding the final touches to his canvas, Freischmidt slides the peach ravioli onto the plate, next to black sesame cream and peaches infused with vanilla laying atop drops of jasmine whipped cream and bahibe chocolate crémeux.

If the dish sounds sumptuously ornate, it’s because it is. It’s a dessert Freischmidt conceptualized for the spring 2019 menu of La Mer, Halekulani’s venue serving neo-classical French cuisine which has received multiple awards, including being the only restaurant in Hawai‘i to have earned a AAA Five Diamond and a Forbes Five-Star Travel Guide designation. The dish is a blend of classic French pastry techniques and local, tropical flavors, a style that has become a signature of Freischmidt during his tenure as Halekulani’s executive pastry chef.

Since 2010, Freischmidt has overseen Halekulani’s pastry team and carved a niche within Hawai‘i’s confectionery landscape. In addition to La Mer, Freischmidt supplies desserts to Halekulani’s other restaurants, including Orchids, House Without A Key, Veranda (Afternoon Tea), and Lewers Lounge. The team even offers select desserts for in-room dining, bringing the treats directly to guests.

Freischmidt approaches each dessert like a composer does a new arrangement. There are pronounced notes, the flavors that are at the center of the dish. Then there are the undertones, carefully calculated nuances that harmonize with the main tune.

In one dish, the sharp accents of kalamansi mousse and lemon verbena anglaise are rounded out by hints of coconut meringue and white chocolate sorbet. In another, the flavors of peaberry coffee cream and candied-orange sponge come together in unexpected harmony through the addition of a cherry wood-smoked chocolate gelato.

“That’s where the art and the science of it comes in,” says Freischmidt, who has been in the business since he was 15 years old. “You’ve got to understand how to play around with all of these different elements, most of which, like chocolate or peach or raspberry, we’ve been familiar with. It’s when you experiment with texture or flavor combinations that it goes beyond the familiar and into a unique place.”

In October 2019, the Halekulani Bakery & Restaurant opened its doors. Attached to the new Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani, the all-day restaurant brings Halekulani’s elevated dining to a casual setting. Freischmidt will lead the bakery operation, working with head baker Tatsuhiro Kaneshiro from Imperial Hotel-Tokyo, bringing the art of bread making with him.

The bakery is a one-stop shop for anything and everything confectionery. Fresh baked loaves of bread and indulgent pastries beckon from the shelves. A window looking into the kitchen allows guests to watch Freischmidt and his team create their mouth-watering sweets, like their immensely popular dragées. The chocolate-covered macadamia nut was once a treat only enjoyed by diners at La Mer, but demand from guests inspired the team at Halekulani to make them available at the new space, a perfect omiyage for friends or a personal take-home treat.

There is a sense of artistry in Freischmidt’s creations, even in something as simple as an after-dinner treat. Like the rest of his oeuvre of desserts, the legacy chocolates exhibit the chef’s heightened awareness of flavors and textures. The mellowness of macadamia nut caramelized in vanilla is elevated by sumptuous notes of flavor like liliko‘i or milk chocolate. Then, unexpectedly, a flourish of carbonated sugar fizzes and pops on the tongue, bringing the experience to a crescendo—a flurry of flavor that leaves the palate craving more.