Chef Caroline Kolle traced halos of black pepper syrup into a chilled glass, then layered rice pudding infused with Crystal hot sauce, bay leaf ice cream and whipped cream into columns of white and amber.
In the pastry kitchen at Commander’s Palace, she garnished the parfait with toasted dark roux, sassafras and thyme streusel, working among the ingredients for six other desserts — fresh strawberries for shortcake and chocolate and caramel syrups for pecan pie à la mode.
But the Lagniappe Parfait, inspired by the savory elements of gumbo, stands apart…