Whether infused with floral notes or garnished with colorful petals, spring is the perfect time to enjoy these garden-inspired dishes and drinks.
By Sharon Stello
Flowers add color and fragrance in the garden, but they’re also embraced by local chefs, who incorporate floral notes from rose to lavender and beyond in their dishes and drinks. And, for visual appeal, pretty petals are often sprinkled onto plates or top cocktails as a vibrant garnish. Some flowers, like squash blossoms, actually are the dish—filled with cheese and other ingredients then fried for a tasty appetizer. No matter how they’re utilized, the garden provides big inspiration in the kitchen.
“Flowers add a touch of beauty to any dish and can elevate even the simplest presentation,” says Elvis Morales, executive chef at A Crystal Cove. “They can add a pop of color, a change in texture or, most interestingly, challenge our guests to think of flowers as food.”
Floral Flavors
At The Mayor’s Table Pacific Pub & Kitchen, inside Lido House hotel, a rose-infused Awake Yogurt Parfait was introduced to breakfast and brunch menus last summer.
“Its popularity among guests have made it a mainstay on our morning menus,” says chef partner Riley Huddleston. “… We’re always looking for new ways to enhance the guest experience. This dish presents a multisensory experience between its stunning presentation, its delicious taste and enchanting aroma.”
Served with strawberry and rhubarb compote as well as citrus granola, the yogurt incorporates organic rose water from France. “This is the key ingredient that transforms the yogurt’s flavor profile and gives it its floral aromatics,” Huddleston says.
On the dinner menu, Mayor’s Table also offers the Garden of Eden salad with a dandelion vinaigrette, “giving it a vegetal and vibrant zing,” Huddleston says.
At Sushi Ii—where seasonality is the cornerstone of the menu to reflect the time of year and ensure the freshest ingredients—a sakura (cherry blossom) mochi is presented in spring, coinciding with the blossoming cherry trees.
“This timing reflects the celebration of ‘hanami,’ the traditional Japanese custom of enjoying the transient beauty of cherry blossoms,” explains chef Susmi Ii. “… Sakura mochi is deeply tied to Japan’s cultural reverence for cherry blossoms, symbolizing renewal, beauty and the fleeting nature of life. This dish has been enjoyed for centuries during the ‘hanami’ season as a way to honor the blossoms and welcome the arrival of spring.”
The mochi—a Japanese rice cake often incorporating other ingredients like water, sugar and cornstarch—is wrapped in a preserved sakura leaf, “which adds a subtle, earthy aroma and a delicate saltiness that balances the sweetness of the mochi,” Ii says. The dish is often garnished with edible cherry blossoms, enhancing both the visual and symbolic connection to the season.
When it comes to sweet treats, Salt & Straw has whipped up the ever-popular honey lavender ice cream since 2012, when the chain introduced its flower series.
“I’ve always loved leaning into the seasonal produce and celebrating the changing of the seasons, so this felt like the perfect case study of florals just in time for spring,” says Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw co-founder and head ice cream maker.
“… Spring can be a tricky season, flavor-wise,” Malek adds. “The weather says winter’s done, but the farmers market begs to differ. This got me thinking about the signs of spring and how to bring the fresh feelings and bright color of the season to our menu. Not only do flowers symbolize this fleeting, hopeful moment, but they also present a fun challenge.”
Over the years, the business has worked with flowers from lavender to rose, saffron, poppies, marigold and wildflowers. “Our floral flavors can be provocative,” Malek says, “but we definitely have a cult following for these ice creams. The flavors bring a fresh and bright profile that harkens to springtime and the vivid signs that warmer days are ahead.”
Malek has experimented with different techniques to incorporate floral flavors. “I’ve steeped petals in cream, folded them into the ice cream as it’s being churned, candied petals and even baked them into cookies,” he says.
“… You can extract a variety of different flavor profiles from flowers, from bitter to spicy to floral. That’s what makes it so challenging—and fun,” Malek adds.
Blooming Bites
Some dishes utilize the whole flower for a dish, like the squash blossoms at A Crystal Cove. These blooms serve as a vessel, which are filled with a robiola cheese blend then tempura battered and fried before being plated over a yellow bell pepper sauce, served with grilled baby zucchini and finished with cotija cheese.
“The squash blossoms have been on our menu since we opened in May 2022,” Morales says. “They have been one of our most loved starters.”
Squash blossoms are a common ingredient in Oaxaca, Mexico, where Morales grew up. “When I was a child, my grandma grew squash in her garden and would use the blossoms in her cooking,” he recalls. “When we opened A Crystal Cove, I knew I wanted to use squash blossoms in an elevated way, to honor my grandma and my roots.”
Flowers are also widely used at 608 Dahlia, the restaurant at Sherman Library & Gardens.
“Our menus change seasonally, but I always make sure to incorporate florals into my dishes and drinks,” says 608 Dahlia chef Jessica Roy. “Flowers are an important part of the restaurant, not just because we’re located in a botanical garden, but because it’s representative of my style.”
Indeed, all of the eatery’s dishes and mixed drinks receive floral garnishes. “For me,” she says, “it’s the beauty and colors. I am a seeker of beauty—I find flowers so beautiful. Using them in my dishes is my way of celebrating their beauty.”
Roy predominantly uses marigolds, which, she says, have a citrusy note so they work well with a variety of dishes. Most of the flower garnishes are either picked from her own garden or grown on-site. The restaurant also has a unique 608 Dahlia tea blend that incorporates florals.
“I have always been inspired by beauty,” Roy says. “Our location allows me to be surrounded by stunning beauty all the time. Gardening has changed my lens and improved my plating as a chef. There’s nothing more rewarding than cultivating something from seed to plate. There’s a beautiful synchronicity because, conversely, being a chef has made me a better gardener. I have an even better sense of understanding what it takes to ensure ingredients and floral garnishes are harvested at their peak. Martha Stewart once said, ‘If you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden.’ ”
Garden Sips
Flowers aren’t only finding their way onto plates, but in glasses, too. Lavender is a particularly popular addition to drinks. Take, for example, the lavender latte at Zinc Cafe & Bar. Available hot or iced, the flavor is incorporated with a house-made lavender syrup and a sprig of lavender is used to garnish. “Nice floral notes … complement the bitterness of the coffee and creaminess of the milk,” says Alyssa Mendez, Zinc training manager, adding that lavender lemonade is also offered.
Adult beverages don’t shy away from florals, either. The Rum & Dumber cocktail, on the menu at Olea, Cellar-Craft-Cook since it opened in 2017, features lavender honey in addition to light and dark rum, lychee, Aperol, luxardo and lemon.
“This is a play on the Hemingway daiquiri. I’m a big fan of rum, and people who like rum drinks always will order one if they see it on a menu,” says Gabe Whorley, partner and beverage director for Olea umbrella company RJB Restaurants.
“… I love using fresh lavender for cocktails. It brightens and gives the cocktail another layer of flavor. We harvest the fresh lavender from our garden at Vine [restaurant] in San Clemente. We also use a small floral bud as part of the cocktail garnish, which is aromatic as well.”
To make the lavender honey, the team thins out the honey and mixes in the lavender with a blender. Double straining is key to make sure there are no bitter pieces remaining, Whorley says.
Throughout March, Olea is also serving the Golden Afternoon as a signature cocktail, which changes each month. Bar Manager Inga Tantisalidchai says the drink is inspired by the song “All in the Golden Afternoon” in Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” movie. Served in a vintage coupe glass with an edible violet crown, the libation showcases golden-hued Papa’s Pilar blonde rum, featuring soft, grassy notes, and floral notes from elderflower liqueur, creme de violette and lavender honey. “Elderflower and violets ‘are all in tune’ in this harmonized cocktail,” Tantisalidchai says. “Along with lavender honey and lemon to ‘kiss the tulips’ and provide ‘a wealth of happiness and romance all in the golden afternoon.’ ”
Gin is another spirit often paired with florals. Consider Sushi Ii’s Roku gin tonic garnished with shiso flowers, which offer visual appeal and add aromatics that complement the drink. A Crystal Cove also mixes up the Gin Blossom. “Our bar team uses hibiscus flowers in one of our most popular craft cocktails, the Gin Blossom,” Morales says. “We make a hibiscus syrup for this gin-based cocktail and also use the dehydrated petals as the garnish.”
Vodka is the liquor of choice in Sushi Roku’s Empress Kiss cocktail, which comes together with sake, lavender, yuzu, sparkling wine and a floral garnish. Jasmine Garcia, general manager and beverage program creator at Sushi Roku explains the inspiration behind this libation.
“Everyone always pays attention to the emperor, however the Japanese empress, Masako—wife of Emperor Naruhito—is just as educated and involved with international relationships,” Garcia says, noting that the empress graduated from Harvard and has worked for Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat.
Garcia explains that the lavender brightens up this light and refreshing cocktail, adding a hint of sweetness without overpowering the drink. “We wanted to incorporate symbolic and traditional Japanese flavors, and lavender symbolizes faithfulness in Japan,” Garcia says. “Faithfulness is one of the many celebrated traits of Empress Masako.”
Meanwhile, a veritable bouquet of blooms can be found in drinks at the Mayor’s Table.
“Cocktails like the Tequila Tide are garnished with an edible flower like an orange marigold or a pink carnation, and our spirit-free April Showers receives its delicate lavender hue from butterfly pea flower tea,” Huddleston says. “This nonalcoholic drink is made with Seedlip agave, pineapple cordial and lime. It receives a beautiful floral touch inside and out as it is also garnished with a duo of edible mums.”
No matter where you dine in Newport, it seems spring has sprung with floral accents around every corner, offering a reminder to stop and smell the roses—or lavender—while enjoying a garden-inspired dish or drink.
