Katherine Clapner runs Dude, Sweet Chocolate in Dallas, where she sells artisan chocolates with flavor combinations that would not pass a focus group — bourbon-and-bacon, miso caramel, smoked-paprika ganache. The shop has been there for over a decade because the chocolates are very good.
She brought devil's food cake to Bobby's kitchen in 2016. The cake is a chocolate exam: hot coffee or boiling water poured into the batter at the end to bloom the cocoa, oil rather than butter for the crumb, buttermilk for tang, and a fudgy frosting whipped just enough to hold a swoop without losing gloss. The thing that separates a great devil's food from a fine one is the cocoa bloom, and the cocoa bloom is something a chocolatier does in her sleep.
Bobby is a savory chef. Bobby is a savory chef who keeps agreeing to pastry rounds.