Pastry chef who is an “Alabama treasure” retires after 40 years of making life sweet

High on my post-pandemic bucket list was a trip to Birmingham’s Highlands Bar & Grill. And it wasn’t going to be a mere dinner, but an all-out (and probably literally sickening) celebration. As I envisioned it, the meal was to consist solely of all desserts on offer—in order to experience the culinary expertise of James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Dolester Miles. Alas, Dessertapalooza is not to be. Covid continues to thwart my travel plans, and now Miles (she of the sumptuous coconut-pecan cake, legendary peach cobbler, and other miraculous Southern baked goods) just retired after four decades of making life sweeter for diners. After this career of rare longevity and honors, this “Alabama treasure,” as AL.com rightfully called her, deserves the most beautiful flowers that can possibly be crafted from buttercream or fondant (or something better tasting—not a big fan of icing). And in other pastry news, Charles Entenmann died recently at age 92. If that last name sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen it at the supermarket a million times, on those white-and-blue boxes of danishes, donuts, and cakes. Inspired by his German immigrant grandfather’s Brooklyn bakery, Entenmann was the force behind the family business’ becoming a national grocery mainstay—though his son let the cat out the proverbial bag in a CNN remembrance: Charles Entenmann didn’t eat sweets. —Cynthia R. Greenlee