Reggie Strom tastes his signature dessert for Pine Tavern.

When Pine Tavern’s general manager, Anthony Avraam, discovered that a Bendite was starring on a TV cooking show, he knew the restaurant had to ask the baker to create a signature dessert.

The baker is 12-year-old Reggie Strom, a contestant on Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship.”

Diners would have a chance to taste one of young Reggie’s pastry creations, similar to those that have kept him in the competition for the first six episodes. It’s also the perfect opportunity to raise money for charity. Reggie was excited to create a dessert that would raise money for Bend’s Ronald McDonald House, an organization that he’d helped in the past.

The dessert was Reggie’s choice. He presented Pine Tavern’s Chef SeanMichael Galloway with the recipe. Galloway then worked with the recipe to make it scalable for Pine Tavern.

Reggie picked his favorite dessert, a Pistachio Financier (pronounced fee-nahn-see-ay). This French pastry dessert (loosely translated, financier means “brick of gold”), is a chewy, tender, buttery nut-based cake that’s like a cross between a Madeleine and a cookie.

Reggie’s recipe has layered mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) mousse between two financiers. It’s plated with a roasted strawberry sauce. Strawberries are roasted with sugar, balsamic vinegar and mint, then cooled and pureed. The balsamic vinegar intensifies the strawberry flavor and the acid from the vinegar is a counter balance to the fat in the mascarpone. It’s all sprinkled with roasted pistachios and mint ribbons and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

We had a chance to try the dessert, and it was delicious — nutty, fruity and creamy. The flavors complemented each other. The nutty financiers played against the creamy sweet mascarpone. The fruity roasted strawberry sauce perfectly cut through the richness of the rest of the dessert.

Reggie has been interested in food since he was 2 . He told me that he ”grew up around good food. My parents liked expensive food, so I got to enjoy food more. My grandma liked to bake, and my parents did more savory.”

For his 10th birthday, Reggie’s parents gave him the gift of a kids’ macaron baking class at Kindred Creative Kitchen. Reggie said that he “hit it off” with teacher Chef Michelle Morris. Morris said she could see that Reggie had a “serious spark in his eye for baking and pastry.” She recommended that he come back and take another class.

In that class, she noticed that Reggie was extremely well organized. Repeating what Reggie’s parents said to me, she also commented that Reggie was like an adult in a child’s body. After that class, Chef Morris recommended that Reggie take her class that prepares young bakers for the Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship.”

Reggie didn’t make it the first year he applied for the show, but he was passionate about learning to bake. He took more private classes and put a lot of effort into the tryout process. Chef Morris worked with Reggie to prepare him for competition, teaching him foundational skills that could be used in a variety of recipes. For example, she taught him to roast strawberries to bring out their flavor — a lesson he has used both in the Baking Championship and in his dessert recipe for the Pine Tavern.

We don’t yet know how well Reggie did in the “Kids Baking Championship.” But he is still going strong on all episodes that have aired to date. The show is hosted by pastry chef and Food Network personality Duff Goldman along with actress Valerie Bertinelli.

It starts with 12 pastry chefs, ranging in age from 10 to 13 years old. Each week, the kid contestants are challenged with a theme, from Neapolitans to ice cream cone cupcakes, and are assigned a specific type of dessert or ingredient. Within a matter of minutes, the young bakers must come up with a dessert that fits the theme. Time limits are set depending on the type of dessert — cookies, cakes, etc. — that they are asked to create.

Reggie expressed that the show was stressful but fun. In the first episode, he won a framed photo of Duff and Valerie which he displays proudly on his wall. These kids are as highly skilled and creative as many of the competitors on adult baking shows. The biggest difference is that the kids are supportive and help each other.

Whether you are a Pine Tavern regular or haven’t visited in a while, it’s worth the trip to try Reggie’s Pistachio Financier.

Plus, you will be helping a worthy cause by raising money for Bend’s Ronald McDonald house.