Summer fruit picks from Kate Hutchinson

Tempted by summer’s juicy fruit? I asked Kate Hutchinson, owner of Ciocolat (301 B Street in Davis), how best to show off the bounty:

“Our big tip is to use locally grown fruit [to] make pies, make cobblers; you can even use fresh fruit and a heavy whipped cream as a lovely light dessert. A really fabulous strawberry shortcake recipe, pairing the berries with real whipped cream, has been big for us this year.

“Go to a local farmers’ market and pick what looks fabulous that week. Cherries came in a week or two ago, so this is a great time for cherry pie. Now we’re waiting for peaches to come in.

“I’ll eat chocolate all year-round. We use freshly sliced fruit as toppers on chocolate cakes; that way, you can have a bite of fruit and a bite of chocolate! We use fruit in as many ways as we can, because we have such a wonderful bounty in this area.”