Known for shaping the culinary landscape of the late 20th century, Claudia Fleming began her journey towards dessert mastery at the Union Square Cafe, a venture by Danny Meyer, in the 80s. Prior to joining Union Square Cafe, she lent her burgeoning skills to Jonathan Waxman's Jams and Drew Nieporent’s Montrachet. Her stint for a decade at Gramercy Tavern established her in the gastronomy world, with her innovative desserts earning her the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2000 on the heels of her nominations in the previous two years.

Fleming, along with her husband and fellow chef, Gerry Hayden, took her culinary prowess to the North Fork Table & Inn on Long Island, which she co-owned and managed from 2005 until Hayden's passing in 2015. Later in 2020, she decided to embark on a new journey and sold her stake in the business.

Fleming returned to her roots, joining the Union Square Hospitality Group once more, lending her dessert expertise to eateries such as Ci Siamo and Daily Provisions decades after leaving Gramercy Tavern. Her remarkable run in the industry is captured in famed publications, The Last Course: A Cookbook (2001, 2019) and Delectable: Sweet & Savory Baking (2022), both well-loved among food enthusiasts.

Fleming's dessert menu encompasses a variety of alluring creations - from creamy holiday cheesecake infused with goat cheese and mascarpone, enveloped in a tart cranberry gelée and candied pistachios, to a frozen dessert-version of lemonade comprising lemon vodka, Prosecco, basil, limoncello, strawberries, and lemon sorbet.

A reinterpretation of the classic lemon meringue pie by Fleming features a satisfying lemon-olive oil cream housed within a shortbread-like tart crust, crowned with an Italian meringue topping. A variation of semifreddo by Fleming also uses lemon cream as a base but stands out due to its preserved lightness and tanginess after freezing.

Her ventures with fellow pastry chef Kelly Fields resulted in a tasteful alliance of crumbly cornmeal cake and fresh candied citrus, hoisted upon creamy layers of sabayon, adorned with peaks of toasted Italian meringue. Fleming's experimentation in the kitchen also takes a sweet yet tangy turn with her use of gelatin and olive oil in a classic curd.

Among Fleming’s repertoire are her mother’s divine cookie recipe that use the right amount of cornstarch for a perfectly crumbly texture without excess dryness, a rich, multi-layered chocolate cake laced with various flavorful extracts in its frosting, and her renowned pastry filled with apples, topped with streusel, baked to a golden hue, ready to be paired with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup.