BACK TO INDEX | NEXT CHEF Charlotte Akoto's elaborate pastries at The Old Williamsburg Company are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. Taught by her grandmother in Ghana as a young girl, Charlotte took on the role as the family chef. Moving to New York in the early '80s, she began to focus on pastries and worked on broadening her baking range at the Drake Swissotel. Although she was only required to prepare simple pastries, Charlotte exercised her creativity and began developing elegant desserts that drew the attention of food lovers, her peers, and New York's famed Algonquin Hotel. Later moving to The Pierre Hotel and The Old Williamsburg Company, Charlotte's culinary skills didn't remain a family secret for long. In the show BAKING WITH JULIA, Charlotte Akoto creates white meringue sandwiches with chocolate cream centers, chocolate meringues with caramel cream filling, and a meringue Napoleon with whipped cream and fruit.  Meringues  Tropical Fruit Napoleons