by Will McGough
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Sun October 29, 2017
When Andy Dalan remembered he had to go to a dinner party, he went over to the fridge at the Proud Peacock Restaurant in Oahu (where he was the executive chef) and started rooting through its contents.
He found a leftover custard base that had been previously prepared and saw there was a bunch of ube-or Hawaii's purple yam-that was set to expire. Dalan put the yams, custard and "a few other things" into a blender, then poured the mixture into little tart-like cookie shells. He popped them in the oven and, not long after, ran out the door so as not to be late.
After dinner-Dalan almost forgot they were in the fridge-he placed the tray in the center of the table. With each bite, the guests of the dinner party began questioning what they were, how he made them and, most importantly, how they could get more.
In the weeks that followed, he made batches for his friends' parties, perfecting the recipe as he went. Word about the tarts began to spread beyond Dalan's network of close friends and the orders followed.
As an executive chef, Dalan spent hours and days preparing complex menus.
But it's a single creation, known as the "Ube Tart," that has propelled him to success as an entrepreneur. He was receiving so many requests that, during the fall of 2015, he stepped down as executive chef and opened a shop in Wahiawa, where he could commit to the tarts.
He named his store the Uber Factory, because "uber" means outstanding and it also contains the word "ube."
Dalan took it slow, opening only one day a week. He would have an inventory of about 7,000 tarts and, between pre-orders and walk-ins, would sell out in three hours. Demand was greater than his supply, but he did not want to open more days.
The elusiveness was part of what made the tarts so sought after!
"I wanted to treat the tarts a bit like drugs," Dalan said, smiling, pointing to his branded t-shirt that has "addicted" written next to the Uber Factory logo.
They're sold in packs of eight for $10, cash only.
A dime bag for dessert? I doubt Dalan takes the drug analogy that far, but hey, I can't control what I come up with when I'm under the influence of ube.
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