Sometimes the ubiquitous brown box the Fed Ex guy dumps on the porch bears the most welcome tidings. This was the case on Thursday when the box revealed a round gift box filled with sweet treats and holiday cheer from chefs John Folse and Rick Tramonto via Erin Swanson, the pastry chef at their highly anticipated Restaurant R’evolution. Set to open in the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter in the spring of 2012, R’evolution brings together two of the country’s most significant culinary talents and will create a major culinary destination in New Orleans.

It’s obvious that Swanson (who joins R’evolution from Tramonto’s TRU in Chicago where she worked for years under Gale Gand) has been boning up on the sweeter side of Louisiana’s culinary traditions. The box, which was set upon by a duo of snarling, sugar-starved teenagers, was stuffed with Satsuma Madelines, Almond and Pecan Pralines, Lemon Drops, Bonbons flavored with Elderberry Ratafia and Cherry Bounce, and Sicilian Black Fig Jam. Rocking a sugar high the distracted teens departed, leaving me to a single Elderberry Ratafia Bonbon in the shape of a fleur de lis, which I relished in solitude, fearing their inevitable return.