One More Date and Another Tart !!!!!!!!! oh...and a GATEAU VOYAGE!

ONE MORE DATE.............

I was asked recently to do an international dinner for a chefs association outside of my current country. In considering the honor, I wanted to showcase ARABIAN DREAMS , the book, and give the diners for the event a sampling of what I am trying to get the world to see....." That the traditions of the Middle East are amazing and yet they can be turned into NEW AGE masterpieces quite simply."
 LA DATTE ARABIA is perfection in presentation to my humble beliefs. It serves dates, the Middle East's abundant fruit of an honorable past, in a manner few would expect.  At the same time it gives so many variations of it in one dessert. Date and thyme gellee, date cake, date mousse, date ganache and date glaze. So much date, and for most people an horrific concept, having never eaten dates outside of Sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce.
Arabian Dreams was born from a desire to prove chefs can create from the ground up in everything they do. That we are more than one dimensional cooking robots. That our skills, talent and artistry can produce more than plates of 5 minute organliptic pleasure. An idea can blossum one summer ,and by the winters end, it can be turned into an award winning book title. I have never been so inspired nor so proud of anything, as I was ARABIAN DREAMS. OF course that is closely followed every day when the inspiration to cook, makes me proud of the creations we produce, the taste buds we set on fire and the memories of amazing desserts, my diners, patrons and guests will have many moons from now.
The greatest honor a pastry chef can ever be granted would be to hear, a decade from now," I still remember the sensations of dining on that most memorable of dessert you created."

LA DATTE ARABIA - PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE
(White chocolate filled with date mousse, date cake, Umbread
and glazed with Date glaze. Served with date and thyme gellee
date ganache.)

AND ANOTHER TART.............

My dear friend and blog teacher , Anita Menon (Check out her amazing blog) asked me to describe what ,"a day in the life of a Pastrychef" actually entails. Well certain difficulties stand before me in doing that. None of which I wish to share.

Some, within the realm of where I work, believe that all we do as chef's, is sit, chat and drink coffee, and that is about it. Few realise that during the sitting and the chatting, myself and colleagues could be discussing what it is we see before us, which we desire to achieve in reality and some how take dreams and turn them into plated edible perfection.

As a writer, I remember a quote, from I know not who, which stated some thing like," The novel I desire is already written before me. I see the words, they need just be plucked from the air floating before me and scribed upon the page in the order in which they fall."

For us as chefs, it is the same. "I see the finished dish before me, the only thing standing in my way is to place the order, chopped the fruit, bake the cake and organise the parts into that which my minds eye, has already begun to devour."

As a chef and a writer I find many similarities. And much of both worlds collided back in 1987 when Gary Rhodes OBE stated , "Simplicity need not mean sloppy. Done to perfection, the simplest dish can bring you a Michelin Star".

Simplicity in writing is the key. Too big an idea means thousands of pages of explanation. I adore the 800 word essay, where beginning, middle and end; concept, evolution and finality must all collide within a set number of words, be fun to read, or instructive and make sense on a singular published page.

Cooking is much the same. 

You do not have to make every single dish a monolithic enterprise to achieve greatness. Some of the simplest dishes truly are the most memorable.

For me, tarts always seemed too simplistic. Today I hold them high and shout from the highest of mountain tops, that tarts can be magnificent.  A tart shell baked perfectly, a filing not too sweet, not too dry, a simplistic topping of meringue, nuts, or glaze and you have perfection.

A day in the life of a pastry chef can be summed up as a day of tarts. I may sometimes sit and chat a little longer than most. I may sometimes have a few too many cups of coffee. But those who fear that laziness has crept within the soul of this pastry chef need look no further than the photos below. A day in the life of a Tart maker. All made, all prepared, all executed to perfection on a singular day. And yes....others sampled them, some of them twice. Some asked for slices to take home and others where shared among my staff. Simplicity does not mean un-creative either. These gorgeous entities will remain with me now for years and shall sooner or later become the basis of another morphed creation, simplicity will one day have its chance at complicated and stunning. For now, taste speaks for itself; simple, stunning, sexy.

Bakewell tart

Candied Chestnut tartlets 

Chestnut, vanilla creme brulee and fresh fig tart. 

Maple Syrup meringue tartlets

Fresh pear and baked Mascarpone tart 

Tarte tatin

 oh....AND A GATEAU VOYAGE!!!......
Again simplicity wins the day.
Playing for a day with chestnut paste to extend the conceptual range for a European client I did not stop at the perfect chestnut tartlets with Italian meringue nor at the Chestnut, Vanilla Brulee and Fresh Fig tart, but continued on to this gorgeously moist Gateau Voyage Marron. It speaks for itself and so I shall stop.

Gateau Voyage MARRON (white fondant glaze with candied chestnuts and gold leaf)



"LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL" as the famous words of Hard Rock Cafe state. Let the kitchen be the world's true UN. We are all united by the food that we eat, we all deserve a meal and therefore we all must take social responsibilities in the protection of the earth on which we live. No food, No us, No blogs. Oh what a shame!!!