Much of what we do as pastry chefs is simply about satisfying the customers desires. Sometimes that means we cook the basics, cupcakes, chocolate mousse and the usual eclairs etc. On other days it means we cook the luxuries which the customer may indulge themselves with on special occasions otherwise known to us in the industry as the classics, Concorde and opera coming quickly to mind. On other occasions the customer allows us the creator to advise them of what they will eat next, this is where our creative genius can truly come into play and create the most amazing new ideas they have not yet conceived for themselves but which we believe and hope will become tomorrow's classics.
Once a classic, the dessert is renowned for what it is and lucky be the chef who change that and live to see the day. A Concorde after all is not a Concorde if you change the sum of its parts and like wise with almost any other dessert. If you want chocolate mousse you want a good solid rich yet melt in the mouth chocolate concoction, not something that comes with an iPod, a smoke gun and a slight scent of chocolate served with globules of chemical gastronomy.
If you do change a classic then you need to change the name. Opera needs to include what the creator Gaston LeNotre intended, coffee, buttercream, sponge and chocolate. I do not mind if all these are served on a plate in different methods and it is titled something like "Ode to Opera" for it does contain the basics of the original dessert. You can play with the service method but those basics are a must. If you add a flavor or recreate the dish completely using few of the basics then you best call it something else.
The reason i mention this is that recently I have seen in paris such things as Raspberry Opera, and while only a personal reflection, the classic contained no raspberry and therefore this is not a creative tweak, but a complete new dish.
To highlight my thoughts I give you a recent plated version of Opera, which sticks to the original conception just merely presenting it differently, albeit with additional chocolate garnish, mango and papaya purees and chocolate fondant.
I also give you the new flavored varieties which have been renamed. But a rose by any other name may be still a rose but Opera made from Apricot or Raspberry does not make it an Opera. The original of these was created by a great French patissier when he created Le Roi Soleil (The sun king), in my kitchen I have expanded this and now serve the four kings. Each king having his own cake and I also do a version (not photographed here-you'll have to come by my shop - soon to open- to see it) which is in fact the four kings together. Why the originator called his the Sun King I have no idea, I can only assume that by the way we make it , it is because it is a totality of Citrus when masticated. Lemon syrup, lemon hinted sponge, lemon ganache and lemon glaze all create perfection. As do Le Roi Pistache, Le Roi Qamr-El Deen and Le Roi Framboise.
So while much of what we do is to merely pleasing the customers and giving them what they desire, it does not really take that much to be the creator of something new. Serving a dish in its original form just makes it sexier based on the function or number of guests in attendance and if cooking for yourself in your own store, tweaking a classic can give you something completely new and you may end up creating a whole new line of creations for your self - in this case all four of them.
Long live the Kings.
Once a classic, the dessert is renowned for what it is and lucky be the chef who change that and live to see the day. A Concorde after all is not a Concorde if you change the sum of its parts and like wise with almost any other dessert. If you want chocolate mousse you want a good solid rich yet melt in the mouth chocolate concoction, not something that comes with an iPod, a smoke gun and a slight scent of chocolate served with globules of chemical gastronomy.
If you do change a classic then you need to change the name. Opera needs to include what the creator Gaston LeNotre intended, coffee, buttercream, sponge and chocolate. I do not mind if all these are served on a plate in different methods and it is titled something like "Ode to Opera" for it does contain the basics of the original dessert. You can play with the service method but those basics are a must. If you add a flavor or recreate the dish completely using few of the basics then you best call it something else.
The reason i mention this is that recently I have seen in paris such things as Raspberry Opera, and while only a personal reflection, the classic contained no raspberry and therefore this is not a creative tweak, but a complete new dish.
To highlight my thoughts I give you a recent plated version of Opera, which sticks to the original conception just merely presenting it differently, albeit with additional chocolate garnish, mango and papaya purees and chocolate fondant.
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| CLASSIC OPERA served for a function |
I also give you the new flavored varieties which have been renamed. But a rose by any other name may be still a rose but Opera made from Apricot or Raspberry does not make it an Opera. The original of these was created by a great French patissier when he created Le Roi Soleil (The sun king), in my kitchen I have expanded this and now serve the four kings. Each king having his own cake and I also do a version (not photographed here-you'll have to come by my shop - soon to open- to see it) which is in fact the four kings together. Why the originator called his the Sun King I have no idea, I can only assume that by the way we make it , it is because it is a totality of Citrus when masticated. Lemon syrup, lemon hinted sponge, lemon ganache and lemon glaze all create perfection. As do Le Roi Pistache, Le Roi Qamr-El Deen and Le Roi Framboise.
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| LE ROI QAMR-EL-DEEN (The Apricot King) OPERA REVISITED IN APRICOT AND CARAMEL |
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| LE ROI FRAMBOISE (The Raspberry King) OPERA REVISITED IN HOMEMADE RASPBERRY JAM, CARAMEL AND WHITE CHOCOLATE |
So while much of what we do is to merely pleasing the customers and giving them what they desire, it does not really take that much to be the creator of something new. Serving a dish in its original form just makes it sexier based on the function or number of guests in attendance and if cooking for yourself in your own store, tweaking a classic can give you something completely new and you may end up creating a whole new line of creations for your self - in this case all four of them.
Long live the Kings.
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