TK6 JOY OF PASTRY Mar2013.pdf

kitchen conversations
How is pastry work different from
savory cooking? How do the two sides
of the kitchen influence each other?
For us it’s all about the ingredients and
the flavor, and it’s the same for them – we all
want to make delicious food. We come up
with designs, because that is probably what
we do best: designing, layout, creating shapes,
and I see a lot of savory food inspired from
that. For example, a long rectangle with three
things on the side – that’s very common in
desserts, and now you are seeing it in savory
food too. The crossover goes both ways. At
the moment there is quite a trend with using
vegetables in dessert – oil infused with herbs,
which I like to use, maybe some techniques
to cream vegetables. It’s not something you do
every day, but it’s very interesting to incorporate
those things into dessert. You see parsnip,
green peas, arugula and herbs coming into
desserts. I’m a fan of using infused oil with
herbs – it brings a great flavor contrast to a
dish. I like essential oils, different flavors, like
sandalwood or maybe pine tree.
Do pastry chefs experience a greater
sense of freedom, and with that freedom,
extra pressure to be inventive?
The ingredients we work with are more
versatile compared with savory chefs. A slice
of beef or a steak is very much what it is, but
we can work with elements like chocolate or
sugar and we can shape and sculpt them, so
in terms of design and layout we have more
freedom to play. Again, I think this comes
back to your style and your beliefs. As you
grow, you read a lot of books and magazines,
you get inspired by other people, and then at
some point you become your own self with
your own products and dishes. The freedom
you take is your own. If you want to go insane
on the plate, you can. We have a lot of possibilities,
but still, it has to make sense to the
people who are eating. I like to keep things
authentic, rustic and classic.
Which ingredients are your current
favorites?
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My favorite ingredients to work with are
fresh ingredients. I love chocolate too, but I
really like the fruits and herbs and flowers of
the moment, whatever is in season. I think
this is your playground, you have the ingredients
and you are free to play with them
however you want to. I think if you have
good quality ingredients then you are halfway
there. We have some great figs from an
organic farm here, and you don’t have to do
much with them, they already taste so good.
You just tweak a little and you are there –
it’s simple.
Does the need for precision and consistency
in a pastry kitchen ever inhibit
your creativity?
Everyone in pastry has a ruler in his
pocket, because everything has to be
square and precise. Everything is consistent
and clean. If you have a mountain of
cake, layers that are all different shapes
and thicknesses – that’s not appealing.
But when it comes to plating the dessert,
I think this is where you can play. Pastry
can be a beautiful art.
What is the most satisfying aspect of
the pastry life?
Making life sweeter for people brings
fabulous rewards. We create moments. We
spend hours preparing people’s dreams and
within minutes, it all disappears into their
stomachs. Yet these moments we create
mean everything to us. Every time we
make someone smile, we feel like we’ve
won, we feel like we’ve made it, and we
are proud.
蔬菜纳入甜点已开始流行,像是草本浸泡
油(用各式香草浸泡在食油中以取其芬芳),
这也是我喜欢的做法,或是一些将蔬菜做
成奶油的技巧。 还有像是防风草、豆类、
做色拉的芝麻菜以及各种香草都可以加到
甜点中。我很爱用草本浸泡油,可以带出
别的食材的原味。精华油我也喜欢,像是
白檀或松树,香气都很独特。
甜点师傅是否比较自由,也因为如此更有
开发创意的压力?
跟一般风味料理厨师比起来,我们要
处理的材料是比较多变的。一片牛肉或
牛排就是那样,但我们用的材料包括巧
克力或糖,会在制作过程中给它们塑型 ;
也就是如果以设计的角度来看,我们有
较大挥洒的空间。当然我想这又回到了
一个人的风格跟信念。你在成长过程中,
读了许多书跟杂志,也认识一些对你有启
发的人,然后在某一个时点上,你变成
今天的自己,做出只有你才会做的食物。
这份自由是在你自己手上。假如你想加点
疯狂创意,那也由得你。我们可以尽情
发挥,不过最后还是要考虑到吃的客人,
不能让他们觉得太莫名其妙。我喜欢保
留食物真正的风味,那是最质朴的经典
原味。
你目前最喜欢用什么食材?
我最喜欢用新鲜材料做东西。我很爱
巧克力,也喜欢随季节选用当季水果、草
本植物跟花卉。我认为厨房就是游乐场,
你手边有材料,可以自由搭配,做出你想
要的东西来。我觉得食材好就成功了一半。
我们跟本地一家有机农场合作,这家农场
生产很好的无花果,风味极佳,无须再多
雕饰。只要拧几下,摆成你要的样子就行了,
非常简单。
Fig Beignet: organic figs in
batter, dipped in icing sugar
with frozen lemon yogurt
and blackcurrant coulis.
无花果酥:有机无花
果、包上糖霜、冰柠檬优
乳,黑醋栗汁点缀。
甜点厨房要求准确、一致,这会限制你的
创意吗?
每个做甜点的人口袋里都有一把尺,
因为你要端出来的东西一丝一毫也马虎不
得,必须妥贴端正,保持干净,不能前后
不一。举例来说,你做一个多层大蛋糕,
每一层的厚度跟形状都不一样,这样就会
很不好看。但如何把甜点放在盘子上,我
想就是你玩创意的时候。甜点是非常美丽
的艺术。
你认为当甜点师傅最棒的一点是什么?
让客人因为吃甜点变得愉快,就是最
棒的报酬了。我们创造美妙时刻,花上几
小时替客人圆梦,但这些美味甜点不到几
分钟就进了客人的胃。然而短暂的美妙时
刻对我们来说意义非凡。每一次看到客人
的微笑,我们就觉得又赢了一次,我们办
到了!因此为自己感到骄傲。
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