PARIS, May 18 ― You ought to call it a homecoming of sorts. After dominating New York, Los Angeles, and London, France’s prodigal pastry son has returned to Paris for a weekend pop-up, in the end introducing Parisians to a number of the signature edible works that has made Ansel a household name.
But Parisians hoping to sample the dessert that made him famous ― the hybrid croissant-donut Cronut ― can be dissatisfied. Every day, only 15 Cronuts will be given away as part of a lottery with every purchase. So on the counter at his pal Yann Couvreur’s bakery in Paris’s Marais district, the Cronut sits covered below a pitcher dome for display handiest. Because this weekend, Ansel has created an entirely new dessert for his Paris debut, the Pretzel Mousse Cake, an homage to his followed city of New York to be had for 3 days simplest.
For the dessert, Ansel says he created a mold using a 3-D printer for the pretzel that’s made with an intense, wealthy peanut butter mousse, smooth caramel, crispy peanut butter feuilletine, dotted with pretzel pieces. “I wanted to create something only for Paris, something that I’ve in no way created before or finished everywhere else,” Ansel stated in an interview a day before the official commencing. “The pretzel could be very normal in New York. You can find it in each nook of the city. I wanted to carry something again from New York.”
The result is a mouthful of what appears like whipped, ethereal peanut butter, contrasted in opposition to crunchy, salty pretzels and flaky peanut butter and caramel feuilletine shards. Ansel shared more approximately his upcoming tasks in a sit-down interview along with a brand new cookbook, extra stores in London and Hong Kong, and why an excellent croissant is like the ideal homicide.
How did this Paris pop-up and collaboration with Yann Couvreur occur?
I’ve regarded Yann for years now, and we’ve got continually mentioned doing something together. I had a piece of time presently of the yr, so I wanted to come back again and notice all of my pals, test out the markets and the consumers in Paris. I desired to come back back and notice the metropolis.
What do you order on the bakery whilst you go back to Paris?
Croissant. I assume a croissant is a staple. It tells you whether a pastry chef is ideal or now not. It’s a sign. There’s a simplicity in the back of a croissant, but it also takes various commitments and dedication. If you get a great croissant, you could tell it’s an awesome bakery.
What makes a croissant better than the rest?
I really educate workshops in New York and Los Angeles in which I speak about the croissant for an hour. For all of my bakeries and eating places, I get them to ship snapshots every morning of the cross-segment of the croissant to peer the interior structure, called the honeycomb. I look for air pockets to see if it is baked well or now not. It has to scent buttery and have beautiful layers, like this one (he says, pointing to a puffy croissant within the exhibit of chef Yann Couvreur’s bakery). It needs to have a nice shape and consistency. When you bite into it, you must have flakes throughout yourself. You can not conceal the evidence. It’s like a really perfect murder.
You labored in Paris for eight years at Fauchon before uprooting to New York 14 years in the past. Have you located any adjustments within the nearby pastry and dining scene?
In terms of the pastry scene, it is gotten plenty better, plenty better. I assume there are greater talented chefs like Yann, who are breaking out onto their very own, making things that can be distinct. When it comes to meals, I think it is a little greater at ease. The eating scene is less first-class eating and more casual these days, and you could honestly experience that the power has changed.
What are the foods you searching for out in Paris that you can’t discover in New York?
Cheese. I became in a cheese store the other day, and I felt like I become dreaming it became so suitable. You cannot get shops like this lower back in New York. Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of wonderful cheeses there, but not anything like what you get right here. It tastes special. Oh, and an awesome baguette. You’ve been given various one-of-a-kind tasks at the move, which includes a brand new outpost in Hong Kong that you’ve been very secretive approximately. Can you deliver us more details?
