The Sweet Cheese exhibit at the French Cheese Board celebrates innovative desserts created by six New York City chefs. This is to highlight the gastronomic link between France and the rest of the world. The chefs’ challenge was to create an original dish combining cheese and dessert. The chefs, from different cultures and backgrounds, have each showcased the versatility of French cheese, while adding components from their own roots to make their dish unique. The chefs were all photographed with their chosen cheese and dessert creations. The exhibit will be on display until December 31st 2019.
The chefs:
Joe Murphy, Pastry Chef for Jean-Georges
Joe has held the position of Corporate Pastry Chef for Jean-Georges since 2003. The restaurant has received 2 Michelin stars and four stars by the New York Times. He was named one of the Top Ten chefs in America in 2006 by the Pastry Art and Design magazine.
For his dessert, Joe decided to use brie cheese and created a brie ice cream with freeze-dried fruit and honey. He chose brie because it has salty and creamy aspects that work really well with the sorbet. The dessert is on the savoury side and is balanced with the natural sweetness of the freeze-dried fruit. The creamy sorbet contains pinches of salt from the cheese, which is balanced with the sweetness of vanilla.
Sylvain Delpique & Ikuma Motoki, Executive Chef & Executive Pastry chef at 21 Club
Chef Delpique was born in Albertville, France. He has worked as a sous-chef at Artisanal and was the Executive Chef at David Burke and Donatella. He’s now the Executive Chef at 21 Club. Chef Motoki was born in Japan and his culinary style combines his Mexican and Japanese roots. He moved to New York in 2002 and learned French pastry classics at La Maison du Macaron. He then became a pastry sous-chef at Aureole, and in 2014 became the Executive Pastry chef at 21 Club.
21 Club opened in 1930 on 5th Avenue and features the iconic lawn jockey statues. The restaurant offers traditional American cuisine with French touches, and is on the list of New York’s top restaurants.
For their cheese, Chef Delpique & Chef Motoki chose Crémeux des Citeaux, to add creaminess and a lactic touch to their dessert; Far Breton X Crémeux Des Cîteaux. This cheese is a triple cream made with cow’s milk from Burgundy. A sour cherry compote completed this creamy dessert.
Juan Pardo, Executive Pastry Chef at Barbounia
Mexican chef Juan has worked for many famous New York kitchens including Picholine, Gotham Bar & Grill, Zengo and Boqueria. He is now the Executive Pastry Chef at Barbounia, a modern Mediterranean restaurant where the food is influenced by the atmosphere and food of the South of France, Greece and Morocco.
Chef Pardo chose Langres, a cheese that has a creamy texture that comes with a bittersweet flavour and aroma, to create his dessert; the Napoléon Kanafeh. Langres is produced in the Champagne region of France, and has been awarded a Protected Designation of Origin label in 1991. The signature of the small cheese is its hallow top, perfect to pour some Champagne in it to enjoy the two local fine delicacies together.
The Napoléon Kanafeh is complimented with a strawberry coulis and pistachio whipped cream.
Paola Marocchi, Corporate Pastry Chef for the Tao Group
Chef Marocchi worked with Alain Ducasse at Bistro Benoit where she learned to make many French desserts. Her family is Italian and would make everything from scratch at home. Now she is the Corporate Pastry Chef for the Tao Group, which includes Tao (an Asian concept restaurant), Lavo (featuring southern Italian cuisine) and Bodega Negra (the Mexican eatery at the Dream Hotel).
Originally from Argentina, where cheese is not a big part of the traditional cuisine, Paola got her love of cheese from her Italian grandmother who would make ricotta from scratch. She chose fromage blanc to make her dessert, Le Vacherin Fraise, a meringue with fromage blanc mousse and strawberry jus. This cheese originates from the north of France, and is a type of rindless fresh cheese that has gone through very little or no fermentation. It is semi-fluid and creamy in texture, and is low fat with a high calcium content.
Clarisa Martino, Executive Pastry Chef for Gato in New York & Mesa Grill in Las Vegas
Clarisa began working as an intern for chef Bobby Flay, and worked as an Executive Pastry Chef for Bobby Flay’s restaurant in the Bahamas for more than 2 years. Now she is the Executive Pastry Chef for Gato (another of Flay’s restaurants) and the Mesa Grill in Las Vegas.
Gato celebrates Mediterranean food, drink and design, and combines NYC roots with the European sensibility. Chef Martino has Italian roots and so cheese was always a big part of her life.
Clarisa chose the Tomme de Savoie cheese for her dessert, Tomme De Savoie Cheesecake. She substituted some cream cheese with grated Tomme de Savoie, and the cheesecake is complemented with a strawberry coulis. The Tommme De Savoie is a Protected Designation of Origin (or P.D.O) Alpine cheese. It’s a semi-firm unpasteurised cow milk cheese and its flavour changes slightly depending on the season.
Gustavo Tzoc, chef at Junoon
Chef Tzoc was born in Guatemala City and moved to California at the age of 15. He attended the Culinary Institute of American in New York, and has worked for David Burke, Donatella, Bistro Promenade, Wallsé and New Leaf. He started working for Junoon in 2017, a contemporary Indian restaurant that won its first Michelin star a year after opening.
Chef Tzoc wanted to challenge himself with his dessert creation, so he chose Pont l’Evêque, a cheese that has both nutty and bitter qualities. His dessert, Wada Wada On the Bridge, is small donuts filled with cheese and coated in superfine sugar, served with a fruit sauce.
Pont l’Evêque is a classic Normandy washed rind, and is one of the 45 Protected Designation of Origin of French cheeses. During the ageing process, the cheese must be washed with a brine, which gives the cheese its classic pungency which characterises this cheese so well. The ageing process lasts 4 to 6 weeks, resulting in a pale yellow fromage that is soft, rich, creamy and full-bodied.
In addition to exhibits; the French Cheese Board also hosts wine and cheese pairing sessions and interactive presentations on how to indulge in French cheese. It serves as a beacon for chefs, artists, bloggers, foodies and cheese makers so they may explore dairy products and foods and come together to create new and exciting ideas.
The space, designed by renowned French designers Ich & Kar, includes a boutique featuring cookware and accessories for purchase. There is also a selection of different cheeses for purchase, which are rotated weekly. A small library of reference books adorns one of the walls.
If you’re interested in attending one of the classes, or want to stay in the know about future events, head to their website: frenchcheeseboard.com where you can reserve a spot.
The French Cheese Board: 41 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
Wow, how interesting and they all sound very delicious.