All the Details on Cronut Creator Dominique Ansel's Brand-New Bakery
Ansel is opening what he calls the first "hybrid restaurant."
— -- If you’ve ever made fresh chocolate mousse yourself, you know it’s a lot different than after it sets in the fridge for a few hours.
“For 20 years of my life being in the kitchen and tasting the chocolate mousse right when you mix it, the texture is completely different. It’s fluffy, light, smooth. It has a different flavor and different feel because it’s freshly folded. If you think about it, most people make chocolate mousse, sit it in the fridge and eat it when it’s set. The texture is harder; it’s not as creamy, it’s denser,” Dominique Ansel told ABC News.
“I always love the texture of chocolate mousse when it’s fresh, but it’s hard to find a mousse that’s made to order. I love this idea of freshness and experiencing something different right when you mix it, because time is crucial and time is a very important ingredient in a kitchen.”
That’s what Ansel, the creator of the famed Cronut, is doing with all the food at his new restaurant Dominique Ansel Kitchen, opening tomorrow in New York City. Ansel will be taking his passion for hybrid desserts one step further with what he calls the first “hybrid restaurant.”
His premise? Create freshly-made pastries to order – one at a time – in under a minute and a half. Pastries such as a lemon yuzu butter tart and mini matcha beignets, plus savory options such as spring vegetables in papillote and avocado edamame toast will be on offer at DAK.
“Like sandwiches – who doesn’t prefer a fresh-assembled sandwich versus something wrapped in plastic sitting in a deli case for hours?,” Ansel explained. “It’s much better when its freshly made and I think it’s challenging when it comes to pastry because there are a lot more components and things to take into consideration. It’s a lot more technical, but it’s not impossible, and this is what we’re going to do here.”
These made-to-order items will account for more than two-thirds of the menu, and pastries such as a garlic bread croissant will fill the rest. What won’t be at Ansel’s new place? The Cronut he’s so famous for.
“I want to keep moving forward, keep inspiring and pushing myself to do something better all the time, because I believe this kind of concept where we make everything to order does not exist when it comes to pastry,” he said. “This is something I’ve been doing in the kitchen since I’m very young: always pushing myself to do better. It’s not about forcing myself; it comes because I love what I do. I keep on challenging myself to do something else, something new, something exciting.”
That something new in this space includes a tasting table upstairs at the restaurant. For die-hard dessert enthusiasts, the tasting table is called U.P., which stands for “Unlimited Possibilities,” and is an eight-person table that descends from the ceiling straight into the center of the second floor kitchen. Not opening until May, U.P. will serve an eight-course dessert-only tasting menu with beverage pairings.
“I really want to bring it to the higher-level experience. Working in a bakery, we never have a chance to do plated desserts, and it’s something I’ve always loved and have been doing years and years before opening my own bakery,” he said. “I want to show people a different experience when it comes to desserts.”
Ansel is still finalizing the tasting table menu, but diners can expect lots of interaction to a themed menu.
Take a peek at some of the made-to-order pastries Ansel will be dishing up at the kitchen:
Pain au Chocolat 2.0
A modified croissant base showcasing the honeycomb crumb that is then topped with orange compound butter and shards of Valrhona dark chocolate sprinkled with Maldon sea salt. Because it is assembled to order, this croissant can use a higher quality and more generous serving of chocolate compared to traditional baked chocolate batons.Made-to-Order Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate ganache folded into meringue and whipped cream to order.1:1 Lemon Yuzu Butter Tart
A made-to-order lemon tart where the lemon curd is emulsified with fine European butter just before serving using a milkshake maker.Prosciutto & Boursin Croissant
A take on the traditional ham and cheese croissant with fresh sliced prosciutto and boursin cheese.Spring Vegetables en Papillote with Farro
Spring onions, leeks, purple potatoes, carrots, wilted lemon, soft egg and farro with crème fraiche (served warm).Mini Matcha Beignets
Homemade beignets with matcha sugar.
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