Cronut Creator Plans Six-Course Dessert Tasting Menu With Cocktail Pairings

— -- If it seems like a while since Cronut creator Dominique Ansel has whipped up something new, that’s because the world-renowned pastry chef has something much bigger in store.

This spring, Ansel plans to open “UP,” short for “Unlimited Possibilities,” a tasting table in his new, larger retail location dedicated to serving exclusively plated desserts. The table will be located directly in the production kitchens on the second floor and will seat only eight to ten people for five to eight courses per seating.

“The world of plated desserts is very different from that of a retail bakery,” Ansel told ABC News. “On a tasting table, you get to create desserts with twice the number of components and they only need to last a few seconds on a plate. For a pastry chef, it’s the most limitless form of expressing what they can do. You’ve got people’s attention and their time.”

While Ansel said there will be no Cronuts served at UP, diners can expect plenty of innovation and novelty from the man behind such viral desserts as the chocolate chip cookie shot and frozen s’more.

“I’m not one for crazy and exotic flavors,” Ansel said. “We hope to play with textures and temperatures and scents -- the more subtle sides of desserts. It’s all about the story.”

The menu will change throughout the year, and dishes will be created for a specific theme that has not yet been decided and plated on custom dishware for each course. However, there will definitely be a dish inspired by the Ile Flottante, which is traditionally a meringue “floating island” that sits on crème anglaise. Another will have a musical component where sound is involved, and guests can expect plenty of sharing and interaction.

Additionally, each dish will have cocktail pairings that have not yet been developed.

“We’re in the business of special occasions and so a celebratory toast is crucial. I’ve always been interested in the way that different liquors and cocktails pair so well with desserts,” Ansel explained. “It is much harder to match a dessert plate to a wine, for instance. But with cocktails you get the contrast and depth and wide breadth of flavors. There are simply more possibilities.”

Ansel himself plans to be the one plating those up on certain nights, something he’s used to from his days as executive pastry chef at Daniel in New York City.

"It’s been four years since I've done a plated dessert. Back then I focused on flavors and ingredients and techniques. These days, I see all those previous components as important, but more than anything there’s the need to focus on the emotions and story,” he said. “A dessert must leave a memory, not just a taste. I hope our guests will like how we’ve grown and developed.”