Qualitaly_112

AUG. SEP. 2019 V The attention to creative, healthy and light confectionery is confirmed by the best pastry chef of 2019, according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the Frenchwoman Jessica Préalpato of the Parisian Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée who, to describe her style that focuses on naturalness and lightness, respect for ingredients and a reduced use of sugars, has coined a term, Desséralité (combination of dessert and naturalness). PLEASURE VS. HEALTH Will the dessert continue to be less sweet? We asked Isabella Potì, Head Chef & Partner of the Bros’ restaurant in Lecce, with one Michelin star, defined by Forbes as ‘the rising star of Italian food’. “The dessert of the future to me should be more balanced, less sweet and with a look back to the past. Personally, I have super-sensitive teeth; I can tell immediately when something is too sweet. My body somehow rejects it instantly. At Bros’, I have always tried to have a balance in this sense, nothing too sickly.” Problems with those who want the dessert to be... sweet? “Our guests have always followed us on our paths. I do not remember ever receiving a negative comment for this reason.” Regarding the dessert in a restaurant, “We consider it the completion of a course and not something in itself. Each of our menus is designed as a whole and not for individual dishes.” And intolerances? “We study our menus in such a way that there can be a good balance between meat and vegetables, and we always have a vegetarian or vegan choice.” In agreement - and could not be otherwise -is the forerunner of the movement, the chef and TV face Luca Montersino: “I believe that confectionery will become increasingly healthy. We are all now aware that we are made of what we eat. I’ve believed that since 2005, when the market was not yet so aware.” Healthy eating, however, cannot be separated from goodness: “If you approach a cake it is for a moment of celebration, to reward yourself, to enjoy something good. Healthy confectionery has remained in the shadows for years precisely because it did not focus on goodness. With so many studies, trials, research, today I have arrived at a healthy confectionery that has nothing to envy from the most delicious of cakes. Today it is possible without eggs, without sugar, without dairy products, without gluten: everything is possible.” A TECHNIQUE TO LEARN Seasonality is also important in desserts, as Barbara Silanus, a consultant specialising in healthy, vegan and food intolerant confectionery, explains. “It takes a lot of study because there is no literature behind it like for traditional confectionery and there is a lack of “strong” ingredients such as eggs and dairy products. It is not a question of replacing them, however, but of studying different techniques. And in the end, enhance the ingredients by following their seasonality.” Unfortunately, the average restaurant suffers much more than a top restaurant. “There are still those who offer a packaged cake and those who do it ‘at home’ are rarely innovative. The ideal would be to think of a good product that could satisfy all needs, even those of intolerant people: in the end, the real audience to conquer is the wider public.” It must be said that the fresh ingredients are on average more expensive than the classic confectionery: “but there are some preparations that use what is usually thrown away, such as the water from cooking chickpeas whipped with sugar to create a mousse.” A (DESSERT) FOR ALL “Today the customer wants to taste something new, creative, that at home they would never be able to cook” - says Tiziana Colombo aka Nonna Paperina, founder and president of the association Il Mondo delle Intolleranze that offers cooking courses to enthusiasts and professionals. But how to combine the different identities? - “The ideal would be to have a single and clear menu. No discrimination, because sometimes that is the feeling, no differentiation. The important thing is that those who have an intolerance, when reading the menu, know that there is no risk of disturbance.” HOW DO YOU DO THAT? TRAINING AND ALLIANCES In short, according to Salvatore Vitale, chef, pastry chef and lecturer at Il Mondo delle Intolleranze, the recipe for dessert should also be revised: “There are various reasons to make dessert a top product. The food cost and the increase of the average receipts: the cost of the ingredients, on average lower in desserts, allows the increase of profit margins. In addition, the dessert has a great responsibility in the precarious economy of the end- client’s subjective assessment of the restaurant. It must be impeccable, pleasing, satisfying: a treat, a thanksgiving.” How should the proposal be revisited? “Kitchens that do not have a pastry chef can manage the gap in three ways: with the help of a dedicated consultant who, in a short-term intervention, understands the problems and potential of the kitchen and adapt the dessert production line to the characteristics of the restaurant. Creating collaborations with artisan companies or confectioners for the supply of fresh semi-finished products, which will be assembled by internal staff. Finally, there are courses at accredited schools: periods of study and growth that the cook must allow himself, detaching