Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! If you haven’t made your reservations yet, don’t fret. There’s still time to score a great table. And, if you need some encouragement, let us whet your appetite with photos of what chefs, including Nick McCoy of Koi New York, Victoriano Lopez of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, and others, are preparing especially for you and your date.
Happy Valentine’s Day, OpenTable diners. In honor of Cupid and his bow, we polled chefs and restaurateurs about their picks for the most sensual dishes they would serve to put diners in the mood on this most romantic day. Check out our exclusive video with advice from Manhattan’s Zac Young (Flex Mussels), Derek Koch (MPD), Manuel Trevino (Lavo), Maximo Lopez (Wall & Water), and Johnny Santiago and Jim Chu (Jo’s).
Other chefs around the U.S. also weighed in…
How sweet is your sweet tooth? Enough to make you pass right over a restaurant’s entrees and savory dishes and head straight for the pastries? Have you ever made an entree out of ice cream? Cobbled together a meal from cobbler? Share your opinion — or addiction — in today’s dining poll.
Isn't Yigit sweet?
It’s probably safe to say that the first season of Top Chef Just Desserts was a resounding success, so we’re pleased to bring you — for the last time this season but not the last time, I hope — expert insights from Le Bernardin‘s own Michael Laiskonis.
Before we even dive in, how high are the judges’ expectations at this point? Can you put this into perspective? In terms of the title being meaningful, do the standards have to be insane?
I’d like to think that the standards and expectations have been at a constant high level throughout the competition. As this challenge will represent the sum total of the chefs’ work, I’d also bet the judges are really looking for that personal touch; and that’s also when the chef’s are really just pushing their own limits and competing less with each other and more against themselves.
What does a progressive, four-course dessert tasting mean for you when you hear that? Does it inspire opportunity? Fear? Have you done this/do you do this at Le Bernardin? When would a civilian diner (like me) get this opportunity?
I love that kind of format, as it gives us pastry chefs a rare opportunity to take guests on a little sweet journey — an opportunity to explore a range of techniques, flavors, and textures. I also like exploiting a buildup of intensity and creating a cohesive package in small, distinct dishes. We don’t exactly have that kind of structure built into our menu at Le Bernardin, but we’re willing to negotiate such a thing! One restaurant that does is wd-50, where pastry genius Alex Stupak offers an amazing multi-course dessert tasting. (more…)
Zac quickly learns that flirting with French chef Francois Payard won't help his chances.
It’s down to the wire on Top Chef Just Desserts and Le Bernardin Executive Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis was along for the nail-biter of a ride we took last night. His expert answers helped shed light on Francois Payard’s impeccable reputation, Yigit’s spray can, and what it really takes to make a chocolate truffle.
Thanks for being here again! I’ll be honest; I think I missed the advent of Chef Payard. I’ve heard the name, but I’ve never dined at his restaurants, and they’re now closed. Can you put his reputation into perspective for those of us who don’t know at all who he is?
Let me tell you… I’d have to say, that as a very young cook, Francois was certainly my first pastry idol. What many don’t realize is that way back then, in the early 90s, he was the pastry chef at Le Bernardin, his first big job in the US. We know Francois today for his beautiful retail shops, but he was doing some very creative things with plated restaurant desserts when that form was in its infancy. Of all the chefs with whom I’ve rubbed shoulders over the years, I’m most proud of the fact that he’s become a good friend. And, for those who mourned the closing of his Upper East Side boutique, there’s good news: Francois Payard Bakery opened just six weeks ago on Manhattan’s Houston Street!
Yigit's ambition got the best of him this ep, as evidenced by this ill-fated sugar vase.
No, not that tea party. But, there was a tea party this week on Top Chef Just Desserts and, as with certain politicians around the U.S., it proved to be more than a few folks’ undoing. Le Bernardin Executive Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis walks us through the minefield that was episode 8.
Shinmin Li is in the house and she’s saying the trend is now toward artful decorative, desserts with a wow factor. Would you agree and why?
While there has to be an inventive, pleasing visual element to pastry, I’ll stick to my guns in saying that flavor comes first. That ‘wow’ factor needs to be sustained all the way through, beyond the first impression.
Would you gravitate toward the natural, as Danielle did, if tasked with making a centerpiece? If not, what techniques/materials would come to mind?
I was surprised to see Danielle lean toward that ‘naturalistic’ look, especially since it almost sent her home on the edible fashion challenge a couple of weeks back. I would have taken the approach Morgan and Yigit did, incorporating sugar and chocolate techniques to achieve a representational, yet contemporary feel.
Morgan was pulling sugar and talking about how he wanted to showcase his ability to do so. Can you explain what it is and what it entails for our non-pastry peeps?
As Eric creates roses, he can't decide which is more unnerving: Johnny's steady gaze or his sideburns.
As the herd thins on Top Chef Just Desserts, the action does not. Le Bernardin Executive Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis notes, “The show is becoming more about the food and techniques, which I love!” Chef Laiskonis offers up his expert insights into what went right and wrong in last night’s episode.
The QFC is based on three tenets of working in a pastry kitchen: organization, speed, and precision. Would you agree with these as the top requirements, and/or if you could add a fourth or fifth, what would it/they be?
Those are certainly three vital pillars upon which a pastry chef’s skills are built. Obviously, teamwork also comes into play. And, perhaps, I might add humility — something a few of our cheftestants could use a bit more of. I was excited to see this challenge, as they were already planning the logistics while I was on set taping my episode!
Even tho' he's the man in black this ep, chef Michael Laiskonis is actually a good guy.
This week, Top Chef Just Desserts is a real treat because our own resident expert, Le Bernardin Executive Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis, acts as a guest judge.
ZOMG! There you are! You look very friendly and quite dashing in your suit, but…the competitors called you “VERY scary” and “intimidating.” What do you think of the cheftestants’ assessment of your reputation?
I’m kind of surprised, actually. I’m thinking it’s a compliment…? Now, I might expect that sort of rep from some of the people I work with, but it’s interesting coming from a bunch of chefs I’ve never met! I’m going to be wondering about this for a while.
You’ve been making savory desserts for years. I love me some savory meets sweet. Can you name a few of your fave savory desserts that you’ve served at Le Bernardin recently?
Fall is surely the time when a lot of those savory elements tend to appear. At the moment, we’re pairing figs with goat cheese and bacon ice cream, parsnip appears in the form of a crème brulée, and a sweet potato sorbet tops a dark Dominican chocolate crémeux. All of these deeper flavors work so well in a comforting way, especially as the air begins to chill.
Gail Simmons's dress isn't edible, but she still looks delish.
We’re counting down the days until Le Bernardin’s Michael Laiskonis gets his turn at the judges’ table on Top Chef Just Desserts (next week!), but for now, he’s in the hot seat, dishing it out about all the sweet and not-so-sweet goings on in this week’s episode.
So, we’re seeing some alliances have formed in the competition. Are there mini-kitchen cliques in general?
Sure, there are, but a smart cook realizes it’s important to make friends with everyone, because when it really hits the fan, it’s nice knowing that you don’t have to worry that someone’s got your back. At its worst, the atmosphere in the kitchen can be like trench warfare. Best not to play favorites.
How do you do soufflés for a QFC so that they don’t fall? Also, any good soufflé war stories?
While I do soufflés rarely now, in the past, I’d do dozens in a night. The key is simply controlling all the variables — the recipe, proper whipping of the egg whites, and filling of the ramekin, and of course, time and temperature. In a restaurant situation, worst case scenario, you make another one and wait it out. My worst case: A cook once forgot to add the cornstarch to a chocolate soufflé base; the guests eventually got their dessert, along a few extras while they waited!
Malika Ameen's voluntary exit from Top Chef was a surprise to viewers.
On last week’s episode of Top Chef Just Desserts, Malika Ameen gracefully bowed out of the competition, leaving viewers’ mouths agape and leaving some of her fellow cheftestants counting their lucky stars. She shared some thoughts on her decision to leave and the experience as a whole.
Malika, many viewers, such as I, are sad you left. Can you talk a bit more about your choice to exit?
My choice to exit was a decision that took some time as I worked through challenges — and one that I really felt very good about once I knew that it was the right decision for me. It was difficult to actually do it at the judges’ table, but that was the exact moment where I felt it was the right timing with the circumstances around the challenge. It was never preconceived, so I must admit I was really nervous, but I just said what I truly felt and believed strongly in.
The competition ate away immediately at a lot of people, in a way we’ve not even seen on the savory Top Chef competition. Why do you think so many people wigged out or wanted to walk out? What aren’t we seeing?
I don’t feel that people wanted to walk out in the competition as much as the media has stressed it. Pastry chefs are wired very differently from savory chefs. We are used to very controlled environments, working with our recipes, and managing our time by working our desserts in stages. I think we also tend to be more emotional by nature, but that doesn’t mean we are not tough! I think we are just more comfortable with expressing ourselves on an emotional level because our egos are not as big as savory chefs!!!
Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines.
