Pannacotta Cauliflower and Salmon Roe

It is very seldom that one gets to sample creations made by a master pastry chef such as Francois Payard. It is lucky that my path took me to a chance to sample his desserts at the iconic four-star New York restaurants, Le Bernardin and Restaurant Daniel. His chocolate and seasonal fruit creations surprised diners to no end until he was finally recognized as the 1995 James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year.

I do have copies of his ancestor's books, being a third generation chef in the French Riviera and having had stints in legendary restaurants such as the three-star La Tour d’ Argent.

Eventually, Payard did open a worldwide chain of patisseries after he was ordained as one of the best pastry chefs in the world.

Here’s the menu of a memorable high tea, presided over by Payard and Stephane Calvet of the Four Seasons, held at the World Gourmet Summit at the Bangkok Four Seasons Hotel recently:

Selection of Scones and Madeleines
Homemade Jam, Crème Fraiche, and Pistachio Chantilly
Carrot and Lemon Pound Cakes
Assorted Cookies and Financiers
Bite-size Flourless Chocolate Cookies
Macarons Pyramid, Strawberries Display, and Payard Chocolates

TEA SANDWICHES

Roasted Beef with Parmesan Shaving and Black Truffle Dressing
Turkey Tomato, Roasted Turkey with Tonnato Dressing and Parmesan
Roquefort Sandwich with Apricot Chutney and Walnuts Dressing
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Feta Cheese and Balsamic-Pesto Dressing
Salmon Rillette Cream Cheese with Poppy Seed Bread

FOOD BARS

Hot and Cold Piña Colada
Salmon Croque-Monsieur
Twice Baked Upside-Down Cheese Souffle with Parmesan Cream Sauce and White Truffle Oil

LES VERRINES

Foie gras with Sauternes Gelee
Crab with Mango and Cilantro Gelee
Pannacotta Cauliflower and Salmon Roe

PASTRIES

Louvre
Diamant
Montmartre
Passion Fruit Tart
Yuzu Green Tea Tart
Raspberry Tart with Anise Pound Cake

Since both the executive pastry chefs are French, one can see the classics present on this high tea. Three baked financiers were presented on this high tea. The three were raspberry, pistachio, and the third, the one that was most interesting, had bits of crunchy cocoa ribs. Over flowing glasses of lemony Laurent Perrier champagne and in between sips of different tea choices, we had Chef Payard’s elements of texture, complexity, and presentation even in his savory dishes.

I started off with the Salmon Croque-Monsieur heated up in a baby oven and served with a dallop of crème fraiche and caviar. Also, there was a cauliflower mousse with salmon eggs and crabmeat with a puree of spiced mango worth mentioning.

Taking center stage were his pastry creations named after certain areas of Paris. His Louvre cake is a layered hazelnut cake with the shiniest dark chocolate mirroire coating I’ve seen. He comes up to me and says “you can comb your hair with it…”

Chef Payard then recommended the Montmartre, a cake of mascarpone and wild berries that had layers of Montage, mascarpone cream, pound cake, and wild berries.

The light anise did wonders for a Diamant raspberry tart with intense mekker raspberries. Such intensity was also tasted in the Yuzu Green Tea Tart with litchi green tea topped with wasabi marshmallows. Its buttery crust softened what would have been a sharp Mandarin orange peel flavor with sharp orange acidity from the yuzu.

Finally, I finished off my afternoon tea with the Four Season’s traditional offering of well-picked fresh strawberries.

I guess our table didn’t realize how much we enjoyed Chef Payard’s spread and how the champagne had flowed as it was dinner time already and we had to leave "some champagne" for the guests tomorrow…