Bacon with chocolate? How savoury desserts are becoming the next big gourmet trend
“Tomato and mozzarella is a base for the salad in summer, so we adapted this to a dessert with different textures to create confusion in the minds of our guests,” Pretet says.
The base of the dessert is mozzarella mousse.
“For this dessert we don’t want to change completely the [creaminess] of the mozzarella, so we make it as a purée and add whipped cream to lighten it,” he says. “We created something refreshing and light with this salty touch that gives another dimension to the dish.” Which are Pretet’s favourite go-to restaurants in Hong Kong? Chom Chom, Ho Lee Fook, La Maison Libanaise - any tasty cuisine in the world, he says.
Gilbert is now making a dish of cacao dessert and one of cauliflower and white chocolate mousse with schrencki caviar.
He says the key to using savoury ingredients in desserts while making them taste delightful is the balance.
“A good dish is like a good wine,” Gilbert says. “You need balance between the bitter and the sour and the salt and the sweet. It brings volume to it.”
His favourite guilty pleasure is chocolate and good bread, but he gets inspired by a host of things.
“From a souvenir to an envy to a mood, and generally to something that we feel we want to try and eat that will make us happy,” Gilbert says.
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Sweets with savoury ingredients are trending globally, and have become a top fine dining option