The last thing one expects to see in their dessert is cauliflower. The health food staple surely has no place on a plate reserved for the kind of food that is “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”, right? Wrong.
At the dessert degustation with Chef Marike van Beurden in Hilton Kuala Lumpur recently, there was a dessert with just cauliflower in it. The tiny purple florets were beautifully plated around a tiny eclair, surrounded by an array of garden vegetables.
I cut into the soft eclair and instead of the expected rich chocolate mousse or thick, gooey custard, out oozed guacamole in all its green glory.
The combination on the plate smelled like a freshly trampled vegetable garden and I had to check the menu to see that the dish was indeed dessert.
Now who puts vegetables on a plate, passes it off as dessert and more importantly, makes diners come back for more? Van Beurden, that’s who.
Newly anointed Hong Kong’s Best Pastry Chef 2015 by Tatler Awards, van Beurden is anything but green in the dessert world.
The Dutch-born pâtissière pursued her dream in bakery and confectionery in The Netherlands. In 2003, she worked her way into the kitchen of Sketch Londres de Pierre Gagnaire in London and a year later, became the first woman to win the prestigious Dutch Pastry Award.
World class pastry chef Marike van Beurden has been in the industry for over 10 years.
In her illustrious career, van Beurden has worked in various Michelin-starred kitchens and notably that of the famed Maison Pic in Valence, France, under the tutelage of the world’s only female three Michelin-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic.
On her official LinkedIn page, van Beurden notes that this was also the period when she had the “great opportunity to be Phillipe Rigollot’s sous chef” – one of the renowned pastry chefs she admires the most.
In 2010, van Beurden left her life in Europe to start a new one in Hong Kong, where she honed her skills as the chef pâtissier at Caprice in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. She worked at the three Michelin-starred restaurant for almost five years, and even found time to win the international desserts C3 competition in 2010 and emerge runner-up at the World Chocolate Masters 2013.
I realise that people have been adapting to healthier lifestyles, and that is what I try to reflect in my dishes. I use fruits, vegetables and grains that don’t just add to the taste but are healthy as well.
Now, van Beurden runs a consultancy firm in Hong Kong where she resides, and imparts her knowledge and designs dessert menus for hotels and restaurants around the world.
In Malaysia, Van Beurden showcased her immense talent at Hilton’s Graze. “I miss being in the kitchen. It has been a few months since I’ve been in a working kitchen, so it feels really good to be back working in there with a great team,” she said.
It didn’t take long for van Beurden to put together five desserts for the night. Often, her desserts are fresh, distinct, beautiful and, as an added bonus, “healthy”.
“I realise that people have been adapting to healthier lifestyles, and that is what I try to reflect in my dishes. I use fruits, vegetables and grains that don’t just add to the taste but are healthy as well,” she said.
The Garden Vegetables and Guacamole Eclair Crispy Corn did not just look picturesque, but was also spoon-licking delicious (see top image). One thing for sure, there really was no need to feel guilty about enjoying van Beurden’s work as it didn’t feel sinful at all.
The chef used mizuna to add flavour to this beautiful creation.
The chef kept the light and airy theme for the second dessert of the night as well. We could literally sense the arrival of the Textures of Peach and Mizuna even before the plate reached the table, thanks to the sweet scent of peaches that wafted in the air.
The dessert tasted as gorgeous as it looked. The combination of peach and mizuna – also known as Japanese mustard – is fresh and invigorating. The mizuna sorbet had a mild peppery flavour and was a tad spicy, but went well with the naturally sweet peach nectar.
“The mizuna is something out of the ordinary and I wanted to work with the bitter, fresh flavour that it brings. I like my desserts light, not too sweet, and to have interesting flavours,” she said.
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Van Beurden pouring strawberry and rhubarb consomme onto her dessert inspired by her favourite cocktail, mojito.
For the third dessert, van Beurden looked to her favourite cocktail – mojito. “I love the sweet, sour taste of berries,” she said, and it is evident that van Beurden didn’t hold back her love for the fruit in this particular dish. The non-alcoholic mojito mousse is divine, and the forest fruit berries were fresh and tart. Van Beurden played with different textures that mesh well to create wonderful sensations with each bite. The tartness lingered, but that surely didn’t stop anyone from finishing the mint and berry sorbet, or scoop clean the strawberry and rhubarb consomme it was served with.
A dessert that incorporates popping candy.
Van Beurden showed her playful side in the next dessert that incorporated the childhood treat “pop rocks”. The popping candy literally created a magical sensation in our mouths as we savoured the crispy caramelised amaranth with yigarcheffe coffee caramel and coffee foam. It was bittersweet, crunchy and altogether a delight to eat.
“The coffee is Kenyan and has a light orange-y taste. It goes very well with kumquats, which are my absolute favourite fruits to use in desserts,” said the chef.
Pear and cinnamon is a favourite Dutch combination.
With four desserts down, there was no possible way that any of us could fit another spoonful of anything into our stomachs. However, whatever self-control we had flew out the window the moment the final dessert arrived. Van Beurden had definitely saved the best for last.
“This dessert is inspired by the Dutch folks’ love of everything pear and cinnamon. That is our favourite combination,” she said with a laugh.
The light pear and cinnamon mousse, served with frozen yoghurt, honey foam, honeycomb and pear and cinnamon sorbet is oh, so good. The mousse is sweet but the yoghurt gives it a sour kick that balances the taste.
Van Beurden is known for her delicate and colourful desserts that sometimes are just too beautiful to eat. However, the chef is very particular about taste and was even quoted in an article on www.sogoodmagazine.com as saying, “Honestly, I would rather eat a little less nice looking dish but be totally impressed by its flavours.”
Rest assured, however, that the diners at the dessert degustation could definitely testify that van Beurden compromised neither that night.
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