Delysia Chocolates are Delicious

Posted on by 7 comments

Delysia Chocolatier's handmade, square bonbons.

Austin, TX is quickly becoming a hub of good eats.

So, if you’re still looking for mail-order sweets for the holidays, look no further than Delysia Chocolatier of Austin.

The chocolate company was started by former engineer and techie, Nicole Patel, who decided to turn her love of cooking and baking into a sweet business.

In addition to handmade truffles, Delysia offers some really fun, unique custom products such as a sculptural bride-and-groom wedding cake topper molded from chocolate (starting at $70). To add dazzle to any soiree, Delysia also will make chocolate “menus” — edible tablets imprinted with your menu (price varies depending upon the number you order).

I recently had a chance to try a sample box of nine truffles.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

Read more

Take Five with Yigit Pura, On His Sweet Victory on “Top Chef Just Desserts”

Posted on by 24 comments

Yigit Pura dishes on his victory in "Top Chef Just Desserts.'' (Photo courtesy of Pura)

If you tuned into the insanely wild first season of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Just Desserts,” you know that Yigit Pura brought sweet victory home to San Francisco. The executive pastry chef of Taste Catering and Event Planning triumphed over formidable challenges and plenty of histrionics to win a cool $100,000.

A native of Turkey, Pura has felt at home in the kitchen ever since he was a tot, helping his mom make dark caramel and other sugary goodies. Self-taught, he worked in New York at Le Cirque 2000 and Restaurant Daniel, before moving to San Francisco, where he now works on a variety of events that range in scale from a dinner for eight in a private home to a Major League Baseball fete for 5,000 people. Following his win, the board of supervisors even proclaimed Nov. 17 as “igit Pura Day” in the city.

This week, I had a chance to talk to the 30-year-old Pura, about life before, during and after the show.

Q: I’ve watched ‘Top Chef’ since its inception and I have to say I’ve never seen such drama as on ‘Top Chef Just Desserts.’ Is the world of pastry really that over-the-top?

A: (laughs) Pastry chefs tend to be more meticulous creatures, and with that comes a need for more of a sense of control. We’re definitely more eccentric than the savory side.

Q: Why did you want to do the show?

A: I got approached by Bravo. I had always watched ‘Top Chef,’ so it was a tempting offer. I couldn’t say ‘No.’ I thought it would be an interesting platform to showcase pastry chefs’ work instead of just having it be an afterthought after the savory courses, as it usually is.

For one of the challenges, Pura created this elegant hazelnut dacquoise with milk jam and salted caramel ice cream. (Photo courtesy of Bravo TV)

Q: What was the hardest challenge?

A: There were a few of them. The ‘Celebritea’ challenge, where we had to create a dessert based on a celebrity couple. (Pura chose Madonna and Guy Ritchie.) I had a hard time grasping that in my core. I felt I wasn’t in my body then. After the restaurant wars challenge, I was a mess. I tend to be pretty grounded, but with the lack of sleep, I just felt the floodgates open. It was definitely not my finest moment. But I finally was able to channel all of that to just get re-inspired in the competition.

Q: What surprised you most about doing the show?

A: I tend to plan things a lot in my work when I create recipes and do events. Confronted with such time constraints and limitations on the show, I was amazed I could be so spontaneous under such conditions.

Q: Of all your competitors, whose pastries/desserts would you most want to eat on your day off?

Read more


Of Sake and Crab Cakes

Posted on by 10 comments

An array of sakes at Ozumo in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

The Sake:

Now, this is one club I’d love to be a member of — Ozumo Restaurant in Oakland’s sake “300club.”

The restaurant invites patrons to purchase one of eight different 300ml bottles selected by Director of Sake Jessica Furui each time when visiting the restaurant. Ozumo will then record each purchase. When a customer has tried all eight club selections, they will receive a complimentary 720ml bottle of Ozumo’s “Seitoku” signature junmai ginjo sake.

Moreover, each time a customer orders a bottle of club sake, they will receive a small card containing information about the sake and brewery, plus a map of Japan showing where the brewery is located.

There is no cost to join the club, no food purchase is required and club selections will be changed every six months.

Kampai to that.

Read more

Kodiak Cakes Take the Cake

Posted on by 16 comments

To make these, just add water. Really.

When my husband hears the words, “whole grains,” he makes a face.

You might as well be uttering the words, “pickled eyeballs,” because he’ll make the same expression of disgust.

All too often, he fears “whole grains” means “too healthy to possibly taste any good.”

But Kodiak Cakes made a believer out of him.

The Salt Lake City, family-owned company recently sent me samples of its whole grain pancakes/waffles, cookies and brownie mixes to try.

Read more

Sneak Peek: Baume Chocolates

Posted on by 14 comments

Look forward to the day you can try these incredible chocolates at Baume.

Chef Bruno Chemel of Palo Alto’s Baume can be a bit of a mad scientist.

With his molecular gastronomy creations that foam, smoke, fizz and bubble savagely at the dining table, you’d think that any chocolates he would make would be equally jaw-dropping wild.

But instead, they are as timelessly elegant and chic as can be.

Chemel doesn’t make chocolates very often. No time. But on his rare days off from his nearly one- year-old restaurant, which just received a coveted one Michelin star, he likes to pull out molds, temper chocolate and stir ganache. Sometimes, he even enlists the help of his 6-year-old son, Antoine, who is a whiz at piping.

For Chemel, chocolate-making is relaxing — which, he jokes, his pastry chef thinks is preposterous.

Chef Bruno Chemel of Baume.

Next year, Chemel hopes to find the time and a way to incorporate his chocolates into the restaurant. Let’s hope so, because recently, the chef allowed me to try some of the bonbons. They are exquisite.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »