Something to Cro about
JUST when Food Detective finally got her head around the worldwide obsession with cupcakes, macarons, cake pops and whoopie pies, some wise guy invents the Cronut. This fried doughnut-croissant hybrid, with cream in the middle and a sugar glaze on top, is a confection so calorific even Detective might baulk at eating more than seven in one sitting.
It's the creation of French-born, New York-based pastry chef Dominique Ansel, who has queues forming outside his bakery in SoHo two hours before opening. He makes only 250 Cronuts a day and it's first in, best fed. There's even a black market, with the treats reportedly selling for up to 10 times the usual $5 price. (Ansel recently posted a photo of an alleged scalper on his Twitter account, with a warning to customers: "Please avoid for your own good. He may be selling old, unfresh Cronuts.")
Detective is bitterly disappointed it would cost her the best part of $3000 to get her hands on a Cronut, what with the long-haul flight and the price of NYC hotels these days, but it's reassuring to know that, as is our wont, Australia has cottoned on to this American food trend and run with it.
French pastry chef Dominique Ansel poses with a cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid, which he created at his bakery shop in New York.
Celebrity baker Adriano Zumbo is one of a clutch of Aussies turning out their own versions of the Cronut, albeit with a slightly different name, given Ansel has trademarked the word and is closely guarding it. Again taking to Twitter, he warned imitators last month: "Hey there copycats, if we're ever in a room together, I will be able to look you in the eye. Will you be able to do the same?" Detective reckons this baking lark sounds like a cut-throat business so is heartened that Sydney-based Zumbo has named his version a Zonut, presumably meaning he can look anywhere he likes. At Movida Bakery in Melbourne's South Yarra, head chef Michael James has named his deep-fried pastry confection a Dossant, while in Brisbane Brett Noy of Uncle Bob's Bakery is doing a healthy trade in Bronuts at his Belmont store. Melbourne's Clifton Hill Bakery, meanwhile, is playing it safe. In a nod to the Cronut's birthplace, owner and baker Robert Coco has named his version of the deep-fried treat a New Yorker.
Detective understands Ansel is already on to his next big thing, a reinvention of an American classic called a s'more - a collision of marshmallows, chocolate and plain sweet biscuits, apparently. Good grief.
YOU don't need to be Ansel or Zumbo to take part in next month's Big Cake Bake, simply the wherewithal to whip up a cake, slice, cookie or dessert to raise funds for the Australian Red Cross. August 26 has been designated official bake day, but participants can host afternoon teas, cake sales or baking competitions throughout the month to aid the effort. Register your event online. bigcakebake.org.au.
MANY could argue that their university years involved rather more study of the bottom of a beer glass in the campus bar than the subject at hand. So Detective is delighted that one canny operator has formalised things. The Curious Squire brew bar and restaurant in Adelaide has launched "Brewniversity", a syllabus offering hour-long Beer 101 sessions every six weeks. The $25-a-head classes include James Squire beer tastings and canapes and lessons on the basics of beer, including its history and ingredients. The next class is at 6.30pm on July 30. Brewniversity.com.au.
DETECTIVE advises eastern staters with a healthy appetite to stock up their cupboards. Every man and his dog in the food industry will be in Western Australia for the second Margaret River Gourmet Escape from November 22 to 24. Tickets for the event, featuring Heston Blumenthal, Rick Stein, Alex Atala and Sat Bains alongside home-grown talent such as Zumbo, Shane Osborn, Neil Perry, Guillaume Brahimi andTetsuya Wakuda are on sale now. Get in quick. Last year was a sellout. Gourmetescape.com.au
THERE'S a lot to be said for planning a lunch in advance. Take the example of pioneer and wine lover John Macarthur, who in 1817 planted some vines he'd carted over from France in the Camden area, southwest of Sydney, essentially kicking off the Aussie wine industry. Three of the Macarthur region's wineries - Fussy Grape, Trattoria La Vigna and Razorback Ridge Wines - will stage a progressive lunch on Sunday, August 4, to showcase Macarthur's legacy. The three-course, self-drive tour will feature a course at each winery (canapes at Fussy Grape; mains at Trattoria La Vigna and dessert at Razorback), with wine tastings and talks by winemakers at each venue. The four-hour lunch is $65 a head. macarthur.com.au.
IT is possible to have too much of a good thing. Detective has not been backward in admitting she is a fan of Cadbury's Marvellous Creations range - she is all for the opportunity to stuff Dairy Milk chocolate, gummy bears, clinkers and marshmallows in her mouth at the same time. The latest addition to the MC range contains banana candy, peanut drops and chocolate biscuit pieces, and Cadbury is asking the public to vote on its website as to whether it should stay on the shelves (it's available now at Woolworths).
Detective can save them the trouble. She and her small band of taste testers have come to the conclusion that there is no place in any chocolate bar for banana candy. She hopes this clears things up.
Source: The Australian, 27 July 2013
