FALL’S FAVORITE FLAVOR IS THE STAR OF THIS FESTIVE DESSERT, OFFERING A SEASONAL SPIN ON A POST-MEAL CLASSIC YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME
BY CHEF DAVID BURKE
Petit Fours sparked my idea for using unique, outside-the-box vessels as serving dishes. I had just been named the executive chef at River Café in Brooklyn, and since I needed a better understanding of pastry before assuming that daunting role at just 26, I attended the famous École Lenôtre Pastry School in Plaisir, France.
Petit Four literally means “at small oven.” The term is traced back to 18th and 19th century France when large stone or brick ovens were used to bake bread. While the ovens cooled down, thrifty chefs used the lower temperatures to bake their pastries. At the outdoor markets in France, I saw these cute, miniature cast iron wood cooking stoves that were salesmen samples. I thought, “Wow, these would make an awesome dessert presentation.” So, when I returned to the River Café I bought a bunch and served the petit fours atop the stoves. Just before serving the pastries, I fired up cinnamon sticks with a blow torch inside the tiny ovens for the most amazing aroma. It hit all the senses. I knew I was onto something. It was the start of my signature whimsical culinary style of using unusual vessels to elevate the dining experience.
During the 1980s, mini pumpkins became more available and we started using them shell and all for savory dishes like pumpkin soup with succotash and shrimp. We extended their use to dessert, serving pumpkin crème brûlée inside the shell. People loved them. It’s a nice presentation and a nod to the season. I expanded upon my use of oddball vessels. I served consommé in brandy snifters; I moved the traditional steakhouse side dish, creamed spinach, from a porcelain dish into a tiny copper pot. Today we use our signature Pink Himalayan bricks as platters to serve dry-aged prime steaks. We use them for sushi, too. It adds to the fun and uniqueness of the presentations and expands upon the theme. One of my most famous vessels is the Clothesline Bacon: thick slices of maple pepper-glazed bacon hung from specially made tabletop wooden stands. A tiny clothesline is strung between two dowels and strips of bacon are suspended from the line with real clothespins. The bacon is crisped, and the fat drips down onto a pickle. Again, it hits all the senses. Plus, it is interactive. Guests are given scissors to snip their own pieces of bacon off the line. It is one of my most widely copied dishes around the globe!
Red Horse by David Burke
26 Ridge Road, Rumson / 732.576.3400
27 Mine Brk Rd, Bernardsville / 908.766.0002
