Pastry Chef at Daniel

[nightscotsman]

I confess I haven't read the book yet or dined at the restaurant (some day!), but I was wondering who the pastry chef is at Daniel? How do they work with Chef Boulud? Do they work together to develop a dessert menu, does Daniel dictate the types of things he wants, or is the pastry chef more autonomous? Is the dessert style at Daniel fairly simple and straightforward, or more complex and showy? Maybe you could describe a bit of what life is like on the "sweet side"?

And of course - what is your favorite dessert at the restaurant?

[Leslie Brenner]

Thanks for your questions, nightscotsman. During the time period covered in The Fourth Star (the year 2000), Thomas Haas was the pastry chef, followed by Alain Poitier. Just before the end of the year, Poitier left, and Johnny Iuzzini, the long-time pastry sous chef, was made pastry chef. Iuzzini left recently (to become pastry chef at Jean Georges), and he has been replaced by Eric Bertoïa, formerly of the Ritz in Paris.

During my tenure at Daniel, the pastry chefs did have some autonomy to create dishes, but they did work very closely with Daniel. For instance, when the pastry chef would create a new dessert, he'd bring the finished product to Daniel, who would taste and criticize. Daniel has an amazing palate, and he always knew exactly what a dessert needed. Or at any rate, what he was looking for in it. He's not the kind of chef to say, "Oh, yes, that's perfect as is." He always tinkers, changes, fixes.

The dessert style at Daniel definitely runs to the more complex and formal. Take a look at Daniel's website (www.danielnyc.com), click on "Daniel," and you'll find a current summer dessert menu.

As for my favorite dessert, it was probably a dark chocolate and passion fruit bombe, which is no longer on the menu. And Johnny Iuzzini's chocolates were absolutely spectacular.