Chef Cedric Houze has introduced some seasonal savouries at l’Opera. Neeti Nigam samples mango macaroons
Bread is no more a humble accompaniment to a curry. With foodies taking their breads very seriously, chefs across the city are baking an exotic variety. The number of high-end bakeries specialising in breads and other baked delicacies has multiplied in the last few years. Each comes up with seasonal favourites or new additions, frequently, to offer something different. So it was surely a challenge for chef Cedric Houze to devise a new menu for the French bakery, l’Opera.
To please his Indian customers, the chef has introduced mango macaroons in the menu. “Macaroons are the most coveted French cookies. I thought of teaming it with something seasonal and Indian. Mangoes are called the king of all fruits and therefore, I brought mango macaroon in the menu,” he shares. Prepared using mousseline-cream, macaroons are crispy and soft.
Houze has widely travelled across the globe. He feels that when it comes to confectionery, France is the best, but he is liberal to give points to Japan, too. “I have heard that they are doing good experiments with breads. Hope I could travel there to savour some,” he says. But India has to work hard. “Here bakeries use compound oil instead of real chocolate. The use of vegetable cream makes it heavier. French pastries are light and you would not mind eating dozens of them,” he adds.
But Houze feels no one can beat Indians at butter chicken. “It’s delicious. What I love about Indian cuisine is its variety and different flavours,” says he.
The other savouries listed on the menu are vanilla viennoiserie biscuits, banana, chocolate chip, carrot and walnut tea cakes and dark chocolate and hazelnut caramel, which is a must try. It isn’t sticky and melts nicely. In future, the chef reveals that he would “come up with pastries prepared with no butter and sugar.”