Dominique Ansel is taking a step away from his mega hit, the Cronut.
Instead of opening a mass production facility to pump out thousands of Cronuts a day, the French baker is instead opening Dominique Ansel Kitchen, which will serve desserts freshly prepared, as they are in a restaurant.
Ansel, who was the pasty chef at Daniel before opening his eponymous bakery, has the experience to pull this off.
We asked Ansel why the Kitchen is a worthy pursuit.
“Certain pastries can be finessed over and sit out for a while. Others cannot. A chocolate mousse sitting in a fridge for a few hours will harden and turn dense compared to super light consistency of one where the ganache and whipped cream are folded fresh. Certain fruits darken when left out. So why not build a tart fresh to order with the fruits mascerated on the spot? Time is a big ingredient in all cooking. Eating certain things past their prime time is like over or under-salting food.”
On his new website, he called Kitchen “the new hybrid bakery.” It will open this spring and the goal is to deliver desserts to customers within three minutes. Expect madeleines and mille-feuilles.
In addition to counter service, there will be also be a communal table for dessert tastings in the evening.
We predict that communal table will be hard to book, especially if it’s helmed by Ansel himself. We’re excited.
137 Seventh Ave. South, dominiqueanselkitchen.com
