Behind the Scenes - Pastry at NoMI
\"Le Ruby:\" litchi cream, pistachio ice cream, raspberry salsa, pistachio sponge, raspberry foam and caramelized pistachios.
Frederic lays out his tools before he begins.
\"Le Ruby\" starts with a raspberry lattice cookie, for structure.
Raspberries, filled with pistachio, are scattered around the plate.
A beautiful assortment of dots - Frederic\'s signature look. The cookie has also been filled with a pistachio sponge cake.
Getting the ice cream to make that perfect oval.
and adding it to the plate - Pistachio ice cream for balance.
Finishing the center with the raspberry foam.
The beginning of \"Le Sphere:\" White Chocolate domes.
It starts with a small, stabilizing ring of sponge cake for the sphere to rest on.
Frederic balances the bottom half.
Filling the sphere with strawberries, caramelized peanuts and ice cream.
The finished sphere - it looks amazing!
Frederic heats up some strawberry sauce.
Preparing the strawberry sauce for the table.
At the table, a waiter will pour the sauce over the sphere, melting it and combining all the elements.
The finished product, \"Le Sphere.\"
Apricots, ready for the next dessert, \"Le Saint Honore.\"
And topped with some puff pastry, for structure.
The top of the dessert is covered with three apricot pate a choux, cookies filled with apricot cream.
Topping the dessert with hazelnut chantilly.
The ice cream must be perfect!
After we were through with the desserts - oh, the horror!
Last week, we were lucky enough to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of pastry-making at NoMI, the beautiful temple of French cuisine in the Park Hyatt. Frederic Moreau, the talented pastry chef, invited us into his marble-clad station, tucked away into a small nook off the dining room, to watch him work his magic.
Moreau created three different desserts for us, including one that didn't go on the menu until last week. These desserts are delicious and beautifully plated, and the newest, a white chocolate sphere filled with strawberry and melted at the table, is almost magical in its presentation. Descriptions are in the captions - you might need a snack afterward.
Stop in for just dessert to get a taste of Frederic's creations. NoMI is located at 800 N. Michigan Ave, on the 7th floor of the Park Hyatt.
