MELBOURNE, April 6 — Cronut creator Dominique Ansel — famed for his part-croissant, part-donut hybrid — was crowned Best Pastry Chef by the 2017 “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list at a ceremony in Melbourne, Australia, April 5.
Originally from the Picardy region of Northern France, Dominique Ansel has been working in New York for many years. After a stint working for fellow NYC-based French chef Daniel Boulud, the pastry cook who found international fame with his signature “cronut” now succeeds Pierre Hermé as the Best Pastry Chef award-winner in the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list.
The famous hybrid pastry — a cross between a croissant and a donut — helped seal the success of Dominique Ansel, who also made the shrewd business maneuver of making a limited number of cronuts available each day. Plus, foodies can only buy two cronuts per person, unless they reserve in advance.
Dominique Ansel is one of several current masters in the realm of sweet treats stepping up to head chef status. Like Claire Heitzler, who created an entirely sweet menu at the Lasserre gastronomic restaurant in Paris, Ansel opened his own mini restaurant called “U.P. (Unlimited Possibilities) at Dominque Ansel Kitchen” in August 2015.
Here, desserts dominate the menu — right from the appetiser — with seven sweet courses, each served with a specially selected wine to match the flavours. Foodies will need to plan ahead to enjoy the experience by signing up for tickets online. — AFP -Relaxnews
