Galavante had the pleasure to sit down with James Beard award-winning pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini, the creator of hotel group Le Meridien’s global eclair concept. Expect to see Johnny riding around on his Ducati, in search of inspiration.
Galavante: We’ve had the cupcake craze, the macarons – and you may just very well have started the éclair craze. What inspired you with the éclair?
Johnny: I find the éclair to be like a blank canvas for a painter. There are very few limitations. It is a great carrier for many different flavors and texture combinations and can be manipulated to not only be salty or sweet, but represent any region of the world. I am a classically French-trained pastry chef and also half French by heritage, although I am American through and through and not chained to any particular traditions or rules. My approach for the éclair is like a plated dessert – I think about unique and sometimes contrasting flavor combinations as well as interesting textures that add to the overall experience while consuming it.
Galavante: What are your favorite ingredients you’ve integrated into the éclair?
Johnny: So far, as a part of my collaboration with Le Meridien, we have only launched the San Francisco-inspired éclair. I really love this one; I feel it really envelops the region. I used corn, blueberries, raw honey and fennel, all of which I found in the local market. I delivered the corn in the form of a pastry cream, the blueberries as a jam as well as fresh for garnish. The honey was used to make the glaze and honeycomb delivered something beautiful as well as a textural nuance. I used both dried fennel pollen and fresh fennel fronds to impart flavor, texture and a naturally fresh element.
Galavante: What’s the secret to creating the shells, and also the harder-than-it-looks technique to fill the éclairs?
Johnny: There are a few steps to creating a great shell. Cooking the paste long enough to partially dry, but not cooking it too long in the pot so that the fat comes out. The quantity of eggs added to the semi-cooled paste gives you the proper texture. I prefer to lightly spray the piped shells with a vegetable spray and bake at different temperatures, initially high to puff the shells, then lower to dry them out. When it comes to filling, in my opinion there is nothing more disappointing then biting into an empty éclair. I like to poke three holes across the bottom of the shell and fill each third to its capacity to be sure there are no air pockets.
Galavante: What do your travel plans look like this fall?
Johnny: I will be running away from Brooklyn to Mexico for my 40th birthday. It’s a big one and I’m honestly just not ready for it. Then I will be doing the Hawaii food and wine festival. I am really excited for this as I have never been. Then I’m off to do an event for the Three Wishes charity foundation in Florida. On September 30, my new book Sugar Rush launches and I will be doing promotions for that all over the place. Our next stop on the Éclair Diaries for Le Meridien is still unconfirmed but some potential destinations include India, Monaco, Thailand and Germany.
Galavante: Now that sounds like an amazing trip. One last question; Favorite place in the world that inspires your cuisine.
Johnny: Wow – this is a tough one. I pride myself in being globally well-traveled and I am always looking to go somewhere new for both the cultural experience as well as for the food. I would have to say I use a lot of French and Spanish technique, with American flavor profiles plated with an Asian aesthetic. I love tasting new flavors and learning new techniques an applications. As a chef, we are always students of the cuisines of the world. I have the best job ever. I love eating my way through Italy, Spain, Nordic regions, China, Japan and Thailand. I learned so much in Oaxaca last year and look forward to visiting India and South East Asia soon.
