Tag Archives: Scones

First Interview – Gregoire Michaud

Hong Kong, Other February 27, 2012 Comments: 26

Three months ago…when I started the blog…I never thought I’d have so many ‘First’ times – first time blogging, first time entering a challenge and having the opportunity to interview a pastry chef for the very FIRST TIME :D

I was ecstatic and literally jumping up and down, when Leon from Walee Walee.com invited me to meet and interview Gregoire Michaud the executive pastry chef at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. For those who are not familiar with Gregoire he is also an author of four cookbooks and also like us a ‘Blogger’ ~  I have been following Gregoire’s blog and Twitter (@gregoireMichaud) for a while, so to get the chance to meet him face to face was just too exciting :)

We met up on a Thursday afternoon, and while waiting at the lobby, I was so nervous, going through the questions in my notebook over and over again ~ I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself hehe. Gregoire met us at the lobby, then kindly took us up to the executive business lounge where he had prepared an afternoon tea set for us to enjoy while we chat :)

Here’s the interview ~ 

Me: Hello!

Gregoire: Hi… Hello (Putting on an Australian accent)

Me: Could you please introduce yourself briefly?

Gregoire: Hi my name is Gregoire I am the pastry chef of Four Seasons in Hong Kong, I’ve been baking and cooking for 20 years, I’ve wrote 4 books and I blog.

Me: That’s great! (I think I was a little nervous I kept looking at my notes lol) how long have you been working in Hong Kong for?

Gregoire: A total of 12 years, in different hotels, including 7 years at Four Seasons

Me: What is the main difference in taste and preference of desserts and pastries in Hong Kong, compared to Europe such as France and Switzerland where you come from?

Gregoire: Sugar…much less sugar and I think it’s great to actually to be able…to be forced to use less sugar because it brings the real flavour of ingredients out much more…for me I think working with less sugar is actually better. So now when I go back to Europe and try their pastries, it’s very sweet….everything is sweet… I think I have gotten use to local tastes here in Hong Kong.

Me: Where do you get your inspiration for new desserts?

Gregoire: I read books…I read magazines…I watch TV. But it’s not always food related…I like to read design magazines, photo magazines, art magazines and books…then I get inspired from shapes and concepts and then I bring them into pastry. Flavours and ingredients are what is seasonal and what is available in the market and that defines what we use. We don’t fly pears from the moon J So yeah that’s my inspiration.

Me: What’s your favourite dessert? (I knew this was a tough question :P )

Gregoire: *Eyes Widen* Its that one (pointing to one of the lovely pastries on the cake stand)… I always answer this question with my mother’s apple pie…apple tart…. she’s made it since I’m a little boy and still do the same and it just tastes different from anywhere else. Probably the recipe she uses for the dough and the sugar, cinnamon, the apples she uses and the way she cooks and bakes it…just for me it is just the best. It is also because it is my mum’s apple tart I’m use to it. It is also where I started to be inspired to become a pastry chef. She was always doing pastries, jam and cake and everything at home. So naturally, I wanted to learn how to do that so I can eat more. I eventually learnt how to make basic cakes and then thought…why not I do this full time…

Me: Last question any new books on the way?

Gregoire: *GRINS* Yes there is…it’s on the way I am currently writing it…it’s going to be pairing desserts and wine or wine and other beverages. Mainly based on alcohol and liquors J so desserts may not be made with liquor or wine but it will be matched. We’ve worked with some professionals to actually pair them. I enjoy wine but they know better than me.

Me: Thank you very much!

Gregoire: You’re welcome!

So it seems like Gregoire has slowly assimilated and adopted Hong Kong people’s taste with using less sugar ;) and there’s a new book on the way YAY!

I just had post this photo ~

Gregoire definitely surprised me with his wittiness and openness to answer any questions we had :) Somehow I pictured pastry chefs to be stern and strict , he was anything but these two things :P

Delicious scones

Did you know that it takes Gregoire and his team 3 days to make these scones?!? No wonder they taste good! Check out his video where he shares his secret techniques in making these scones :D

Afternoon Tea Set For Two

You can also enjoy this lovely Afternoon Tea Set daily at The Lounge daily from 3pm to 5:3opm :D

Thank you once again Gregoire for spending a wonderful afternoon with us. I have learnt so much about being a pastry chef and  that you must be truly passionate about something to be able to succeed ~ I wish you the very best with your future endeavours!

 Daisy@Nevertoosweet dined as a guest of Gregoire Michaud (Four Seasons) and Walee Walee.com

First Blog Challenge – Lemon Scones

Recipes February 25, 2012 Comments: 40

Hello everyone :) I’m back in HK again! I had an amazing time in Taipei and I have so many good places to share with you! But before I bombard you with Taiwan posts. I’m so excited to be sharing with everyone my first ever Blog Challenge ~

Since I started blogged a few months ago, Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker has been nothing but supportive of me and always encouraging me! So when she told me about this new challenge that her friend Caroline from Caroline Bakes, I just HAD to enter and make something. The challenge is pretty simple :) each month the girls will generate a random letter and you will then need to bake something that starts with that letter. To read more about the challenge please refer to this link.

This month it was the letter ‘L’ so I immediately thought of the amazing Lemon and Blueberry scones I had in New York City at Alice’s Tea Cup. I bought their cookbook and remember tell you guys that I’ll try to share their recipe with you sometime hehe so I thought this was the PERFECT TIME!

But then I realised I was going to have trouble replicating the fabulous scones…even though the cookbook shares 19 scone recipes it doesn’t exactly share the Lemon and Blueberry! I started freaking out…then I had another problem :( the blueberries I had at home were off…at least I think they were and I didn’t want to use them. So I’m really sorry everyone, I simply omitted the blueberries and adapted the recipe to make a lemon scone with a lemon glaze :) they’re just as nice with a subtle lemon flavour ~

My mini cake stand :)

Recipe – Lemon Scone
Adapted from: Alice Tea Cup (Haley and Lauren Fox)
Makes: 10 to 12 scones

Ingredients
3 Cups of Plain Flour
1/3 Cup of Caster Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
3/4 Teaspoon of Salt (I just used a pinch)
170 grams of Unsalted Butter, cubed
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Lemon Zest
1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice
1 1/4 Cups of Buttermilk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Lemon Glaze
1/2 Cup of Icing Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon of Milk

Method
1) Preheat the oven to 200° C or 400 °F.
2) In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking power and salt.
3) Make sure your hands are clean and dry, using your fingers tips rub the butter into the dry mixture until it is well incorporated and resembles  breadcrumbs. Add the Lemon zest and mix well.
4) Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture, and pour the Lemon Juice, Buttermilk and Vanilla Extract into the well. Combine the dry and wet ingredients until it comes together. *Important* Do not knead the dough!
5) Sprinkle plain flour on a clean surface and gently place the dough over the service and pat it softly until it forms a rectangle that is about 1 1//2 inches thick. Using a dough cutter or knife, cut dough diagonally  to create little triangles or any shape you’d like.
6) Bake scones on a baking tray covered with baking paper, for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.
7) To make the lemon glaze, sift icing sugar into a bowl. Whisk in the Lemon Juice and Milk until it is smooth. Taste the Lemon Glaze and add more icing sugar or lemon juice according to your own personal tastes.
8) Drizzle lemon glaze over warm scones and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Ready to be baked!

Finished Product ~

I hope you like lemon scones ~ I think they’re perfect with jam and cream or honey :) because I didn’t have any jam poor me!

Thank you once again to Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker for hosting the first Alphabakes Challenge :D

Big Apple – Alice Tea Cup

New York City, Reviews, Travel Adventures January 26, 2012 Comments: 23

Hello! Hope you all had a lovely Chinese New Year with family and ate lots of goodies like me ~ But after having Chinese food for 5 days straight 3 meals a day…I think I’m getting a little sick of it… that’s why I’ve decided to continue with my New York City posts :) Today, I wanted to share with you, my lovely at Alice Tea Cup  Chapter 1 in the Upper West Side. Founded by sisters Haley and Lauren Fox in 2001, it has quickly become one of the most whimsical places for both locals and tourists to have tea.

The shop front was small so it's easy to walk past

After having breakfast at the hotel for 3 days…we got a little sick of bagels, eggs and bacon hehe so I randomly did a search on cafes in the Upper West Side because we were going to the American Museum of Natural Historyafterwards. With a bit of luck, I found Alice Tea Cup Chapter 1 only 4 blocks away from the Museum ~ Perfect! So Mr Bao and I quickly put our jackets on and hailed a cab. When we got there it took us a good minute or two to find it because the shop front is pretty small, so it’s pretty easy to walk past and not know it’s there.

People enjoying tea on a Saturday morning~

Mr Bao and I walked in and it was quite busy – being 10am on a Saturday morning there were mums and daughters and people just enjoying a scone by themselves. We were so so so lucky to get a table immediately! I heard another man who walked in 5 minutes after us, that there was a 2 hour wait and if he wanted to make a reservation it’ll have to be 2 weeks in advance! As usual we were both ravenous ~ we quickly looked at the menu and chose what we wanted :)

Smoked Salmon with poached eggs on buttermilk scones $13USD

I was trying to convince Mr Bao to have the afternoon tea set with me…but he wasn’t sold by the idea hahaha he wanted ‘breakfast’, not dainty little sandwiches ~ so he got the smoked salmon with poached eggs on buttermilk scones. I tried it and thought it was pretty good, but nothing too exciting. The buttermilk scone was lovely though! Something different to have than english muffins or a piece of toast. Mr Bao also ordered a pot of peppermint tea which he really liked, while I thought it was a little too peppery for me.

Morning Tea Set with a pot of Tea $22USD

To satisfy my desire to have a 3 tier set, I ordered the morning tea which was served on a 3 tier stand YAY! I think it’s a pretty good deal because for $22, I got a scone of my choice (I got lemon and blueberry), 2 poached eggs and their famous Alice’s vanilla tea infused granola with vanilla yoghurt and a pot of tea of my choice! Not bad eh? :D  I really enjoyed the granola it was so crunchy and sweet! I’m sure a bore…for my pot of tea I just ordered English Breakfast because I’m not really familiar with all the different types of tea they had to offer ~

Lemon and Blueberry scone

But I have to give my hand down to the lemon and blueberry scone! It was probably the most amazing scone I have had for a long long time. I don’t know if it’s because I am a picky scone eater…but I usually find scones to be either too dry or a mouthful of baking soda! But the scones at Alice Tea Cup were P-E-R-F-E-C-T! I was so obsessed with these scones that I bought the Alice Tea Cup cook book ~ you can find it on Amazon for approximately $16 USD. Source: AmazonI was too full if not I would’ve tried all the other goodies they had to offer!

Scones in various flavours - One for $3.5USD

I WANT the Red Velvet cupcake >_<

If you like tea, scones and cake – Alice Tea Cup is a MUST GO when visiting New York City!

Alice's Tea Cup Chapter I on Urbanspoon

They also have 2 more stores Alice Tea Cup Chapter 2 and 3 :)

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