“I think the UAE food scene is amazing. It’ll take a year to go around each and every restaurant,” says French celebrity patissier Eric Lanlard, owner of Cake Boy and author of several books, including the recent Chocolat. “I think we are much more dramatic here about the venue and decoration — which I like. I like a bit of glamour”.
We were talking over a sumptuous new afternoon tea he launched at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray earlier this month. Individual racks full of hors d’oeuvres including salmon, chicken sandwiches and filo pastry tarts, a plateful of warm scones, tiny eclairs and cakes — all table staples at an English tea service, had been served.
The twist came in the filling, each with its own tongue-twisting Turkish name, in keeping with the ambience and decor of the hotel. While the tart had feta cheese, spinach and pine nuts, the chicken sandwich was sumac-spiced with herbs served on onion bread, and the salmon included smoked anchovy, horseradish, sour cream and lemon.
There was also a miniature Turkish ice cream waffle cone. And to top it all was the “perfect ending inspired by Eric Lanlard”, an orange blossom financier, a new creation by the pastry chef who has been living in Britain for the last 20 years.
Congratulation!