CAKE-OFF!
C re at i ng a w o r l d -Cham pio n C ho Co l at e Ca k e
re q ui re s 2 0 Chef s, a g r an d j u ry
a nd a str o ke o f g en iu s
by Lauren SandLer
PHOTOGraPHS by danieL bedeLL
i was told there’d be cake.
But I’m not sure I understood quite how much
cake I was in for, for just how significant the
cake would be, when I was invited to a tasting to
determine what confection would represent The
Ritz-Carlton as the signature dessert. I arrive in
the pastry kitchen of the The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons
Corner near Washington, D.C., which is helmed
by the incontestably handsome and fearless
French pâtissier Frederic Barasse. He had to be
fearless with the task ahead of him (good looks
weren’t going to help). Barasse had been given
128
w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m
20 recipes from chefs around the world. His
mission: to take a few common ingredients and
execute each chef’s vision to the letter as an entry
in a competition to determine the signature cake.
A cake worthy of presentation at every birthday
or anniversary. A cake that could travel home as
a delightful and still-fresh boxed gift. And a cake
that carries the history of The Ritz-Carlton itself
on its sugared shoulders.
Let me tell you a story: In 1880, a Frenchman
invented a new liqueur, flavored boldly with
orange. Parisian fashion at the time favored the
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013