SWEET
(^) +
PÂTISSIER
P
ink bubbles of sakura jelly and white peach
mochi lie in a pool of amazake fermented
rice soup. Accompanying them is a dried sakura
leaf pickled in salt over three weeks. With World
Gourmet Summit taking place right in the middle of
the cherry blossom season in Japan, Chef Keisuke
Matsumoto wanted to recreate the colour and
taste for guests in Singapore. Chef Ben Goh of
InterContinental Singapore is impressed by the play
on texture, and combination of flavours. “Especially
with the white chocolate at the botom,” sa ys Chef
Goh. “The faint sourness of the rice soup brings out
sweetness of the white chocolate.” What is most
unique is the way Chef Matsumoto uses a French
pastry technique – the piping bag – to form balls
of the traditional Japanese confection of bracken
starch. “The warabi mochi needs to be warm,
in order for the scent of the cranberry juice to
be infused,” says Chef Matsumoto. Traditionally,
warabi mochi is made by placing the warmed starch
and water mix into an iced water-bath to solidify.
Having spent four years in Michelin-starred
restaurants in France, Chef Keisuke Matsumoto is
fluent not only in French, but also the culture and
cooking techniques. The 48-year-old Sendai native
began to study pastry when he realised that he
wanted to take care of the dessert that wraps up
a multi-course dinner as well. He feels that being
a chef is simple – all you need is to put a jacket
on. However, to remain on the cutting edge, to
surpass oneself – that is difficult. “The chefs of
this generation seem to think that just because
they can post a prety pictur e on the Internet, they
have made it,” says Chef Matsumoto. “But I am
worried for them, that they are living in a virtual
world.” The day may come, when hardship, or set-
back, may come, and if they do not have real-life
experience, which comes with constant practice,
and overcoming challenges, they may get lost,
or become too dejected to get back on track.
“Sometimes, I’ll make one dish, and my young
Singaporean chefs will make the same dish,” says
Chef Matsumoto. “If you took a photo of them,
they would look identical.” However, when you
taste them, they would taste different. “From my
point of view, every time I prepare a dish, there
might be a litle difference in the ingredients, so I
always have to be alert,” explains Chef Matsumoto.
Younger chefs tend be satisfied with just one try.
“The good thing is, they are a positive bunch,”
chuckles Chef Matsumoto. He believes that if they
placed greater atention t o the details, it would
make a tremendous difference to the quality of
their work. QL
Even if it’s just a detail,
pay attention to it.
Never get complacent.
Keisuke Matsumoto
087
Keisuke Matsumoto and Kiriko Nakamura at
Míele Gallery for a pastry masterclass.