Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/451763
XII maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2015 Food Charles Grech & Co. Ltd., Valley Road, B'Kara Tel: 2144 4400 Bodegas LAN Culmen Reserva Especial 2007 Rioja Spain 92 points Wine Advocate (Robert Parker) Culmen is only produced from harvests of outstanding quality. Intense and bright cherry colour. Ripe fruit nose, with hints of plums, cherries and wildberries. Spicy, roasted and balsamic aromas as well as mineral notes. This is a traditional Rioja in style with great complexity and huge length. The Tempranillo and Craciano grapes are hand picked from 40 year old vines in Bodegas LAN's own vineyard "Viña Lanciano and then selected grape by grape at sorting tables. Fermentation of the destalked grapes occurs in new, small, stainless steel tanks with malolactic fermentation taking place in new French Allier oak. Ageing then akes place over 18 months in French oak barrels followed by another 18 months in bottle. Bodegas LAN is Rioja in 3 letters. Imported by Charles Grech & Co. Ltd, Valley Road, B'Kara T: 2144-4400 From home cooks to multi-mil- lion dollar franchises, the world seems to have fallen in love with desserts all over again. Sweet things were never a hard sell but a recent explosion in establish- ments specializing in special treats has people paying closer attention to them. Hands stained purple from a morning spent working with fresh forest fruits, Jesmond Borg does not immediately strike you as something of a pastry guru. Soft-spoken and shy, he is the French Affaire café's newest addition. And although this may be his first foray into the café business, Jesmond has literally seen the world through his work with pastry. His is a classic tale of hard work paying off. Having started off as a school leaver washing dishes, he worked his way up the ranks, attending the Institute of Tour- ism Studies and then earning positions with hotels in Malta. He would then use those to get a foothold in others abroad. Dubai, Frankfurt, Berlin, Russia, Jordan – Jesmond has worked in some fascinating places, getting a chance to see, firsthand, just how food and culture interact. So what inspired his move out of the hotel scene? "There is a lot more opportunity to display my work in a café setting," he explains. And although there isn't the massive volume of food to be prepared like in a hotel kitchen, a café has its own challenges. One of these is coming up with a menu, a process that involves some element of trial and error. "You have to work out what people enjoy," Jesmond says. No mean feat, given that French Affaire is situated in the decidedly cosmopolitan Tigne Point. Keeping a close watch on customer preferences is a challenge. Still, customers here are in good hands. Jesmond has been a pastry chef for the past 19 years and has won several competitions, includ- ing the Pâtissier of the Year award in 2001 and several medals in the recent Chef Grand Prix in Istan- bul. He continues to hone his craft through courses around the world and by working with other experi- enced chefs. Although everyone and their aunt has suddenly taken up baking, few realize just how much work goes into creating works of art like Jesmond makes every day. "This work takes dedication," he enthuses. "It has almost nothing to do with regular cooking." Closer to an art than a trade and anyone who knows their macarons from their eclairs knows this to be true. And it's not just training either – finding certain good quality ingredi- ents may be close to impossible from your regular supermarket and though alterna- tives exist, you simply cannot substitute the real deal. So what can customers expect at French Affaire? Some familiar favourites and a few brand new faces, if Jesmond has anything to say about it. "Part of the job is to keep innovating," he smiles, making it seem like this ' job' he speaks of is not so much employment as it is a lifelong passion. The display cases at French Affaire cur- rently carry a broad selection of mouth- watering treats, including fruit tarts, choc- olate gateaux, walnut pie and millefoglie, Jesmond's personal favourite. If this is just the beginning for Jesmond, the future looks very bright and very sweet. WINE OF THE WEEK Rachel Zammit Cutajar takes a look at a restaurant and brings a recipe, wine and delicacy of the week. Write to us with your comments on restaurants or submit your own recipes to rzammitcutajar@mediatoday.com.mt Ingredients • 2kg flour • 1 litre milk • 200 - 300g butter • 300g sugar • 1 tbsp salt • 80-100g yeast • 2 tbsp cardamom Filling • 4 tsp butter • 4 tsp sugar • 4 tsp icing sugar • cinnamon Glaze • 1 egg • 1 tbsp milk • Pearl sugar Method 1. Melt the butter and add the milk and cardamom and heat until lukewarm. 2. In a blender prepare the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add the butter and milk mixture. Blend till it becomes a dough. Leave rest for 20 mins at room temperature. 3. Knead dough for 5 mins and sprinkle flour on the table. Cut dough into 2 pieces and roll out both pieces into rectangular shapes of about 2cm in thickness 4. Mix the butter, sugar and icing sugar to make the filling 5. Spread butter filling onto dough (covering all top part) sprinkle cinnamon over. 6. Start to roll dough into a roly-poly form. If the dough is too thick, gently pull to make it longer 7. Cut 3cm slices and place in cup cake holders. Leave to rest for 5 mins 8. Whisk 1 egg and add 1 tbsp of milk to glaze the buns and sprinkle with pearl sugar. 9. Place in a pre-heated oven at 250°C for 10 – 12 mins until firm. Recipe of the week - Cinnamon Rolls A life in search of the greatest sweet treats is a difficult one. RACHEL AGIUS talks to Jesmond Borg from French Affaire about what makes his pastries so special Resto of the week For the love of sweet things French Affaire The Point Tigne Point, Sliema Tel: 79629262 Email: info@frenchaffaire.com Web: www.frenchaffaire.com.mt Find us on Facebook PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD