Jessica Préalpato in 5 desserts

Jessica Préalpato has made a name for herself in the sweet world, developing her own vision of patisserie over the years. During her time at the Plaza Athénée, she learned to say goodbye to conventional preparations, such as shortbread or cookies, to make way for more raw, uncluttered creations, almost sugar- and fat-free. A 360°C turnaround for Jessica Préalpato who, still today at the San Régis Hotel in Paris, offers healthy, low-sugar and sometimes confusing pastries, so distinctive of her world. For Gault&Millau, the pastry chef describes five desserts that have marked her career.

Hops with farmhouse cream, toasted barley, frosted drèche

"Still at the Plaza Athénée, I proposed a beer-based dessert that was quite controversial. It was prepared with Monk brown ale, which is very bitter, and we pushed the roasting of the barley quite far. It was a creation that had a lot of character, but was quite hated," Jessica Préalpato laughs." Denis Courtiade, our room manager, absolutely wanted us to take it off the menu and we left it on for a very long time. Strangely enough, it was one of my favorite desserts to make", she recalls.

Curdled, emulsified, iced milk jam

"I created this dessert shortly before we left the Plaza Athénée. I made it with milk from Ferme de Kerbastard, in Brittany. When Romain Meder tasted it, he advised me to keep only the mousse, the ice cream, the milk jam and the milk skin. For my part, I said to myself that you couldn't offer such a simple dessert in an establishment of this standing, but it's true that the result was truly magical. For Romain, it's the best dessert I've ever created at the Plaza!"

Winter fruit

"The idea behind this dessert was to use fruits rarely seen in pastry, such as persimmon, rosehip, medlar or cenella. I created it with the help of my former sous-chef, and we added fir, as well as dried fruit, such as walnuts and almonds picked in season and preserved in jars. At the Plaza Athénée, the producers delivered what they could, and we had to make do. It stretches the imagination, and in this case, it resulted in a dessert with a lot of character," recalls Jessica Préalpato.

Virginie Garnier

Peanuts from the Hautes-Pyrénées, soy beverage fountain

Last but not least: the peanut and soy milk dessert, on the menu of Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the Plaza Athénée from the very first day to the very last. "We never took it off," assures the pastry chef. "It was prepared with soya milk made in Normandy and peanuts from the Hautes-Pyrénées. We made it like a milk jam, but with peanuts and a soy milk mousse... It was very regressive! The proof: every Friday, we got together at the end of the service and ate it," she recalls.

Virginie Garnier

Kakis au naturel and glacé, fresh walnuts, rosehip wine

This dessert was one of the first created by Jessica Préalpato at the Plaza Athénée. "It consisted of persimmon, fresh and sorbeted, rosehip vinegar and marmalade, rosehip peel oil and a kind of fresh walnut praline, spiked with ginger and Espelette pepper juice. When he tasted this dessert, Alain Ducasse said to me: 'That's it, you've understood what we wanted at the Plaza'," she recalls."That's when I realized that he really wanted raw desserts, where the fruit was brought to the fore with a simple condiment."