The five-course dessert tasting was held last Wednesday evening at Harvest in Harvard Square. Harvest's pastry chef Brian Mercury organized the event and invited other local pastry chefs to participate. Everyone prepped at their own restaurants and then helped each other plate in Harvest's kitchen.
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| Hazelnut Pain Perdu by Brian Mercury of Harvest with house-made ricotta fro-yo, honey mousse, and fennel jam paired with Villa des Anges, Rose of Cinsault, Old Vines, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France |
The desserts moved from savory, to fruit-laden, to rich and chocolaty. Mercury's dessert was first, a seemingly simple plate of pain perdu (a sort of elevated French toast). But with the addition of honey mousse, which I'm craving more of, the dessert went from simple to my favorite of the evening. If there's any talk of adding this to Harvest's brunch menu, I'm behind that 100%!
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| Blue Cornmeal Crepe with Sweet Corn Cream by Kelcey Rusch of Bergamot with peaches and blueberries, smoked corn clusters, and avocado-lime sorbet paired with Saracco, Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy |
Cornmeal crepes and ripe summer fruit drizzled with luscious corn cream and balanced by crunchy, smoky corn clusters came next, from Kelcey Rusch of Bergamot.
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| Blackberries & Melon by Molly Rabideau of Oleana with dondurma kaymakli (Turkish ice cream) with blackberries and rose geranium paired with Pierre Sparr, Brut Rose, Cremant d'Alsace, France |
Then there was Turkish ice cream, with wonderful chewy, nutty candy bites and a rose geranium syrup from Molly Rabideau of Oleana.
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| "If I was 12 . . ." by Jared Bacheller of L'Espalier with Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, & Cap'n Crunch paired with Elio Perrone, Bigaro, Brachetto/Moscato Blend, Piedmont, Italy |
Jared Bacheller of L'Espalier's dessert featured a creative composition of cereal-flavored ice cream covered in colorful gelee and thin dinosaur crisps, as well as bits of crunchy marshmallow.
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| Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Tart by Jessica Scott of Brown Butter Bakery with pickled mango, black sesame, coconut, and coffee paired with Fonseca, Bin 27, Ruby Port, Portugal |
And last but definitely not least was a bittersweet chocolate mousse tart from Jessica Scott of Brown Butter Bakery. The tart was decadent and amazing, but the crunchy black sesame seed adornment took it over the top, as did little coconut-flavored dollops on the plate.
The event concluded with a toast with the pastry chefs of a complimentary palate cleanser, the Jardin 75, a refreshing mix of gin, lemon, cava, and jasmine-cardamom simple syrup.
A second Sugar Rush evening with a new lineup of pastry chefs will be held again tonight at Harvest. If indulging in five courses of desserts sounds like a great way to spend an evening to you, find more info on Harvest's website.
Five courses of desserts -- does this sound like your kind of event?
This event was complimentary. As always, all opinions are my own.