One of the coolest things about traveling to amazing resorts is that you can meet and connect with amazing chefs from all over the world, and sometimes you can even get them to create a custom dairy free Passion Fruit Panna Cotta for you! 😉
It happened at the gorgeous Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok, where I had a chance to meet and interview then Michelin Star Chef Remy Janicot.
Chef Remy is originally from Alsace, a region in the northeastern side of France bordering Germany and Switzerland, and, like most French pastry chefs, he takes the art of baking like a science, evaluating the percentage of protein of a certain flour, the temperature of the air in the kitchen and its level of humidity.
You have to when you get to play at such a high level. After working in various 3 Michelin starred restaurants in France, from l’Auberge de l’Ill, to Philippe Rochat and Le Buerehiesel, Remy took on the challenge of leaving certainty and set rules behind and venture in a new world of unknown ingredients and new culinary techniques moving to South East Asia in 2013.
“When I first left France, I thought I knew everything about baking and pastry making, but it’s only when I arrived here that I really got a chance to up my game. I had to learn how bend traditional bread making techniques to perform well in a different climate, where the humidity of the air can affect the whole rising process. I got inspired to learn about the local baking traditions and I grafted those into the pillars of French baking traditions.”
After enriching his gastronomic heritage with the eclecticism of the Maldivian influence on a 5 star private atoll resort, Chef Remy stretched his baking boundaries even more when he decided to take off for Thailand, where he baked for the guests of the prestigious Mandarin Oriental and where he now accommodates the wildest dreams of those staying at the Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok.
As we talk about all the amazing desserts and French pastries he created in his career, I get kind of hungry and I say it out loud: “Oh, I would love to have the allergy free version of all these amazing treats you are describing!!”
His response goes beyond my expectations: “Mmhhh… Let me think. Would a Passion Fruit Panna Cotta sound good to you? I can make it dairy and gluten free!”.
I am eyeballing to him speechless.
“It would be a pleasure for me to do that. I actually really enjoy accommodating customers with specific food requirements because that makes my job more stimulating, more creative”.
No need to insist. I am in Chef Remy!
A few hours later, as I am sipping on my lemongrass tea in the club lounge of the Grand Hyatt, he shows up holding a beautifully presented panna cotta topped with a shiny passion fruit sauce and pretty, edible flowers.
No need to mention how delicious that was. Try it out yourself and let me have your thoughts in a comment below!!
Passion Fruit Panna Cotta from Chef Remy Janicot
Preparation
time:
00:15
Cooking
time:
00:03
No. of
servings:
6
For the Coconut Panna Cotta:
- 5 Young Thai Coconuts (approx. 1000 gr Coconut Water and Flesh mix)
- 70 gr Coconut Sugar
- 3 sheets of Gelatin
For the Passion Fruit Sauce:
- 500 gr Fresh Passion Fruit Pulp (with seeds)
- 20 gr Raw Honey
- 20 gr Water
For Garnishing:
- 100 gr mixed Berries
- 5 gr edible Flowers
- *5 gr Shaved Dark Chocolate (avoid if on the AIP)
For the Panna Cotta:
Open the fresh coconut, keep the water, scrape out the flesh and then blend the two together in a high speed blender.
Soak the gelatin in cold water.
In the meantime, warm up 100 gr of the blended coconut mixture you just made and add in the coconut sugar.
When warm, add in the strained and pressed gelatin leaves together with 400 gr of the cold coconut mix. Stir carefully in order to avoid any lumps of gelatin.
Lastly, add in the remaining 500 gr of blended coconut mixture and pour in the glass as soon as you can (it solidifies pretty quick).
Let your panna cotta rest in the fridge.
For the Passion Fruit Sauce:
Mix all ingredients together, then bring to a gentle boil in a pan keep simmer until the pectin in the passion fruit start to make the sauce little bit thicker.
Pour the sauce on a tray, let it cool down add use it to top the panna cotta.
Right before serving, decorate your passion fruit panna cotta with berries and edible flowers.
I can’t wait to hear your feedback about this recipe! Make you share you pin it to your Pinterest boards (the pinnable infographic is at the bottom of the page) and if you need to know about any replacements, just let me know in a comment below and I will love to brainstorm with you!
Love,
Ambra
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This post was featured on the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable
2 Comments
This is a super article Ambra. It is always fascinating to read about your exchanges with talented chefs. This recipe is outstanding. Unfortunately I can’t get young Thai coconuts here. 😩 It must have tasted incredible. Thanks for the share.
Sylph it was truly memorable!! I hope you’ll get a chance to try it soon, maybe when you go back to the States. Thanks so much for reading and for the nice words! 🙂
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