Poelaert's eclairs pop up everywhere
MOTHER’S Day is fast approaching and today’s Olive Tree Market has all kinds of unique, handmade gifts to choose from. The market’s gourmet food offerings are the icing on the cake. There will be pastries by Choux Patisserie, chef Nic Poelaert’s latest venture, French crepes by Kid & Cat, Middle Eastern cuisine by Zaytoon,Vietnamese by Vietyum, vegetarian by Superfood Revolution and Japanese by Nagisa, to name a few. Choux Patisserie is creating a buzz in foodie circles in Newcastle and further afield . Their eclairs are made with choux, a French pastry, filled by hand with creamy custard and layered with toppings. Only the freshest of seasonal ingredients are used.
You can choose from the following toppings: white chocolate, sour cherry and pistachio; salted caramel, peanuts and gold; apple pie and French vanilla; tiramisu; cheesecake, passionfruit, raspberry and basil; dark chocoloate, spearmint and cocoa crumbs; and lemon and apricot curd.
French-born Poelaert is a talented and creative chef, not to mention versatile. He has worked in some of Europe and Australia’s top kitchens including Gordon Ramsay’s three-Michelin-Star restaurant in London, Michel Bras’ Bras restaurant, in the south of France, as well as Melbourne two-hatted restaurant, Circa, The Prince.
He spent time at Carlton’s Vue de Monde and has also operated his own place, Embrasse Restaurant, with Novocastrian wife Tara. There , he was named Young Chef of the Year by The Age Good Food Guide .
Embrasse became a “hatted” restaurant and was listed in Gourmet Traveller’s Top Hundred Best Restaurants in Australia within the first three years of service.
Moving to Newcastle, he briefly worked at Subo before putting his stamp on the menu at Fortunate Son.
Newcastle Herald food critic Daniel Honan once said there was a “deceptively simple precision to Poelaert’s cuisine. His imaginative use of flavours and textures is beautiful and understated” .
Keep an eye out for Choux Patisserie at markets and pop-up events across Newcastle . And ordering ahead is recommended.
Those eclairs fly off the shelves.
Copyright © 2017 the Newcastle Herald
