The Cronut, created by New York based patissier and chef Dominique Ansel, is this summer’s must have sweet treat.
Don’t believe us?
Ansel’s doughnut –croissant hybrid, which debuted on May 10th, has spawned a series of Cronut knock offs all over the world, has seen lines start and wrap around the block from the crack of dawn, and has even seen the emergence of the Cronut black market and scalpers on Craigslist, who’s marked up the delicious dessert by up to ten times.
But by no means is Ansel a one-hot wonder. This pastry chef has worked for the famous French bakery Fauchon and then for restaurateur and chef Daniel Boulud. Ansel’s work has also earned him numerous accolades and prestigiousawards.
We recently caught up with the very busy Ansel to talk about where it all began, recent collaborations and future projects.
This summer you’ve unleashed a Cronut frenzy - how did it all start?
We have a weekly manager’s meeting in the bakery, and I like to always bring a snack for us to eat. I use it a chance to experiment with new ideas. A lot of people on my team wanted me to make a doughnut, but growing up in France, I’m not too familiar with doughnuts and didn’t have a good recipe. So I started to play around, and thought I would laminate
the dough similar to a croissant and do a twist on the doughnut and croissant. I worked on it for about 2 months, perfecting the recipe, and am still tweaking it today.
Did you ever expect to get a reaction like you have in the past couple of weeks?
I don’t think I even realize it now. I had gotten in the habit of creating new items every season, and didn’t think the Cronut was any different. I always tell people, I went to bed the night before the Cronut launch with a small article out about it and one photo on Facebook. I woke up and there were 140K links to the photo and the journalist had emailed to let me know their traffic spiked. He said: “You better make more Cronuts.” And boy was he right.
What has been the greatest shock to you since this whole Cronut craze has been unleashed?
The black market Cronuts was truly a shock. I don’t think any other food item has ever experienced this level of scalping. And food, unlike an iPhone or concert ticket, isn’t so easily transferable. After someone else has touched it and it’s no longer in a health-certified place, it can be very dangerous. That is my main concern; I don’t want to see anyone get sick. Secondhand food is not a good idea.
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