Categories Pastry Chef Articles
Samurai, alchemy, and flowers: a journey through Roberto Cortez’s creative pastry and ice cream
Roberto (Bobby) Cortez has an unconventional career path. Of Hispanic origin, this American has gone from being a private chef for public figures such as Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft), Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas to promoting innovative projects such as CR8 Dining Experimental, a pop-up restaurant in Seattle where he designs experimental meals. He is also frequently seen collaborating with galleries in different countries, seeking connections between cuisine and art.
In this article, we want to highlight not only his versatility but also his immense creativity through his recent appearances in so good.. magazine and our Spanish-language ice cream magazine, Arte Heladero
Rogue pastry: between samurai and Navajos
Cortez participated in the rogue pastry challenge we launched in so good.. magazine 31. What did it consist of? Creating “politically” incorrect creations that don’t follow established rules, “rogue” desserts, whether in their composition, format, flavor combination, aesthetics, or message.
The chef presented two proposals inspired by the samurai and his great-grandfather’s Navajo culture.
Ronin, the samurai who wanders without rules
Since he was a child, Roberto Cortez has been fascinated by the Ronin, the masterless samurai who lived during Japan’s feudal period (between 1185 and 1868), wandering endlessly, free from rules, orders, and obligations. For this reason, he decided to create an entremet that represents a broken part of the samurai armor, symbolizing the shattered life of the ronin. It is composed of seven ingredients inspired by the seven virtues of bushido (way of the warrior), the seven rules followed by the samurai. Moreover, some of these ingredients are seen as politically incorrect or even forbidden in some places.
“One thing that was important to me about this cake is that conceptually it felt as if it should be more organic and natural as opposed to being absolutely pristine and perfect. I decided not to have a mold made and instead I built the entremets layers then cut it out with my own hands using a knife. The scales are made of colored white chocolate and cocoa butter with edible gold hand painted on the scales, as if a samurai hand painted his own armor”.
Discover the recipe in so good #31
Tsís’ná, tribute his great-grandfather’s Navajo culture
Cortez is hurt by how former American culture used to view the Native Americans as thieves and being deceitful, since his great-grandfather was Navajo from the American Southwest.
“The name tsís’ná means ‘honey bee’ in Navajo language. Authentic honey from the Southwest United States was used along with actual honey bees, which were burnt and ground into the recipe. Naturally, incorporating Mexican ingredients into the concept helped me to bring my idea to fruition”.
Cortez reclaims Navajo and Mexican gastronomy through typical ingredients and products such as Native American squash blossom honey, royal honeybee powder, rare mezcal de pechuga (chicken breast) and chicatanas or black ants.
Discover the recipe in so good #31
“Emotional Delicacies”: A Creative Reinterpretation of the Mexican Popsicle
At Arte Heladero 191, Roberto Cortez showcased two of the recipes from his book Emotional Delicacies, in which he reinterprets the Mexican popsicle to bring it to an interesting creative level, in which each proposal responds to a personal experience or reflection.
One of the most significant aspects of this volume is its approach to ice cream from a very pastry perspective, but also the methodological rigor of these production processes. For example, in Solace in Arctic Jasmine, he enhances the aroma of jasmine through egg fat with various ingredients derived from the flower. He also ventures into traditional Italian semifreddo to pay homage to sabayon and peanut butter in the Darkness of the Alchemist Ovum ice cream.
Darkness of the Alchemist Ovum, a tribute to alchemy
In ancient times, the practice of alchemy focused on something as concrete as the ability to transform simple metals into gold. In general, alchemy has a long history of at least 2,500 years, during which it combined elements from very different branches of science and philosophy.
“I’ve always had a childlike fascination with these stories about alchemy, as well as the folklore that often accompanies them. It seems as if, somehow, this kind of magic and the idea of being an alchemist flutters around in my head with pretentious results. This popsicle pays homage to this oft-dreamed-of alchemy through gastronomic ingredients and its interpretation through ice cream in this recipe.”
In the recipe, we find a traditional Italian semifreddo of sabayon and peanut butter, coated with a shiny chocolate coating.
Discover the recipe in Emotional Delicacies
Solace in Arctic Jasmine. Alaska is jasmine and blackberry flavoreds
While on a cruise in Alaska, Cortez found the glaciers, snow, and temperature incredibly serene and peaceful. One day during the voyage, it occurred to him that the landscape could be associated with the scent of jasmine “in a place where I know this flower isn’t found. And although I’m not a fan of jasmine, from then on I had an emotional connection with the way Alaska made me feel the scent of that flower. An emotion born from an arbitrary association between the landscape and the flower.
Jasmine Paleta also features blackberries, which are found throughout Alaska’s wild nature. Both products, blackberries and jasmine, produce an interesting combination and convey to the palate that organic sensation that Alaska evoked in him.
Discover the recipe in Emotional Delicacies
Floral sensitivity, Japanese gastronomy, and spirits
In so good.. magazine 26, Roberto Cortez shared desserts that cover a very wide range of flavors and ingredients, which make clear his penchant for floral and herbaceous notes through oxalis and chamomile flowers and kaffir and marigold leaves, for example, and the gesha coffee. variety, also known for its floral notes.
His devotion to Japanese gastronomy is also present, with such particular ingredients as sake kasu, a by-product of sake, as well as the koshihikani variety of rice, grown in Uonuma, the most popular for sushi.
Spirits such as cognac and champagne are also present in recipes that are very elaborate in their combination of flavors, which also resort to techniques more typical of haute cuisine such as fermentation and cold smoking. But beyond the variety of ingredients and techniques, one of the main protagonists of these proposals is the beet.
