In Season: Raspberries

AAfter working alongside such culinary heavyweights as Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, and the Roux brothers, Thierry Busset made a name for himself as a masterful pâtissier who effortlessly handles pressure. His philosophy is keep it simple: classic desserts use, at most, five elements, sourced from the best local products.

“What I love about Vancouver in summer is that you can find any fruit, any berry, and the season lasts two to three months. At the restaurant, he uses Vari-Berry Farms (604-315-6660. Variberry.com), a company that works with farmers within a 100-mile radius to procure the best seasonal berries and produce. He also sings the praises of Karl Hann of Astra Organic, whose premium organic berries can be found every Saturday at Trout Lake Farmers Market (Eatlocal.org). “Karl grows organic vegetables and fruit, and he brings me raspberries and blueberries that are really fantastic.” Busset recommends getting local raspberries from the season’s first batch—they are more acidic because they get less sun and are much better for making jam. “The later batches are in the sun longer, so they’ll have less juice.”

“For raspberries I do a little pâte sablée, which is a tart base. I cook the pâte sablée then later fill it with a lime sabayon—a mixture of eggs, sugar, and lime juice.” He warms the mixture using a double boiler and steadily beats it using an egg-white whisk (a large, bulbous model). Once the mixture is foamy enough to cling heavily to the whisk, it can be taken off the steaming water to cool. Busset then adds a pinch of lime zest to finish off the warm sabayon (if the zest is added while the mixture heats it may cook and turn bitter). Once set, the sabayon is generously spooned into the pâte sablée and studded with fresh raspberries. To finish, he swirls the plate with a raspberry coulis. VM