While the name of this creation has the word, burnt, in it, don't be fooled. SoCal chef Jamie Gwen's Basque burnt cheesecake includes passion fruit, candied pistachios, and edible flower confetti.
PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE DUCHANNES
Afrim Pristine hit the nail on the head when he declared, “As much as food has to be special, it has to be entertaining.”
The Canadian cheese master issued his statement while demonstrating the preparation of a bufala mozzarella salad at Palm Desert Food & Wine’s James Beard four-course luncheon, presented by Agua Caliente Casinos, March 25 in Palm Desert. As a complementary event to Fashion Week El Paseo , the food and wine festival takes place in the same tent-and-courtyard venue. When Food Network’s pastry expert Zac Young expressed good-natured dismay over the lack of a runway (removed to accommodate tables for the luncheon, co-emcee Carla Hall (best known for ABC’s The Chew) strutted down an aisle and executed a model’s turn to show she needed no raised platform for a runway.
VIDEO: Carla Hall makes her entrance at the Jame Beard Luncheon during Palm Desert Food & Wine.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANY L. CLARK
Afrim Pristine created a Mediterranean bufala mozzarella salad for the first course.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANY L. CLARK
Claudia Sandoval served a scallop pomegranate aguachile.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANY L. CLARK
Curtis Stone speaks with Mark Tadros of Aziz Farms in the Coachella Valley during the luncheon.
But his dish — braised short rib with potato foam, spring vegetables (asparagus, peas, and fava beans), and morel mushroom sauce — looked far from heavy on the plate with a white potato foam gracing the meat.
Syndicated radio host and chef Jamie Gwen brought a sweet finale to the luncheon with her recipe for Basque burnt cheesecake. “You can proudly go home and burn something and tell all your friends it was intentional,” she said, adding that her recipe was “foolproof.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIFFANY L.CLARK
Chef Jamie Gwen sprinkles edible flowers on top of her basque burnt cheesecake.
She further declared the San Sebastian, Spain-inspired recipe — baked at 400 degrees to render a dark caramelized exterior — results in “the cheesecake that made New York jealous” (referring to the dessert’s classic Big Apple style). Gwen elevates her version with whipped cream, passion fruit sauce, candied pistachios, and edible flowers pulsed in a food processor into “confetti.”
Wine pairings for the luncheon included, in order, a 2020 Robert Mondavi sauvignon blanc from Napa Valley, a 2018 Talley Vineyards 2018 estate chardonnay from Arroyo Grande, a 2018 ZD Winery 50th anniversary cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley, and a 2019 Harvey & Harriet red blend from San Luis Obispo.
The luncheon benefitted two charitable organizations with efforts to address food insecurity: the local FIND Food Bank and James Beard Foundation.
Attendees may not replicate the dishes they tasted at home (how many people have nitrous oxide canisters in their cupboards?), but they were able to glean tips from professional chefs and, as Pristine suggested, be entertained.
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