TRISHA HENAULT

DUBAI

Born and brought up in Delhi, India, in a household where every meal was like an opening of a Pandora´s box, full of surprises, infused with Trisha Henault mother´s love. Her foray into the culinary world was not something she had planned on taking professionally, however her passion to cook eventually took over and the stars aligned for her to clear the rigorous selection process of Oberoi´s OCLD programme for Kitchen Management. The extremely stringent training at Oberoi taught her to understand that perfection is in the details and perfection is the only entity. Choosing to be a chef, for a woman, some 10 years back in India, was not a very ideal choice of a career for many around, yet, Trisha was adamant and focussed. It´s been a beautiful, yet a bitter-sweet journey. Many a times, she wanted to give up due to the belittling comments and the challenges she was faced with, however, she had her eye on the prize and over the course of her journey, it has taken time but, here she is to have finally earned the title of a Pastry Chef. She got the opportunity to head the chocolaterie at The Bvlgari Resort, Dubai which further honed her skills and expanded her expertise as a Chocolatier too. After all these years, it has led her to her current role as a Pastry Chef, where Trisha continues to strive for excellence.

ROSE AND FIG MACARON

by TRISHA HENAULT

INGREDIENTS

106g almond meal 106g confectioners’ sugar 3 large egg whites, room temperature, divided into 45 grams and 45 grams 118g granulated sugar 80g water 1g cream of tartar to stabilize 1g gel food colouring - optional Dried rose petals, as garnish

Method

Sift the almond meal and powdered sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in 45 grams of egg whites. Fold the mixture together until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Next heat of granulated sugar and the water in a pot over medium heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 113C. Once the mixture starts to boil, pour the remaining 45 grams of egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed. Add in cream of tartar to help stabilize the meringue and continue to mix at a medium speed until soft peaks form. Remove the sugar syrup from heat once reaches 113C and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl into the meringue on a medium speed. Once the syrup is fully mixed in, increase the mixing speed to high and mix until glossy, stiff peaks form. If you want to colour your macarons, mix in the gel food colouring in this step. There should be a tiny bend in the peak of your meringue when the whisk is lifted. Mix the meringue into the almond and powdered sugar mixture in three additions. Once the meringue is mixed in, fold the batter in a circular motion until thick ribbons of batter run off the spatula when it’s lifted. Be careful not to over mix the batter.