Chosen from 51 recipes by 51 executive pastry chefs, then judged by 80 food and beverage executives in a blind tasting...
...the Dessert of the Year 2013 contest epitomises Kempinski’s motto: it is all about food and beverage, talent, innovation, creating traditions and joint efforts. Bosphorale is much more than a cake - it represents Kempinski’s strive for perfection and leadership in food and beverage.
To choose the Kempinski Dessert of the Year 2013, pastry chefs were invited to submit an original recipe with specific guidelines: the key ingredient had to be chocolate, the dessert had to be presentable both as an individual cake and as a platable dessert and it could not be a soufflé, dessert à la minute or ice cream. The pre-selection of five desserts was performed by a group chefs selected by the Kempinski corporate office. To keep the selection process utterly objective, nobody knew where the individual recipes came from. The finale took place at Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains St Moritz during Kempinski’s European Gourmet Summit; 80 executive chefs, food and beverage directors and sommeliers voted Bosphorale the winner after a blind tasting. The dessert was created by Executive Chef and Master Chocolatier William McCarrick of Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul.
“Bosphorale, a true culinary delight, is a chocolate-based cake with dried apricots which are re-hydrated with tea and orange. It is a perfect representation of Kempinski’s character; local, regional, with a European flair”, says Stephane Bellon, Vice President of Corporate Food and Beverage. This rich cake contains the best of local flavours, such as apricots from Kayseri and Bergamot-scented Earl Grey tea from the Black Sea coast of Turkey, elegantly combined with Valrhona chocolate.
The creator of Bosphorale, William McCarrick, is a graduate of the Academy of Culinary Arts in New Jersey. He headed to Europe after school to be trained by the masters in chocolate making, confectionery, bakery and patisserie. Then, he moved to Asia where he gained tremendous experience as an Executive Pastry Chef with Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-La and Hyatt hotels before returning to London in 2001 to join world-renowned department store Harrods. Mr McCarrick oversaw all chocolate and pastry production for Harrods, taking personal care of the many stars who came to the shop, ranging from Madonna to Elton John. He also won numerous awards in Malaysia, Philadelphia, Dubai and the UK, from the Best Drinking Chocolate to the Best Wedding Cake categories.
Bosphorale will be officially introduced and tasted by over 1000 candidates on 2 March, 2013 during the worldwide career day in Munich. Bosphorale is the second Dessert of the Year, after Lady in Red 2012, and will be offered at all Kempinski hotels throughout the year. The contest is part of Kempinski’s goal to become better known as a food and beverage driven company, going back to its roots as restaurateurs when the company was founded in 1897.
