Executive pastry chef of Belcanto restaurant Anthony Falcone is ready to create some theatre of his own. His spring-inspired dessert, Primavera alla Fragola, is one that is close to his heart, created especially for Belcanto. Here the striking strawberry exterior is just the opening act, with a fruity jelly and white chocolate ‘skin’ taking centre-stage.
The strawberry
“The strawberry is one of my favourite berries, because unlike other berries, it is juicy, jammy and very flavourful,” says Anthony Falcone.
The memories
“Primavera means ‘spring’ in Italian. Growing up in Italy, I have a lot of memories with my grandfather during the spring where we would collect fruits and vegetables in our backyard; strawberries were one of them.”
The texture
“The last touch is the ‘cover’− we tried to recreate the strawberry skin − so we added one more texture, crunchy, which is made using white chocolate.”
And the inside
“We use herbs like basil and estragon (tarragon), to increase the freshness of the dessert, and yoghurt, not cream, so the dessert is fluffy. In the heart of the dessert is a mixture of fresh strawberries and herbs combined with a compote of fruity jelly.”
