THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SWEET
Pastry chef Will Goldfarb on his innovative, daring and delicious desserts
Described as the “Thom Yorke of pastry”, celebrated pastry chef and owner of Room4Dessert in Bali, Indonesia, Will Goldfarb is much like his desserts and also, very unlike them. Goldfarb’s “sugar-high” personality is reflected in his desserts, minus the high sugar content. “We focus on using coconut sugar, which has a low glycemic index and doesn’t have the same effect on blood sugar levels that create sugar cravings,” he says. “Technically, it’s a flower nectar and our desserts are not very sweet, as you are going to eat nine desserts [it’s a tasting menu paired with classic cocktails]. I have never been a fan of sugar, except as a seasoning, like salt. Your food should have salt but it shouldn’t be salty. The same goes with desserts, they should not be sweet. They should be tasty.” Having moved his restaurant and cocktail bar from New York to Indonesia in 2014, the James Beard award-nominee Goldfarb has embraced the archipelago with open arms and this is reflected on the plates at Room4Dessert. “In a funny way, my desserts have stayed the same since New York,” he adds. “In some ways the ideas have stayed consistent with us for the better part. In some ways a lot, in some ways not at all. We have been working on this theme and project for more than 20 years and a lot of the ideas are from the late 90s, which we have been refining and revising over the years and that’s an evolution but the key difference is that the products are fresh. Chocolate, coffee, tea, sugar and salt are local products in Bali. That is unique for pastry.
“So far, I haven’t found anywhere else in the world where you have access to all these fresh products and the ability to use them. There are a few places where you are an hour away from such produce. In Thailand perhaps, but for some of the pastry products the combinations are rare. Most pastry is traditional in the sense that we are used to high volume, consistency and that means more stable products, like chocolate, which is well blended, and fruit pulp where the sweetness is uniform. For example, the best pastry chefs in the world still use the best frozen fruit pulp. That is not criminal, but for a savoury kitchen these days that would be considered crazy.
“For pastry we are lucky to be near everything but it comes at a cost. Not everything is wonderful like the imported dairy and wheat flour but it is a small price to pay for fresh spices, coffee and chocolate.”
All of Goldfarb’s ingredients are locally sourced, save for two, as cream and butter are not produced in Indonesia, though there is milk.
“And pastry needs these for now. We cannot yet cook without them, soon maybe,” says Goldfarb, backing up his claim at the recent {Re} Food Forum in Bangkok, where he stated that “in 20 years all desserts will be plant-based”.
“We try to make things that are delicious, beautiful and interesting, if they are technically sophisticated then it’s a bonus. And I don’t mean technically sophisticated for no purpose; if we are able achieve something unique, if they are witty. A sense of humour is important. My desserts are innovative in certain ways but the harmony of the factors — that’s interesting. But more importantly, they have to be delicious, then pretty and then interesting — in descending order of importance. To be innovative for the sake of innovation is pointless, for us.”
Goldfarb says desserts can take anywhere between an hour to 20 years to make, start to finish. In his book Room
4Dessert published by Phaidon and out today, he produced 40 desserts, dating from 1999 to now.
He refers to them as “alive” — “if we still serve them they are alive” and they are “fresh”.
“Now the cocoa paste is fresh, if we made it this week it’s fresh. If we use kaffir lime to make the sauce, it’s always alive. If we use fresh produce, it is always alive. Our most successful dessert is the Chocolate Bubbles, we cannot change it. Everybody loves it.”
The Sugar Refinery was first made in 2009, long before he developed his signature Balinese meringue technique using brown sugar ice. The dessert started in 2009; by 2012 he started making the meringue and in 2013, it featured in his desserts. By 2018, the final version of the Sugar Refinery is on the plate.
“That is 10 years of work for one plate. The drawing for our green crepes is from 2009 and the first time we made it was last summer — nine years between concept and delivery. It also depends on the opportunity. Even for the book we did one dessert 31 times. Some desserts we make 1,000 times and it’s still not right. Some, we know from the very first time we make them they are right. That point we cannot control and the point you say, ‘Oh wow, this is a sequence of desserts, this is a group or a story or a narrative’ — that point has to have a bit of luck, right?,” chuckles Goldfarb.
The book is in three parts, the first is a journey of how Goldfarb arrived at where he is today, the second is the desserts with a narrative of each and the third is the recipes.
“I hope people can enjoy it, from the artistic side, and choose to make what they want. We have no fancy tools at Room4Desserts so these desserts work with nothing.”
April is an exciting month for Goldfarb, as he will feature in an episode of the new Chef’s Table: Pastry series on Netflix.
“It’s kinda ridiculous to watch yourself on TV and my daughter keeps teasing me about becoming too famous. But as long as she keeps me in check, it will be OK. It’s unbelievably flattering to be with such big pastry chefs. Some of them I know more than others, but I have respect for all. I am a little intimidated to see myself on screen for so long but hopefully people can look past that and see the desserts.” He will also be back in New York doing events with Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, among others.
Having survived cancer, the former elBulli apprentice’s perspectives on desserts have changed.
“I am more confident in my ability to overcome obstacles. It also humbled me in the sense that things are out of my control. I am more durable. It has kept me focusing on priorities and helped me find meaning in what I do. If in a way my desserts are distinctive, then they represent me. They are very personal and romantic. If I change then the food changes.”
Unsurprisingly, his line of pastry powders and natural flavourings is called WillPowder.
“I know how to channel inspiration into the finished product — there is one point in the middle where it needs to come together like magic. And of course at the end, it also has to be magical,” says Goldfarb.
Just like at the end of any meal, there is always Room4Dessert.
Room4Dessert, a definitive guide to perfect pastry, published by Phaidon, is out today
(£39.95 or 1,750.50 baht).
Catch Will Goldfarb in the new Chef’s Table: Pastry on Netflix, streaming April 13. View the trailer on YouTube.
They have to be delicious, then pretty and then interesting — in descending order of importance