Wow. Just - WOW.
Chez 180 Patisserie and Experience is not just pastries, although they do have sweets such as, oh, liquid nitrogen frozen coconut meringue with white chocolate, key lime, passion fruit and raspberry. There are also savory plates like Irish Point oysters with jalapeño pickled green apple, mango relish and marasca cherry ice, and scallop crude with yuzu cotton candy. You know, typical molecular gastronomy stuff we whip up in our kitchens every night.
And pretty much everything is made in-house at (oh boy!) reasonable price points.
The force behind this eatery is beloved chef Carlos Perez. Admittedly, Perez looks less like a chef and more like a rap star, inked with bird skulls and skeletons replete with cooking references. And, like any good son, he has a heart tat inscribed “Mom”… with a sword sticking through it. But his mom says she doesn’t mind. After all, if tats were taken at face value it would be a very creepy world.
And Chez 180’s world is nothing short of fabulous.
P.S. Chez 180 also have standard fare on the menu, which is nothing short of delicious.
Flourless Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
- 7 eggs
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 15 oz melted semisweet or dark chocolate
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 16 oz heavy cream, whipped to medium stiff peaks
plus more for garnishing
- 1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1. Preheat oven to 300◦. Grease and line a 9” springform pan with parchment paper.
2. Whip eggs, yolks, and sugar until light yellow and increased significantly in volume.
3. Combine melted chocolate, salt, and vanilla. Take 1/3 of the egg mixture and fold into the melted chocolate. Then fold in the remaining egg mixture until fully incorporated. Fold in whipped cream until no streaks remain.
4. Pour batter into springform pan. Dollop raspberry preserves randomly in batter and use a toothpick or tip of a knife to streak them throughout the cake.
5. Bake 45 min. in hot water bath. Cool in refrigerator completely before unmolding.
Serve with macerated raspberries, dollops of freshly whipped cream, shaved chocolate (I prefer Valrhona), and mint sprigs.
180 Post Road East, Westport
