Follow Johnny Iuzzini On His Éclair Quest

Hotel dining never looked this good: Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts has launched its fifth installment of The Éclair Diaries, a video series that follows James Beard Award winning pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini across the world, as he looks for inspiration for his “destination-inspired” eclairs.

As part of their culinary program, Le Méridien serves up locally-inspired takes on the classic French pastry at some of it’s gorgeous properties. Since the partnership began in 2014, Iuzzini has hit up New Orleans (creating a coffee-chicory éclair), San Francisco (making a caramelized corn and blueberry éclair), New Delhi (which brought up the Darjeeling-jaggery éclair), and Nice (making a lemon verbena and herbes de Provence éclair).

In the latest installment, you can join Iuzzini on the road in Barcelona, where he visits local markets and bakeries to learn about Catalan cooking, try some of the region’s best ingredients, and then ultimately, head to the kitchen.

“I want to use ingredients that are the guts and soul of this region and combine them in a way that they will all shine through,” Iuzzini said. And we think he succedded.

This éclair is made with a carob shell, stuffed with a roasted almond praline pastry cream, topped with a thin layer of almond paste brushed with a fig vinegar glaze, and garnished with dried fruits and nuts and turron.

The video is beautiful and dreamy: part travelogue, part love letter to Spanish cuisine. And in the end, a gorgeous éclair. Watch below.