Presenting Pastry Chef Gonzalo Jimenez

Back in December, the Argentinian Executive Pastry Chef of the Grand Hyatt in NYC, Gonzalo Jimenez, launched a one-man operation; a line of specialty chocolates, each hand-made by the chef himself. Surprising to no one, it was a hit, and the now successful chocolate line, which includes truffles, chocolate bars, and chocolate-covered fruits speckled with complemetary flavors like passion fruit, citrus and coffee, all of which highlight the quality and depth of the chocolate, sells exclusively at the Hyatt New York’s Market at Grand Central.

It’s clear then, that Chef Jimenez is the go-to guy for all things Valentine’s Day and chocolate-related. When he advises bucking the rules of wine pairing and ending your February 14th date night with strawberries dipped in chocolate, take note.

As for the restaurant within the Hyatt, New York Central, it serves several of Chef Jimenez’s signature desserts: Chocolate Cake with a Tahitian Vanilla Milkshake; Chocolate Custard served with Bitter Ganache and Crunchy Meringues; and Apple Pie in a Jar served with Cinnamon Streusel. Ideally located and with so many sweet treats on offer, its a great date night option. But, the chef concedes, it’s not the only one. “The cool thing about NY is that there are so many hole-in-the-walls that are just as great [as more expensive restaurants] and so accessible”, he says. In a recent interview with The Latin Kitchen, the chef offered up some big tips for exploring smaller and lesser known eateries.

To start, he recommends all New Yorkers visit Uva, a small, relaxed spot he insists serves some of the best Italian food he’s ever eaten. Considering Jimenez’s upbringing in a country comprised primarily of European immigrants, his endorsement is exceptionally high praise. If a more romantic atmosphere is what you seek, Jimenez advocates for One if by Land, Two if by Sea, with it’s dim lights and arched windows.

Next up, Gonzalo’s Valentine’s dessert tips and the next big food trend!…

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As for dessert tips, that’s where things get complicated. According to Jimenez, our penchant for chocolate has deep roots. In fact, it’s related to chemical reactions caused by theobromine, a substance present in all chocolate. It’s theobromine that enhances your mood when you consume chocolate, and it’s theobromine that causes you to associate the sweet stuff with happiness, and thus crave it when you need a lift or want to celebrate.

How does Jimenez know all of this? From his years spent pouring over chemistry books and taking seminars at the Associacion Argentina de Gastronomia Molecular, of course.

So what does the expert think is going to be the hot ticket in the world of Valentine’s Day desserts this year? “[My] chocolates!”, he exclaims, with eclairs coming in a close second. “I like going back to old French traditions and giving them twists. Like eclairs, I think, are getting big again and everybody is giving them their own twists.”

Another traditional French dessert he thinks will make a comeback in 2014 is the religieuse, or “nun”, so named thanks to two chocolate-doused, cream-filled profiterole-like puffs stacked such that they resemble a nun’s habit. He says he hopes the religieuse will deflect attention from the tired dessert trends that continue to linger (and that will remain unnamed).

When he isn’t working on artisan bonbons and creating the dessert menus for Grand Hyatt’s events and restaurant, Jimenez spends his time building chocolate sculptures of everything from robots with chocolate nuts and bolts to abstract towers with precisely measured jagged edges. True to his scientific style, he describes his sculptures as “raw” and “industrial.”

Where did this affinity for architecture come from? A love-affair with the city that surrounds him and every foreign skyline he’s encountered. “The way i see it,” he explains, “the more flights you have on your resume, the better it looks”.

By this token, he’s doing well. At 17, Jimenez informed his family that he didn’t see himself “wearing a suit to work or being at a desk” and promptly departed his home, without the family’s blessing, for coastal Argentina, where he would begin working his way up the culinary ladder from dishwasher, to student, to sous chef, to executive chef.

Following years of work and travel in Argentina, Jimenez arrived stateside, making his way first to a small boutique hotel in Boulder, Colorado, and then to the “monster kitchen” – it serviced over 1,000 rooms and eight restaurants – at the New Orleans Grand Hyatt. Eventually, he made it to NYC, which he believes to be one of the most important cities in the world for pastry chefs.

He gathers inspiration, he says, from “the different people that I meet, different teams, different bakers and dishwashers …you learn all these things that add up to your own stuff.”

His “own stuff” is an amalgam of his Argentine and Spanish heritage, with a bit of scientific vision and precision thrown in for good measure.

Next up, the skinny on Gonzalo’s line of gourmet chocolates!…

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But don’t let the steampunk-inspired chocolate sculptures of robots, interest in molecular gastronomy, tendency towards wanderlust, and Stephen Hawking-like knowledge fool you. Jimenez is all about balance, and as a pastry chef, acknowledges that Valentine’s Day is his bread and butter, or rather chocolate and dulce de leche. Consider his yin and yang approach to confectionery: “The dulce de leche needs to be balanced. The sweetness needs acidity…I like incorporating the savory in the sweet…it’s about finding a balance with the products so it’s never too overpowering”.

It takes one look at the Grand Hyatt’s chocolate collection to see that Jimenez is all heart. There are no flavor guides – the inserts that tell you what’s contained within each truffle – in his chocolate boxes. It’s an intentional ommission that belies Chef Jimenez’s approach not just to chocolate, but to life in general. “I want people to interact and have fun with the box…I’m trying to recreate little moments like the ones in my childhood…my dad would go to Buenos Aires and bring chocolates home…me and my sisters would try different bonbons and be like, ‘ Which one is that?’ ‘I don’t know!’ So we’d have to try them all.” In Chef Jimenez’s world, surprise is life’s ultimate pleasure.