James Campbell - Japanese Patisserie: Exploring the beautiful and delicious fusion of East meets West

JAPANESE

PTISSERIE

JAPANESE

PTISSERIE

Exploring the beautiful and delicious fusion of East meets West

JAMES CAMPBELL

photography by Mowie Kay

Senior designer Megan Smith

Editor Alice Sambrook

Head of production Patricia Harrington

Art director Leslie Harrington

Editorial director Julia Charles

Publisher Cindy Richards

Food stylist James Campbell

Assistants Alex Laverick and Jon Jones

Prop stylist Tony Hutchinson

Indexer Vanessa Bird

First published in 2017 by Ryland Peters & Small

2021 Jockeys Fields, London WC1R 4BW and

341 E 116th St, New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text copyright James Campbell 2017

Design and photographs copyright

Ryland Peters & Small 2017

e-ISBN: 978-1-78879-006-2

ISBN: 978-1-84975-810-9

Printed in China

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

Notes

All desserts which are frozen as part of their construction should be fully defrosted before serving.

Both British (Metric) and American (Imperial plus US cups) measurements are included in these recipes for your convenience, however it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two.

Where very small measurements occur, they have been provided in grams where there is no suitable imperial conversion.

All spoon and cup measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

All butter is unsalted unless otherwise specified.

Eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless otherwise specified. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water before using.

Recipes were tested using a fan oven. Adjust temperatures according to the manufacturers instructions.

Dedication

To the industry, thank you for giving me so much and to my incredible family, thank you for allowing me to put so much in.

CONTENTS

As a wee boy growing up in Scotland, I was lucky enough to always be surrounded by fresh produce and great home cooking. From sitting eating home-grown raw rhubarb in my uncle Harrys back garden (with a little pot of sugar to dip it in, of course), to my nanas apple crumbles and my mothers clootie dumpling, my awareness of and interest in good food was sparked at a young age.

I left school at the age of 17 and was fortunate enough to begin my career in Cameron House, a stunning 5-star hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond. After 6 months in the main kitchen, I moved into the pastry kitchen and my love and passion for ptisserie began. I went on to work in some great kitchens all over Scotland, and eventually moved to London in 2000.

At 24 years-old I was given the opportunity by Gary Rhodes to become Head Pastry Chef at his Michelin-starred Rhodes in the Square restaurant. Apart from a short 18-month spell in Australia, I have spent the majority of my career in London. A particular highlight was my time as Head Pastry Chef of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where I had 4 very hard but happy years under the guidance of Lisa Phillips and David Nichols.

Having a family spurred me on to take my career in a slightly new direction. I am now loving working for Marks & Spencer, where my food-focused brain is being used in a different but exciting and more strategic way to research and oversee the development of new products.

This book has been a joy to work on. My professional career has taken me to some of the best kitchens in the UK and around the world, and I have always had a particular appreciation for East Asian and South-East Asian cooking. The precision and attention to detail of Japanese culture has always fascinated me, but I think I truly fell in love with Japanese cuisine after I visited the country almost 3 years ago on a mission to scout out new ideas for M&S. The celebration of seasonality and genuine care and attention to detail in everything from the preparation of the food to the service and considerate nature of the Japanese people absolutely blew my mind. I have been obsessed with Japan and experimenting with Japanese ingredients in my cooking ever since.

The thing that really impressed me about Japan and Tokyo, specifically, was the stunning fusion of traditional Japanese flavours with the French ptisserie-style recipes, which gives simply beautiful and delicious results. This book has been an outlet for combining my lifelong passion for classic French ptisserie with my new passion for contemporary Japanese flavours. I have also woven in some other exotic ingredients that just worked beautifully together and were commonplace in many of the Japanese menus that I saw when I was over there.

I am very proud of this book and I truly hope you enjoy the recipes, I have tried to work these magical flavours into formats that wont be too unfamiliar. Please experiment and allow them to inspire you to create your own culinary adventures.

James Campbell

I have compiled a list of some of the more unusual ingredients and equipment used throughout this book to help you get started. This list includes Japanese ingredients as well as a few high-end ptisserie ingredients. Some of these are widely available in stores, others can be found online or in specialist Japanese stores. There are some great tips on my list of suppliers (, which gives you a quick flavour profile for unfamiliar ingredients.

FRUITS

YUZU: a perfumed citrus fruit, the flavour is a mixture of lemon, lime and grapefruit. I use yuzu pure or juice for many recipes, which is easy to find when the whole fruits are not in season.

KUMQUAT: originally from China, the kumquat is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. The small, bitter citrus fruits need to be cooked slowly to break down their tough skins. Their flavour is stunning when cooked properly.

KINKAN: a type of kumquat commonly used in Japan.

MOMO FRUIT: a type of Japanese peach, quite similar to its European cousin, with similar properties but a hybrid of both white and yellow peaches.

SUDACHI FRUIT: similar in look and smell to a lime but much more sour, commonly used in both sweet and savoury dishes in Japan.