Till my teen years, I never did figure out the exact meaning of ‘dessert’. The word, to my spelling-challenged mind, conjured up palm trees, a huge oasis and sand dunes. And the only dessert I got to eat when young were all Plain Jane ones — vanilla mostly, chocolate sometimes and as a rare treat, strawberry ice-cream (which invariably smelled of sickly sweet cough syrup).

Now, when I hear renowned pastry chef Mickael Besse reel off exotic desserts ranging from balsamic vinegar ice-cream to cherry champagne to olive oil icecream with strawberries to dark chocolate fantasies, my now-much-better-at-spellings mind conjures up visions of apple pie-laden English cottages, French vineyards overflowing with cheesy treats and handsome Italian men churning out 100 per cent fat free gelato!

All these desserts, by the way, will soon be available in Bangalore (some of them already are out there) at Ecstacy, the dessert hang-out that is all set to open at UB Mall by the end of this month. Mickael says he became a pastry chef to “escape the odours of cooking” and has trawled the world for nearly 12 years in search of ‘perfect ingredients’. “The mind churns out the dessert — coconuts and lychees make for a treat as do strawberries when marinated in mulled wine and served with olive oil.” Close your eyes and imagine.

Ecstacy has quite a fan following at its flagship outlet in Chennai where the fastest selling dessert is ‘Chocolatier’. Self-explanatory, the death by this particular chocolate will send you straight to heaven — it is made of the extra smooth and delicious Valrhona chocolate. This is a dark, creamy variety of chocolate from Valrhona, a small town near Lyon, France. Chocoholics consider it as one of the world’s finest varieties.

Incidentally, Valrhona chocolates are made from beans of a single year's harvest from a specific plantation. There are also many other flavours to try — cheesecakes made of imported cream cheese, mascarpone-dotted and coriander-infused ice-creams, Taal Madeleine biscuits with blueberries, apple cinnamon biscuits...yes, the mind (and the tongue) boggles. There’s also scope for your traditional fudge, apple pies, raspberry souffles and the ubiquitous tiramisu. “Desserts are 60 per cent presentation and 40 per cent ingredients,” says Chef Besse in all seriousness. And 100 per cent heaven, he forgot to add.

Spoonful of trivia

Somebody said life is uncertain, eat dessert first. Well, if you have to eat this particular one, put aside all uncertainties — you will first have to rob a bank. Priced at just 1.4 million dollars, the ‘Strawberry Arnaud’ at the Arnaud’s restaurant in New Orleans, are berries with bling, according to the Forbes magazine. The dessert features six port-marinated strawberries decorated with mint, cream and er..a five carat pink diamond ring. Available by special request, it is served by white-gloved waiters accompanied by a jazz band in one of the restaurant's private dining rooms.

I know, you would rather have that fresh strawberry cheesecake winking at you from behind the counter at your local bakery. So would I.

Beginning this week, Living will carry a fortnightly column ‘Living in the Kitchen’ that will bring you tidbits of information, advice and anecdotes about the gastronomic delights of the globe. Food enough for thought, we hope! Send us your responses and suggestions to dhliving@gmail.com