Gail Simmons' Peach Dessert Is Turning Heads On Instagram
It's fall, and for a lot of people, that means that it's baking season. And while most fall dessert recipes seem to center on apples, pears, and pumpkin, in places like California, there's one sweet stone fruit that's still available: peaches (via California Farmland Trust). The peach harvest can last through October, which means that before switching over to other, heartier fall fruits, cooks shouldn't pass up the opportunity to make the most of the last sweet, ripe peaches of the season. The same is true in much of Europe, and in the U.K., fresh peaches can often be found in season through September (via Fruits of the Forage).
That's good news for chef Gail Simmons. Like her "Top Chef" co-star Padma Lakshmi, who has been sharing her U.K. foodie adventures (like her unusual birthday dessert) while in London filming the show, Simmons recently took to social media to share herself digging into a very special peach indeed (via Instagram). At first glance, it looks like a ripe peach sitting in a golden display box, but when Simmons cuts into the peach with a golden knife, a sweet surprise is revealed inside.
It's not just a peach...
Though the dessert "Top Chef" judge Gail Simmons shared on Instagram looks like a ripe peach, it's actually a fancy dessert created by pastry expert Cédric Grolet. You may not have heard of Grolet before, but he's well renown. Grolet teaches an online pastry class focused on making desserts that look like fruits, nuts, and flowers; he's written a cookbook on the subject of making fruit desserts and Cronut® creator Dominique Ansel even says Grolet is one of his greatest chef influences.
His expertise is on full display in Simmons' dessert, which she says is made with "pure peach purée, fresh raw peaches, verbena & verbena-peach mousse." Unfortunately, the peach dessert is not currently available on the Cedric Grolet London website.
Simmons' post got a lot of attention, with more than 3,500 likes in 23 hours. Grolet himself commented with a peach emoji, and other users were left in awe. While this treat isn't available online, Cedric Grolet does offer a similar fruit dessert that looks like a green apple is available for £17 each (or about $18.25). The perfectly fall dessert is actually cooked and raw apple jelly with dill, light mousse with fresh cream, thin shell of white chocolate and cocoa butter.