Why Chef Park Jun-woo used Five-Spice Powder and Sichuan Peppercorns instead of Vanilla in his Eton Mess

Chef Park Jun-woo appeared on the Jung Ji-sun's Charisma YouTube channel and presented a reinterpreted recipe for the British dessert 'Eton Mess'. Chef Park Jun-woo realized a unique flavor by adding Chinese spices to the existing classic method.

Eton Mess recipe using Five-Spice Powder and Sichuan Peppercorns instead of vanilla

The British dessert Eton Mess is a dish made by mixing broken meringue cookies, whipped cream, and fruit. To bring out a Chinese feel in this dish, Chef Park Jun-woo changed the core ingredients of the existing recipe. While vanilla is usually added to whipped cream to provide aroma, Chef Park used 'Five-Spice Powder' instead of vanilla to make the Chantilly cream. Five-Spice Powder is a spice that, when used to make cookies, can provide a feeling similar to European ginger cookies or gingerbread.

He also made variations when making the fruit syrup called 'Coulis'. He added Sichuan peppercorns (hwajao) and prickly ash (majao) to the sauce made by boiling raspberries to add a numbing sensation. According to the explanation in the video, European chefs also use Sichuan peppercorns in strawberry desserts to add a spicy kick. To this, he added lime juice for acidity to complete the exotic flavor. Coulis is made by boiling, crushing, or grinding fruit, and in this recipe, it was used after straining it through a sieve to filter out the particles.

Eton Mess completion stage and ingredient composition

The completed dessert consists of the following order and ingredients. First, prepare the Chantilly cream made with Five-Spice Powder, and prepare the fruit sauce made with Sichuan peppercorns and prickly ash. In addition, fresh fruit is prepared by dicing it, and it undergoes a process of being coated in gel to maximize the flavor of the fruit. In the video, you can see the process of coating the fruit in gel to increase visual perfection.

In the final assembly stage, broken meringue cookies, Chantilly cream, fruit, and the prepared sauce are mixed. Chef Park suggested a method to enhance the flavor by adding ice cream to this. While it is common not to put ice cream in the original Eton Mess, adding ice cream can increase the completeness of the taste. This dish is characterized by the harmony of the smoothness of the whipped cream, the crispiness of the meringue, the freshness of the fruit, and the unique aroma of the spice syrup.

Chef Park Jun-woo's current status and operating a cafe in Seochon

In the video, Chef Park Jun-woo revealed that he is currently operating a cafe called 'Offt Vert' in Seochon, Jongno-gu. He also showed his friendship by reminiscing about the time he used to have meals together with Chef Jung Ji-sun in Seochon in the past. Chef Park reported that he is spending a busy daily life due to recent overseas schedules and YouTube activities.

At the beginning of the filming, the two lightened the mood by exchanging jokes about how they did not get along well because their alcohol preferences were different. In particular, when Chef Park mentioned his past experience appearing on 'Ma Chef Korea', Chef Jung Ji-sun used this as a joke material, and the cooking process proceeded in a pleasant atmosphere. Chef Jung Ji-sun also mentioned the change in their relationship, saying there was a time when she used honorifics because of the strict image Chef Park showed as a judge in the past.