Arnaud Larher :: Le Récif
By Paris Patisseries in Arnaud Larher
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The Récif is like the sad, maladroit fumbling of a first year pastry student at a 3rd-rate culinary school. This is a piece almost completely bereft of anything redeeming, save a few scant nuts in the “brownie” base and a pleasantly warm, smooth and complex outer shell, albeit one that can only be savored when teased apart from the gauche and patently absurd thyme ganache it encases. This is trash.
When you flavor chocolate, in this situation a ganache, there are a number of considerations – two that supercede all others. The first is the flavor profile of the cacao itself. The second is balancing the infusion with that chocolate’s profile. In the case of the Récif, Monsieur Larher has seemingly ignored the need for the chocolate to have any clear flavor whatsoever and has suspended any attempt at subtly with his use of thyme. What could have been a complex dance between a carefully chosen cacao and pleasant herbal notes, tasted more like a mound of thick brown thyme-laden mucus.
The brownie base was virtually flavorless, with the exception of the aforementioned nuts, which were delicious and robust. It was also generally dry; about 1/3 of it seemed to have desiccated significantly more than the rest. It’s not a stretch to say that a Little Debbie that’s been sitting on a convenience store’s shelf for the last 6 months would come off as a more professional and genuine effort.
Having purchased four of his pieces so far, I can safely say Monsieur Larher has light years to go in his command of flavor and texture. Even the other shell, while excellent, did not mesh with the use of thyme. I can think of a half-dozen dark chocolates that would have better complemented it.
I plan to return and give Arnaud a few more chances, but I’m incredibly disappointed with what I’ve already had the misfortune of experiencing. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to “go Silkwood” on my mouth with a Waterpik.
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