READ MORE FROM OUR “BEST DESSERTS” FEATURE HERE.
It’s a rare thing to finish a dining experience wanting to talk it through like you would after, for example, seeing a play: What made them think to combine those flavors? What technique did they use to get that texture? And weeks later, you’re still talking about it.
EsterEv offers itself in four courses, a tasting menu that takes you on a journey where you’re strapped in – and the last stop, dessert, makes it truly feel complete.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
That’s largely owing to the team of Val Bartram and Syd Zweig. Bringing their combined savory cooking backgrounds to the table, the two sous chefs approach dessert with curiosity and daring. Who would expect tiramisu to feature eggplant, or a chocolate “mousse” to incorporate kalamata olives?
“Our team is all biased toward not-so-sweet desserts,” co-owner Dan Jacobs says. For a dessert course earlier this year, Zweig embraced the sunchoke, a tuber with the starchiness of a potato.
Through a lot of testing, adjusting and documenting, that became a pastry-like fabrication that was rich and earthy, dense but not heavy, creamy but yielding a surprising element of crunch, along with subtle echoes of caramel and citrus.
Each bite seemed to bring something different. Both chefs say their work benefits from having the ability to “really just take your ideas and run with them,” says Zweig.
Yet they never lose sight of balance. Says Bartram, who created the eggplant twist on tiramisu, “At the end of the day, it’s, ‘Does this make sense? Is this my vision?’”
How the Last Course Begins
Before a dessert can make its debut on the EsterEv menu (changes happen seasonally, at least), it often needs weeks of research and development. Bartram and Zweig have both been through the recipe creation trenches with EsterEv’s consultant/pastry wizard Matt Haase.
Besides working with them on techniques, he helps them think about how to communicate their idea. “Start with three flavors,” Zweig describes Haase telling them. “Each is a different element in that dish. Now, you have to balance it. When I’m eating it, what flavor do I want to hit my palate first? What do I want it to transition to, and what is my final note?”
Haase also thinks giving the chefs room to play – with, for instance, styles of plating – “helps them build confidence and teaches them about flavors in a really cool way,” he says. “Just to get all those layers dialed in and get [the dessert] where you want it to be” is a process, Zweig says. “But eventually you get there.”
