8-1-09 Kid Chef Eliana with Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre in New Orleans

Hey Young Chefs!

Tonight, I watched the Ultimate Cake-Off on TLC. My friend, Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre’ in New Orleans, competed against two other pastry chefs to be the winning cake at the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Shark Summer celebration. Plus, there was a $10,000 prize! The pastry chefs had 9 hours to build a spectacular cake that had to wow the judges and the client, who was from the Aquarium of the Pacific.

I was so nervous watching the episode, especially when he lost the first skills challenge and had to sit out for 30 minutes. Then he lost the second skills challenge but he didn’t have to sit out, thank goodness!

Guess who won?! Chef Tariq made a splash with his five feet tall cake-eating shark cake. It was such a cool cake. It was covered in fondant (which is like edible play dough made of sugar) and airbrushed. It had blown sugar bubbles and little fish swimming around it. The main feature of the cake was a shark busting through, eating the cake. The one thing I missed seeing on this cake was his signature edible sparkles. Still, it was a kid-friendly, tasty cake made with Tahitian vanilla bean. Congratulations, Chef Tariq! You deserved to win!

Cool kids cook and watch The Ultimate Cake-Off!

Bon Appetit, Eliana

8-1-09 Kid Chef Eliana with Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna of Sucre in New Orleans

Hey Young Chefs!

Today I had a totally gourmet day. Mommy, Daddy and I visited St. James Cheese Company, a gourmet cheese shop filled with aged meats, preserves, cheeses from around the world. You could also eat there. I had a Beechers cheddar and turkey sandwich. Yum! Yum!

8-1-09 St. James Cheese Company

We bought three kinds of cheese (Manchego [Spain], Comte [France], and Ibores [Spain]). We also bought Serrano ham. We will be using these yummies for a surprise meal – stay tuned!

8-1-09 St. James Cheese Company's cheeses

After St. James Cheese Company, we went to Sucre’, a sweet boutique.

8-1-09 The window of Sucre', a Sweet Boutique

If you have a sweet tooth, you will LOVE Sucre’. It is filled with artisan chocolates (handmade), stuffed cupcakes, creamy gelato, and desserts that look like works of art with edible glitter. I even met Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna. He said, “Everything tastes better with sparkles!”

8-1-09 Sucre's marvelous macaroon cake

Chef Tariq was very nice. He said that he wanted to be on the Eliana Cooks! Show. How cool is that?! I hope to film a segment at Sucre’ with Chef Tariq before school starts. I had a toasted coconut fudge gelato, filled with small shavings of coconut and ribbons of fudge. Mommy had a dark chocolate and raspberry mousse while Daddy had a caramel chocolate mousse cake. Look at this presentation! Ooh la la!

8-1-09 Sucre dessert - caramel chocolate mousse cake and dark chocolate & raspberry mousse

If you visit New Orleans, the sweet treats at Sucre’ on Magazine Street are a MUST! Chef Tariq and the “Sweet Boutique” are city treasures. Chef Tariq’s pastries are so good that he competed on TLC’s Ultimate Cake-off, which will be airing episodes this August (2009). You can catch a sneak peek on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 9:00pm CDT. Good luck, Chef Tariq! I hope your story ends with sweet success!

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen (like Chef Tariq Hanna)!

Bon Appetit! Eliana