Chef Nouel Catis is ready to conquer the pastry world following the success of his Dubai Chocolate.
The viral sweet is a chocolate bar filled with kadayif and a pistachio-tahini cream, inspired by the Arabic version of a cheescake called Knafeh.
It was formally created in 2021 with Sarah Hamouda, but it was just last year did it really take off thanks to content creators particularly on TikTok, even becoming the subject of imitations.
Chef Nouel told Philstar.com during an exclusive interview that he fell in love with Knafeh while working in the Middle East and always carried the idea with him whenever creating pastries that people in the region enjoy.
“Some people are tired of it because they said it’s been around for two years, they said it’s overrated,” Chef Nouel reflected on reactions to Dubai Chocolate. “But there are those as well who have tried the recipe that I have really curated… it made them change their mind.”
The popularity of Dubai Chocolate has led to numerous collaborations for Chef Nouel, which he perceives as people recognizing Filipinos’ global talents.
He noted that Filipinos aren’t really known for chocolates, except maybe tablea, or even being chocolatiers.
“This is really bringing everyone up in the global scene to know that we are equally capable. We are equally gifted and also competitive,” Chef Nouel added.
The chef’s latest collaboration is with German appliance company Miele, something he was excited for as it offered a chance for people to learn his skills as a pastry chef.
“A lot of people think I can only do chocolate. As much as I’m also celebrating that part, I want them to see another side, more technical, and probably be celebrated by a lot of contemporaries in my generation,” said Chef Nouel.
The collaboration sees Chef Nouel creating three pastries using Miele products: Barako-Dalandan Torte, Miele Honey Cake and The Green Forest.
The Torte is a blend of Barako coffee, local chocolate, and toffee-dalandan caramel inside a hazelnut shortcrust while the Cake is a mixture of vanilla cream filling, cinnamon dark chocolate mousse, and burnt honey, apple, and calamansi curd on an almond biscuit base.
The Green Forest is Chef Nouel’s Dubai Chocolate take on the Black Forest cake using pistachio cherry brandy cream, pistachio-kunafa spread, and chocolate garnish on a flaky, laminated dough.
Chef Nouel describes pastry-making as both a science and an art that requires a lot techniques, “While cooking, you can always invent on the go. But for pastries, you have to plan ahead and do a lot of trials before coming up with a dish.”
Even his new creations can come off as surprising as many don’t expect to mix Barako coffee with dalandan or apples with calamansi, the latter which the chef described to Philstar.com as “Filipino meets West.”
“This is in itself already something I really want to put out of my bag and let people see there are still a lot of things we can do with the available resources we have,” the chef added.
Some collaborations on the horizon are with Marcelo’s Microcreamery, Duty Free, and hopefully KitchenAid.
Chef Nouel just visited Singapore where he teamed up with fellow pastry chef Janice Wong and launched his chocolate with Cold Storage after doing the same with Hong Kong’s C!ty’super, and back in Dubai he’s preparing a partnership with Warner Bros.
“I think we might go to France or the United Kingdom. The world is our oyster, so unlimited,” Chef Nouel ended.