Assiette: Garden of Delight

The metamorphosis of a humble croissant into a fantastical dessert by patisserie master Jordan Kahn’s is chronicled in the stop-motion film Assiette by multimedia artists Natasha Subramaniam and Alisa Lapidus. Known for his modern, painterly approach, Los Angeles-based Kahn references Salvador Dalí on the plate: “The curl of the croissant reminded me of Dalí’s mustache and the white spheres were made to resemble his ubiquitous eggs,” he says. The flaky star ingredient was purchased from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon bakery in LA, and is made from a recipe Kahn developed with his mentor Sebastian Rouxel along with Keller. Chartreuse, a French alpine liqueur made with 144 herbs, is also critical to the dish; its green hue inspired the layered flavors, including green apple, pistachio, green tea, edible flowers and pine needle. Kahn, who has worked on the pastry teams at Keller’s Per Se and French Laundry and Grant Achatz’s Alinea, opened Vietnamese canteen Red Medicine last year in LA’s Chinatown. His croissant-based confection conjured a green forest for Subramaniam and Lapidus, who are working on a series which aims to marry the cinematic and culinary worlds.