“To retain a Michelin star I think you have to continuously be creative while maintaining your standard. We have retained our Star for eleven years, twelve will be this year.” Today, Bon Appétit spends a day on the line with Chef Camari Mick, executive pastry chef at The Musket Room in NYC. The Musket Room has retained its Michelin Star for eleven impressive years and is also the only Michelin Star restaurant to be managed by a completely woman-led team.
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00:00To retain a Michelin star, I think you have to continuously be creative while maintaining your standard.
00:08We have retained our star for 11 years. 12 will be this year.
00:13Musky Room is the only Michelin starred restaurant that is managed by a complete woman-led team.
00:19As an executive pastry chef at a Michelin starred level, a big part of my role here is to develop menus.
00:25I feel like it is my responsibility to always push the envelope and take classic desserts and put my own spin on it.
00:37Good morning. I'm Kamaria Mick, the executive pastry chef of the Musky Room.
00:41We have some stuff to get started for our day. Let's go.
00:45This is our dining room. Bar, wine. This is our garden that we plant every year.
00:51Coming down, we are about to check in with our team and make sure everything's running smoothly. They've been here since 7 a.m.
01:02You have to be a morning person to work in pastry, absolutely.
01:05Because, like, look, there's no savory person here right now. You know, this is the life, all right?
01:10Pastry is the last impression that they have leaving the restaurant, so we have to make it the best.
01:14And we have to be our best to do it.
01:16All right, so I'm done checking in with the team.
01:18I have to hop on soy sauce ice cream.
01:20We're running low a little bit. We just opened from vacation, so we want to remake everything in-house.
01:25So let's hop on that real quick.
01:31I'm about to make a dry caramel with some sugar to make the base for the soy sauce ice cream.
01:35This goes with a cacao named Semifreddo.
01:38I love to use savory elements into all of my desserts, so soy sauce is kind of, like, super rich, super dark.
01:44And then it matches those notes of caramel.
01:46That, like, natural umami flavor just goes really well in some desserts.
01:50The trick to making a really good dry caramel is starting with a very hot pot
01:55and then incorporating your sugar into the caramel slowly while whisking.
02:00Like, if an old French chef saw me doing this, like, they would be like,
02:03eh, bless me, what are you doing?
02:06They would have us just dump all the sugar in and then, like, heat the pot.
02:11But I find that it clumps up more doing it that way.
02:14So we're going to add soy sauce.
02:16It smells, like, super rich, and you see it's doing this, like, weird foamy thing.
02:20Almost looks like honeycomb.
02:21There's always a base recipe for something.
02:23You just have to learn how to manipulate that recipe to be what you want it to be.
02:28So we're going to add the cream because this is part of the ice cream base.
02:31I am now putting in the ice cream stabilizer and the sugar along with some tremoline.
02:35Tremoline is a inverted sugar.
02:38It helps not produce crystals when you spin it.
02:41We're going to add our yolks.
02:43We're adding the hot liquid into the yolks slowly to start to get it to cook.
02:48Swing it hot.
02:50This is an ice bath or a bain-marie, if you will.
02:54Quick way to cool things off.
02:56This is going to be cool in less than 10 minutes.
02:58So this is going to be a frozen item.
02:59We want it to be cold.
03:00We want to smoke it when it's cold and season it when it's cold.
03:03While this is chilling, literally,
03:05I am going to go cure some yolks for some menu development and another dish.
03:10Curing will take on the flavor that it's sitting in.
03:13This whole process changes the original flavor of the yolk.
03:16It makes it a little bit more richer.
03:18It adds more umami.
03:19We're actually going to do two separate types of cures today.
03:22We're going to do a harder cure where it's going to be dehydrated,
03:26and then we're going to do a softer cure or a wet cure
03:29that's going to go into another ice cream base.
03:31Curing yolks is definitely a savory thing,
03:33but it's also going to add a little bit of umami.
03:37Curing yolks is definitely a savory thing, but, like, we're all culinary.
03:40Like, one thing doesn't just belong to savory.
03:43I feel like to be a well-rounded chef,
03:45you need to be able to do both elements.
03:47Why shouldn't we as pastry people use methods
03:50that are traditionally meant for savory?
03:52Why hold us back, you know?
03:54Save your whites, people.
03:56You can make pavlova.
03:57You can make meringue.
03:58You can make marshmallows.
04:00Egg white omelets.
04:02Nobody wants to eat an egg white omelet.
04:04The wet cure is going to be for the bacon, egg, and cheese ice cream
04:07for the breakfast series that we have on the menu right now.
04:10We're going to do soy sauce and mirin.
04:12It's a little sweet, a little salty.
04:14Wet cure or brine, it's drawing out water,
04:16but since it's sitting in liquid,
04:18it's replacing that water that it draws out
04:20with the soy sauce and the mirin going in.
04:23To do a Michelin star dessert,
04:24you definitely need to be creative and be a little outlandish.
04:29We're allowed to honor the food that we have tasted around the world,
04:32but we want to make sure that we are still being respectful in that act.
04:36We're going to put some plastic wrap on top
04:38to submerge them just a little bit
04:40and then put them away for a week.
04:43We're going to make the maple cure.
04:44This is all part of, like, my mastermind plan
04:47for the croque madame dish that we're going to do.
04:50I'm talking toast semifreddo with Gruyere cheese,
04:54ganache, fig jam, fresh figs on top.
04:57For it to be a croque madame, it has to have an egg on it,
04:59so why not put a cured egg on that bitch?
05:01Oh.
05:02Exactly.
05:04So let's start with 320 grams of salt.
05:08If you don't measure when you're doing R&D,
05:10then you have to go back and guesstimate,
05:12and that's not fun.
05:14You don't do that to yourself.
05:15But I'm going to actually start with, like, 260
05:18just because it is a liquid.
05:20Okay, so this is looking like nice, wet beach sand.
05:24I'm into this, so we're going to stop here at 260.
05:28And as you see, like, I'm mixing with, like, an open hand
05:30to, like, help buff it up.
05:32We don't want to, like, pack it down.
05:34We're going to make a bed on the bottom.
05:36You want it to have enough to sit on
05:38and then enough to cover.
05:40And tuck them in.
05:42We're going to break down, wipe down,
05:44and we're going to smoke the soy sauce ice cream,
05:46and then we're going to reset for our next project.
05:49♪♪
05:52This is our smoking gun.
05:54I'm going to go ahead and smoke the soy sauce ice cream.
05:57It's cooled down enough.
05:58You can tell how thick she is now.
06:00We're going to wrap this.
06:02This is how you properly wrap something, all right?
06:05One more for good measure.
06:08All that work, I'm about to poke a hole in it, too.
06:10Boop.
06:12Tube goes in.
06:13This guy comes out.
06:15Hickory dickory dock.
06:17We're going to put a little bit.
06:18A little goes a long way, okay?
06:20This goes on.
06:24As a kid, I loved playing with fire.
06:26I still love playing with fire.
06:28I would have a career in arson if I wasn't a chef.
06:32It just needs a little ventilation hole.
06:35So we are going to let this set for 12 hours at least,
06:39and then we're going to have our PM pastry cook
06:41put it away for us at the end of the night.
06:43♪♪
06:47R&D.
06:48R&D is definitely the most important part of my job.
06:50You know, we are a Michelin-starred restaurant,
06:53so I always have to be creative.
06:54I have to be innovative.
06:55I have to be coming up with the new next and the new best,
07:00and it's the most fun.
07:01I have some bread that was left over from last night,
07:04so I'm just going to go ahead and pop this in the oven
07:06and get a really nice toasty, roasty color on it.
07:09The difference between an ice cream and a semifreddo
07:12is that the ice cream is overturned in a machine.
07:15Semifreddo is going to have a base that gets folded
07:19with either whipped cream, whipped egg whites,
07:21or whipped yolks to get that airy, light texture,
07:24and then that is going to be set and froze in the freezer.
07:28I got into baking.
07:30I was always looking for something sweet after dinner.
07:34My parents are both great cooks,
07:35but neither of them could bake to save their lives,
07:38so I asked my mom if we could start learning together,
07:41and I started getting really good to the point
07:43where I was selling pies and cakes to teachers at school.
07:48So I'd be here without them, little Gamari.
07:52Toast is toasted.
07:53And I also cut them this small
07:55because we wanted as much surface area
07:57to be toasted as possible.
07:59We're going to make our toast puree with this.
08:01I actually do know how much milk to put in
08:03because I've done this recipe before.
08:04R&D isn't necessarily recreating the wheel sometimes.
08:07Sometimes it's just taking other components
08:10that were on another dish
08:11and bringing it together to create a new dish.
08:13And I'm going to set it with a little bit of gelatin
08:16just because we want a little security blanket
08:19when we are making our semifreddo
08:22to ensure that it's not going to melt
08:24when it directly hits the plate.
08:26We're about to take some brown butter.
08:28Also put this in here, too.
08:30Adding to that toastiness flavor.
08:32You get what I'm playing at?
08:34Are you picking up what I'm putting down?
08:36And we're going to go make the toast semifreddo
08:38by whipping egg whites, egg yolks, and cream
08:41along with some sweetened condensed milk
08:43and throwing that, folding it in together
08:45so we have a nice, light, airy piece of toast.
08:49Look at all that lush sugar and eggs.
08:52Who would have thought?
08:53Look how many steps I just did.
08:55For one thing, this is one component.
08:57I'm not saying savory chefs have it easy.
09:00They just have it easier.
09:01Look at that. Look at that lusciousness.
09:04Oh, my God.
09:05This is the semifreddo.
09:07So she is done.
09:08She's going to go in the freezer.
09:10I am going to start scaling up for the Gruyere cheese ganache.
09:14A ganache is essentially a thinned-out version of chocolate.
09:18That's just going to be some white chocolate,
09:20cocoa butter, heavy cream, and Gruyere cheese,
09:23which I've been snacking on.
09:25This is trimilene again.
09:26Make sure, like, we don't get a gritty texture.
09:29So I have my cheese, chocolate, and cocoa butter.
09:32I'm going to add our boiled cream and trimilene,
09:36and we're going to let that sit
09:38so it can melt a little bit together.
09:40I might actually put it in a double boiler
09:42just to help it along.
09:44Our cream is ready. It's nice and melted.
09:46We're going to emulsify this now.
09:48So we're going to melt this together,
09:50and then we're going to stream in the cold cream.
09:52The technique of using the second cold cream in here
09:55is a way to make a whipped ganache.
09:58It just gives it a lighter texture.
10:00You can see it's, like, nice and luscious.
10:02Sheet-thick.
10:06It's good.
10:07So this is done. I'm going to throw this on an ice bath.
10:09We're going to let this chill.
10:11The cream is all set.
10:12We're going to try that a little bit later at the end of the day.
10:14It's now 12.30.
10:15I have to get to my managerial task before my meeting.
10:18Let's go.
10:22This is the garden at Muscat.
10:24We've planted everything here,
10:26but this is the time of day that I, like,
10:28need to sit down and focus on some admin work.
10:30So I like to do it in, like, a very zen place.
10:34My cooks and my sous chefs are always, you know,
10:37bringing stuff out here to taste.
10:39Your pan is way too hot.
10:41So you're getting, like, these, like, charred pieces,
10:43which honestly would be lovely
10:45if they're just a little more scarce and far between.
10:48These also look a little dark and could use more syrup.
10:51All right. Thank you.
10:53So in total, between the two restaurants,
10:55I manage about 10 people.
10:57I have to do scheduling for the next few weeks,
11:00and then I have to do some payroll stuff.
11:03Responding to all PR,
11:05my role of keeping a mission star
11:07and another program across the street
11:09has really evolved to a lot of computer work.
11:13Okay. It's almost 1 p.m.
11:15I have a manager meeting at Raf's,
11:17which is our sister restaurant across the street.
11:20Let's go.
11:24Oh, hi!
11:25She's a cook at Muscat.
11:29Hello.
11:30Sí.
11:31Hola.
11:38Hi, Chefie.
11:39Hi.
11:40This is the executive bad-bitch chef.
11:43Hello.
11:44You're coming in five minutes early.
11:47What is happening?
11:49This is tomorrow.
11:50No, this is today.
11:52This is Jennifer Vitagliano,
11:54and this is Nicole Vitagliano.
11:56They are our business partners.
11:58Oh, these are cute.
12:00I did not know plates were coming,
12:02but, like, this is part of being, you know, part of a crew.
12:05We have to adapt and be fluid and look at everything
12:08because to get us all in a room at one time is rare.
12:12So, these are hard-fired samples.
12:14This is obviously, like, a Sunday roast.
12:16During this manager's meeting,
12:18we're just touching on what happened throughout the week,
12:20what events are coming up,
12:22do we need to adjust PARs,
12:23how sales are going,
12:24and how can we be better for the next week.
12:36I'm back from my meeting, and the kitchen has filled up.
12:39Say hi, everybody.
12:40Hi.
12:41So, I'm just gonna get started on plating the croque madame
12:44so we can go upstairs, taste it.
12:46So, we have the toast semifreddo.
12:48This is the gruyere ganache.
12:52Vinegared fig jam I made earlier.
12:55This is gonna, like, help cut, like, all this rich creaminess.
12:58And then I have some cut figs here.
13:01I actually have some prosciutto in the oven.
13:05So, I have the cured yolk.
13:08So, I'm just gonna grate this on top.
13:11Plating's so important because we eat with our eyes first.
13:14If something doesn't look good, we judge it before we taste it.
13:17All right, she's cute. She's cute.
13:21The approval process for our desserts,
13:23I like to filter it through some of the more important people.
13:26Hey, guys.
13:27So, I have a dessert for you guys to taste.
13:30This is our toast semifreddo with gruyere cheese,
13:34candied prosciutto, fresh figs,
13:36maple cured egg yolk that's grated on top.
13:39And so, it's a playoff of a croque madame.
13:41Lovely.
13:42I remember we were talking about this last week,
13:45so you brought something in.
13:46Yeah, this is an orange mandarin sake
13:49and I thought it could be fun since that's like a croque madame,
13:52having something that kind of tastes a little bit almost like a mimosa.
13:55Yeah, I love that.
13:57Hits it exactly the way that you were describing it
14:00and is such a great pairing.
14:02Brunch is back.
14:03Brunch is back and better than ever.
14:06Thanks for sharing, chef.
14:12This was such a successful day.
14:14Family meal's up.
14:15It's looking really yummy.
14:16What we got?
14:18Ooh, that looks good.
14:19I hope you guys enjoyed following me
14:21to see what it's like to be an executive pastry chef
14:23here at the Musket Room.
14:25I am so excited you were here.
14:27But now it's time for me to head on out.
14:29All right.
14:30Good night, team.
14:31Good night.
14:36Are you sure you guys gave me a decaf?
14:40I'm feeling spicy.