Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Following on from last Christmas’ success story of the Heston From Waitrose Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding, supermarket chain Waitrose will introduce a new centrepiece festive dessert from Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal in October.
Caramelised Banana and Raspberry Baked Alaska is the latest addition to the Heston From Waitrose range.
This new spin on baked alaska does not have an ice cream centre; instead, Heston has replaced the cold centre with a smooth parfait one. The core of the dessert, hidden under the meringue topping, is a smooth raspberry parfait encased in dark chocolate surrounded by a caramelised banana parfait which is then wrapped in a light sponge.
Heston says: “Baked Alaska is a childhood favourite of mine. I love the juxtaposition of the soft meringue against the smooth creamy interior, but I hated the idea that it all melted so quickly. So I was inspired to create my take on the old school classic by creating a raspberry mousse centre, which gave the creaminess without melting, and adding one of my favourite flavours – bananas!”
Heston headlined at The Housewares Conference & Innovation Awards 2012, which was held in March and organised by www.HousewaresLive.net and Housewares Magazine.
Meanwhile, Waitrose’s exclusive Cooking and Dining range will come in red and cream this Autumn. “It looks Christmassy but doesn’t overdo the festive feel so you can use it all year around,” the company says. “When people are doing their weekly shop, anything over £20 is a ‘considered purchase’,” explains Karen Thomas, manager, non-food product development & trends, “so we’ve developed this range with keen pick-up price points”.
