SUGAR BALLS? Israeli sweets guru takes Holy Land by storm with his unique designer balls
High Priest of Patisserie Design cooks up devilishly delicious chocolate sugar balls
On close inspection, only two things got me through Israel’s last war in May: a fairly sturdy bomb shelter and Dudu Outmezgine’s amazing Chocolate Design sugar balls.
I know that Israel is the land that gave the world Jesus and probably too many churches because of him (Christ would doubtless have been more into al fresco wellness retreats than fusty old cathedrals), but for me Dudu Outmezgine is a version of the modern messiah. I don’t know what other mind on this planet could have come up with what I christen the world’s badassest candy bar, and I’ve lived in France:
That candy bar is PFGP — pure fucking genious, people — and will make a raspberry lover out of even the dope who dareth poke fun at that most sublime of forest fruits. When I discovered the silky bar by chance in a gas station mini market somewhere outside of Tel Aviv, I knew there had to be more to this story. And yip, there was!
Dudu Outmezgine—say it three times fast and throw four grains of salt over your left shoulder and poof, a small Jewish baker may appear—has a number of high-end Patisserie Design shops in Israel, none of which I knew about prior to my trip. I would have gone to the shop in Tel Aviv first, but trying to find a parking place in Tel Aviv these days is like trying to find a Middle East peace plan that actually works so I ended up at one of his glorious outposts in the rather drab Ramat HaSharon area. Drab, but with parking! I entered the shop and sweet intoxication ensued. Just look at these TFCs! (These Fucking Cakes!!)
I mean whoa—and just skipping the macarons for a moment, these ones too:
If the Israeli party you’re off to doesn’t feature a cake by Dudu darling, then obviously you’re not hanging out with the right oligarchs!
The sugar wunderkind clearly is having a love affair with the raspberry, as evidenced by his lusciously moist ruby red raspberry macaroons—they were such a hit at the party I went to (after the war) that oligarchs were practically banging on the door trying to get some. In his shops, Outmezgine also sells a small range of unspeakably delectable chocolate covered things. How delectable? I inadvertently broke an old friend’s left foot (maybe it was the right? #arak), but after I gave him a box of Dudu’s chocolate-draped nut bars he easily forgave me. Holy Mother of Chocolate! O bliss!
Our secret aster Sarit Bronstein-Gnash said, upon tasting a passionfruit Chocolate Design ball, “This is one amazing ball—it tastes so good, you don’t even need two!” That said, the minimum purchase we suggest is a box of four balls, as there is nifty box that perfectly accommodates two ball pairings.
This is the point in the story where you might think I’d delve into Dudu’s backstory, how his aesthetic imprint is subtly yet inexorably altering the gastronomic topography of urban Israel, uniting Arab and Jew over that great unifier, food, but no, because this isn’t Monocle, thank God. So let’s just have another look at those balls…
I really can’t explain what they are, but to call them truffles would be reductive AF. All I can say is that if more of these were made available in the Middle East, there would be less conflict. The luscious chocolate interiors explode in your mouth like silky chocolate fireworks, tamed by the intense shells painted like edible Picassos. Flavors, textures, passion fruit, rich coffee, Proustian framboise, you can’t know until you try…
So who is Dudu?
An Israeli national treasure, if you ask me. And coming, possibly, to a major global city near you…sweet peace be upon him and all that he bakes, with sugar or without!