Chocolate-wielder Philip Khoury has announced a pop-up this Saturday, April 25. And it will be cornucopia of nutty artisanal chocolate aptly called Once Upon a Nut.
The ex-head pastry chef of Harrod’s will be taking over Stratford Workshops for one day to celebrate pistachio – which gained a new fanbase last year thanks to the world’s Dubai chocolate obsession – as well as hazelnut and peanut in a slate of nutty treats. There’s a five-textured pistachio tart, a hazelnut kozunak, peanut choc-chip cookies, and a pistachio pesto olive oil danish. Special guest, master roaster and barista Bartosz Ciepaj, will be brewing hazelnut mochas. It’s all in an effort to make the most of the nuts themselves.
“I’ve been seeing so many pistachio and hazelnut flavoured things on the market and have been disappointed by how little of the nut is actually present,” Khoury tells Broadsheet.
He’ll be showing off the full scale of the pistachio in his tart. “Flavour releases differently through texture – crunchy, smooth, creamy, light – and in this tart there are five ways of experiencing pistachio, all in one go.”
The pop-up will also see Khoury release a new range of chocolate-coated nuts. “We are about to drop chocolate-coated nuts coated in chocolate made from the nuts – a first as far as I am aware,” he says. “To get into the nitty gritty, the nut is slowly roasted, caramelised, then coated in chocolate literally made from the nut.
Khoury knows his nuts: he gained a following for his take on last year’s Dubai chocolate craze: the Beirut bar. He leaned into his Lebanese heritage to forge a viral multi-textured bar that layered twice-baked baklava, cashew creme and 50 per cent almond-milk chocolate. Profits went towards youths in Lebanon, and he continues to donate 10 per cent of proceeds from the bar to children living in conflict zones. He’s continued the series with bars dedicated to other cities close to his heart, including his adopted home of London and his native Sydney.
Once Upon a Nut is at Stratford Workshops, E15 2SP from 10am–1pm on Saturday April 25.
