The Bomb.

​Guest Written By Chef Marc Lepine.

• Palm Sugar Meringue
• Soursop Sorbet
• Orange Blossom Cream

This recipe is called "The Bomb" and is inspired by an idea i had a few years ago but hadn't quite figured out from a technical perspective. I think anticipation is what makes this course so special, as people watch the fuse slowly move towards the food. It's meant to be a fresh course in the middle of the menu, to break up the heavier courses. I came up with the functionality first -the explosion I mean and then filled in the flavor combination after. I've been told that its quite mesmerizing and hope it can inspire elegant culinary creativity in regards to presentation whilst still pursuing a rich combination of unique memorable flavors. It's a minimal ingredient recipe with palm sugar meringue, soursop sorbet ,and orange blossom cream encapsulated in a thin shell of cocoa butter. The explosion burns a small hole through the cocoa butter allowing the orange blossom cream to dramatically spill out onto the plate.

After 3 years of culinary school, I spent time working in Toronto, France, and Italy, before accepting my first executive chef position with Bartlett Lodge in Algonquin Park in 1998. I then decided to move to Ottawa in 2001 with the intent to eventually open my own restaurant and in 2008, I opened Atelier Restaurant. In February 2012, and then again in February 2016, I was named the Canadian Culinary Champion after winning gold at the finals in Kelowna, BC. Also, in 2018, I was named 'Canada's Most Innovative Chef'. Prior to opening Atelier, I worked as executive chef for the Courtyard Restaurant, where I was twice named 'Ottawa Chef of the Year' by the Canadian Culinary Federation.