There is no doubting that people are excited for acclaimed director Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
As Columbus Underground film critic Hope Madden writes, “He owns a style unlike any other, marries whimsy with melancholy, gathers impeccable casts, draws beautifully unexpected performances – basically, he invites us into an imagination so wonderful and unusual that we are left breathless and giddy.”
But the wonderful world does not need to remain only in your imagination.
The new film features pastries- beautiful, beautiful pastries – the Courtesan au Chocolat made by fictional baker Herr Mendl.
The Grand Budapest Hotel was filmed in Gorlitz, Germany and the producers asked local baker Anemone Müller of Cafe CaRe to develop the pastry for the movie. It’s based off the French religiuse -two pastry cases filled with a chocolate or mocha crème, stacked, covered in ganache, and decorated with piped whipped cream.
“With the film’s Eastern European setting, and after seeing photos of the Courtesan Au Chocolat, we immediately made the connection to Mozart’s,” says Jackie Murphy, Marketing Consultant for The Drexel. “We knew the Sahas would be up to the challenge.”
The Courtesan au Chocolat by Mozart’s is a six inch tower of three eclairs filled with chocolate crème, decorated with pastel-colored fondant, and garnished with pieces of decorated chocolate.
“We used our own recipe for the choux pastry and chocolate crème patissiere, but the recipe is very similar to the movie,” says creator Doris Saha. “I did adjust the glaze and the decoration to reflect Mozart’s distinctive style.”
Mozart’s Courtesan au Chocolat takes around two hours to make and assemble. Typically, a choux pastry is a light pastry dough made only of butter, water, flour, and eggs. The film’s version adds a pinch of salt and a larger pinch of sugar. It is quite similar to an éclair.
“Éclairs have been in our pastry case for many years,” says Anand Saha, who owns Mozart’s along with his wife Doris, and whose favorite Wes Anderson movie was The Darjeeling Limited. “They have always been a great seller.”
The Courtesan au Chocolat by Mozart’s Bakery will debut tonight at The Drexel’s ‘All Things Wes Anderson Shindig’ which will also feature The Bill Murray and The Madame D, special cocktails created by Watershed Distillery, trivia hosted by George Wolf and Hope Madden, prizes, and a raffle. Guests who come dressed as a Wes Anderson character will receive a free popcorn. Your movie ticket admits you to the party. The Shindig begins at 7pm, with the movie screening at 8pm.
The Drexel Theatre is located at 2254 East Main Street in Bexley. For tickets, visit Drexel.net.
After March 27th, find The Courtesan au Chocolat at Mozart’s for $12.95. Mozart’s is located at 4784 N High St, Columbus, OH 43214, a couple of streets south of Morse Road. For more information, visit MozartsCafe.com.