“The halvah is just ground-up sesame paste; then it’s filled with ice cream and caramel. It’s like an ice-cream sandwich, but you can't see what's inside.”
“This is metaxa caramel, which is made with Greek brandy and infused with a little bit of orange zest. It’s a little darker and more bitter than traditional caramel and cuts through the sweetness of the ice cream.”
“I heat that up in the oven and spread it really thin, and pull it while it's warm, to order. It's really more of a garnish, to bring up the dramatic level of the presentation.”
“So this is an emulsion of chocolate and cream, into which I add some tahini for sesame flavor. The chocolate mixes with the sesame shell, which is very nutty, so it almost suggests a Greek version of peanut butter and chocolate.”
“It’s almost like cookie dough. I crumble and then bake it, moving it around so it doesn't clump back together. It serves as a place to put the ice-cream cylinder so it doesn't roll around on the plate.”
“This is a Greek confection in which you caramelize honey and then add toffee and sesame seeds. It’s frozen at first, so it starts with a crunch but then becomes chewy, which adds a textual element, something neither soft nor crunchy, and another element of sesame besides.”