Chef Nouel Catis, most known for creating the viral Dubai chocolate, has been a creative force in the Middle Eastern dessert scene since 2016.

Available for two weeks only, Chef Nouel collaborated with Miele Philippines and Chef Ely Salar of Patisserie Le Choux-Calat to create a trio of desserts for Miele’s Innovation Series.

“This partnership is actually something that has kind of happened before, with me being a fan of Miele. Now that I'm doing this, it's coming full circle. This is more of me showcasing my other side, not just chocolate, but more of innovating using techniques and ideas based on technology,” Chef Nouel said.

“We launched the Miele Innovation Series to highlight aspiring entrepreneurs and chefs in the industry who really have a statement to make, and also showcase innovation and creativity in the products that they produce,” Angela Sy, Focus Global CFO, added. “We wanted to give them a physical space to showcase their products and to bring their unique techniques and flavors to the Philippine market.”

The three pastries are available during the popup, which runs from Oct. 24 to Nov. 6 at the Miele Flagship Showroom in BGC. “We curated the desserts… [with]… innovation as the overriding principle. We have an element of Filipino and German in every dessert,” Chef Nouel said.

“The three desserts are tied towards… the Miele brand values of innovation and constantly improving, reflected in ‘Immer besser’ or ‘forever better.’” Angela said. “In the same way, Chef Nouele has been doing a lot of innovation [for] many years with his success in Dubai with the viral pistachio chocolate, so he has the same DNA of innovation and creativity, and that's what we're marrying here and presenting to the audience.”

First, there is the Barako-Dalandan Torte, described as “for coffee lovers.” It is a lovely combination of barako coffee, rich local chocolate, and toffee-dalandan caramel on top of hazelnut shortcrust. “We have a…torte, which is something that Germans love. We added dalandan to make it Filipino, and also barako coffee, of course.”

There is also the Miele Honey Cake, which the chef describes as “the crowd favorite.” Burnt honey, apple, and calamansi curd, vanilla cream filling, and cinnamon dark chocolate mousse sit on an almond biscuit base. “Germans love Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake) and apple strudel, so it has apple inside, calamansi, then you have a honey flavor. It encapsulate’s Miele’s kind of heritage.”

Last and most recognizably linked to Chef Nouel is the Green Forest, his take on the German classic Black Forest, but with his signature Dubai twist. Flaky laminated dough containing pistachio cherry brandy cream and pistachio-kunafa spread garnished with chocolate and more pistachio. “This is the only one that has liqueur since Black Forest has Kirsch liqueur. This one also contains Kirsch liqueur, but with a Dubai pistachio twist.”

Innovation cannot happen without collaboration. “This would not not have been possible without Chef Ely’s participation, because he's the one who translated the recipes into reality,” Chef Nouel said. “We provided the recipes to Chef Ely, and through his mastery and as well his shop, we now have all these pastries for everyone to try.”

Innovation is also what has made Miele an industry leader. “I think the cooking appliances are world class… For example, the Gen 7000 oven has a camera inside the oven, and it can be controlled from your smart device. So not only can you see the progress as something is cooking, you can even decide to change the temperature, have it stop completely, open the door to release steam and heat, and control it with a touch of a button,” Angela said. “Aside from ovens, we have cooktops. We also have laundry and dishwashing lines, as well as vacuum cleaners.”

The Miele Innovation Series hopes to incubate and share new ideas from Filipino creatives. “Our ethos and mission is really to act as a connector, to bring together the community of both food lovers, and audience members, and as well as the chefs and bakers who are so passionate about what they produce. So we hope with the innovation series, we can create more excitement, energy, and a way for these wonderful food entrepreneurs and bakers to access a larger audience,” Angela said.

For Chef Nouel, “Innovation is thinking out of the box. It's being unafraid of change. We innovate because we want to reimagine classic ideas and make them relevant again [for] new and future generations.”