27 September,2026 10:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
Vayu
For Team SMD, our Tuesday edit meeting is sacrosanct. It is where the edition begins to take shape: we throw ideas into the room, decide what deserves our attention, challenge assumptions, and follow unexpected tangents. Most importantly, it gives a roomful of curious people like us the time and space to think together.
There are the usual edit meetings, and then there are those where a dessert trolley rolls in. For this week's edition, we headed to the PDR at Arts Café, NMACC, where Italian guest pastry chef Michael D'Angelo walked us through The Sampler Trail, an intimate tasting of his signature desserts paired with an Indian lunch thali.
There was Vayu - The White Ballerina, with silky vanilla mousse and Alphonso mango centre; Kashaya, with roasted hazelnut cream; Caravans Amber; and The Last Port, a rich combination of 70 per cent chocolate and coffee. Each had its own personality, and naturally, its own conversation.
Then came the surprise. A dessert trolley appeared tableside, and D'Angelo plated the fifth creation in front of us, talking us through the idea behind it as he worked. It was less a grand reveal and more a glimpse into the craft: the ingredients, techniques, and small decisions that turn a dessert into something memorable.
D'Angelo shared his love for flowers and how he made sure they were part of the setting. "I want to see flowers everywhere; you'll find them around my creations too," he said. He has been coming to India and training at the School for European Pastry in Andheri. That's also why D'Angelo is familiar with the country's love of chocolate. "I've focused quite a lot on chocolate because I know it's something people in India really love."
Mango was another natural choice. "Some of the most amazing mangoes come from India. Even in Europe, I always try to source the best mangoes when they are in season. I bring them to London, make a purée and freeze it to use it later," he adds. It is part of a larger curiosity about India's produce and flavours which he has been noticing everywhere. "I really want to discover more and more about this country and bring those ingredients into my most recognisable desserts," he adds.
His favourite, however, is the pecan pie. "It's less gourmand, but the most meaningful to me." Created in 2021 for a French restaurant with American influences, it began with a simple brief from the chef: "Michael, we need to make something wow."
D'Angelo reworked the classic American autumn dessert, removed the traditional sugar, and developed a new technique: steaming the curd in the oven. It took three months to perfect. The result became a bestseller and has stayed on the menu since day one. "You know when you want to change a menu, but the owner comes and tells you, âNo. This one, you cannot change.
And perhaps that is what good edit meetings have in common with well-made desserts. You look closer, ask questions, take things apart and put them back together until they make sense.
Only this time, there was considerably more chocolate involved. And cognac.
And, thankfully, no one said, "Let's circle back."
