Easter Candy Taste Test: Cadbury Creme Eggs, Peeps, Chocolate Bun
WWJD? Nah, this Good Friday here at TT, we're mulling over some questions of our own.
Like, who actually craves Cadbury Creme Eggs? Are Peeps as magical as we remember? Do you swipe right to fully enjoy the Tinder Egg, ahem, Kinder Egg?
Well, ask, and you shall receive.
We polled nearly 50 chefs, bartenders, general managers and really anyone with great taste in the restaurant industry for their input on the Easter basket heavy hitters.
Now without ado, we're sharing the good news: Here are our thoroughly unscientific but absolutely delightful findings.
Comments, Questions and Concerns:
"Qu'est-ce que ç'est? I don't know what that is." —Daniel Boulud, chef/owner of Daniel
"Hate when room temp but love to eat when frozen. It's a game changer."—Marcel Vigneron, chef at upcoming Beefsteak Restaurant
"Not my style." —JJ Johnson, chef de cuisine at The Cecil and Minton's
"The filling of Cadbury Eggs just shouldn't be that consistency for something that's shelf stable. I always wonder if they are really safe to eat." —Erik Niel, chef/owner of Easy Bistro & Bar
Comments, Questions and Concerns:
"In college, we got my friend, Kyle, to see how many he could put in his mouth at one time. Answer: A whole box." —Josh Harris, bartender/co-owner of Trick Dog
"LOVE . . . One word: Microwave!" —Tracy Obolsky, pastry chef at North End Grill
"We had a game of 'Hide the Peep.' It was like the Elf on the Shelf, before the elf. We had one Peep last five years, fully preserved, until a stoned pal ate it." —Scott Baird, bartender/co-owner of Trick Dog
"Peeps. I love Peeps. I could eat five bags of them. They're not marshmallows; they're better than marshmallows." —Jeff Mahin, chef/partner at Stella Barra
Comments, Questions and Concerns:
"Love the ears." —Matt McClure, chef at The Hive
"Chocolate bunnies are always kind of a let down." —Nicki Hobson, chef de cuisine at Island Creek Oyster Bar
"What's not to love? It's chocolate, and it's molded into the shape of a bunny. I remember as a kid always taking my time to figure out where to start. Start at the head or the foot?" —Jana Kern-Mireles, pastry chef at Almanac
"I like to save my chocolate consumption for top-quality chocolate." —Daniel Holzman, chef/co-owner of The Meatball Shop
Comments, Questions and Concerns:
"Pretty good, but they're no comparison to the peanut butter cup or to the almighty Idaho spud that would often show up in my childhood Easter baskets." —Eric Donnelly, chef/owner of RockCreek
"Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs—the original big ones—will forever be my kryptonite. I get a pack as soon as they come out, usually right after Valentine's Day. I'm a candy freak. Always have a full candy jar at home." —Jessica Weiss, pastry chef at Maialino
"I'm loyal to the Peanut Butter Egg—the perfect ratio of peanut butter and chocolate!" —Kevin Cuddihee, executive chef at TWO
Comments, Questions and Concerns:
"Tinder Egg?" —Jamie Bissonnette, chef at Toro and Coppa
"Kinder Eggs all the way! They're not illegal in Serbia, where I'm from. I grew up on those and to this day, I will buy them whenever I go home." —Miro Uskokovic, pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern
"Love . . . until someone chokes." —Ethan Stowell, chef/owner of Staple & Fancy
"Kinder Eggs are wicked cool, although they were a lot cooler back when they actually had little cars in them." —Jason Bond, chef/owner of Bondir
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Thanks to all our collaborators: Dominique Ansel (Dominique Ansel Bakery, NYC), Scott Baird (Trick Dog, SF), Jared Bennett (Metropole, Cincinnati), Jamie Bissonnette (Toro, NYC), Anthony Bohlinger (Chefs Club by Food & Wine, NYC), Jason Bond (Bondir, Cambridge), Daniel Boulud (Daniel, NYC), Justin Brunson (Old Major, Denver), Ericka Burke (Volunteer Park Cafe, Seattle), Patrick Campbell (Café ArtScience, Boston), Jon Christiansen (Monsoon, Seattle), Kevin Cuddihee (TWO, Chicago), Sennen David (Ethan Stowell Restaurants, Seattle), Eric Donnelly (RockCreek, Seattle), Alex Figura (Lower48 Kitchen, Denver), Adam Geringer-Dunn (Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co., Brooklyn), Andrew Gruel (Slapfish, L.A.), Josh Harris (Trick Dog, SF), Nicki Hobson (Island Creek Oyster Bar, Boston), Daniel Holzman (The Meatball Shop, NYC), Joel Hough (Il Buco and Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, NYC), JJ Johnson (The Cecil and Minton's, NYC), Brendan Joy (Bondir, Cambridge), Michael Kelly (Barbuto, NYC), Adam Keough (Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, SF), Jana Kern-Mireles (Almanac, NYC), Jeff Mahin (Stella Barra, Chicago), Matt McClure (The Hive, Bentonville), Gaby Mlynarczyk (Cadet, L.A.), Erik Niel (Easy Bistro & Bar, Chattanooga), Tracy Obolsky (North End Grill, NYC), Ken Oringer (Coppa, Boston), Sunny Raymond (Union Square Cafe, NYC), Michael Scelfo (Alden & Harlow, Boston), Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli (Island Creek Oyster Bar, Boston), Morgan Schick (Bon Vivants, SF), Justin Smillie (Upland, NYC), Ethan Stowell (Staple & Fancy, Seattle), John Sundstrom (Lark, Seattle), Dale Talde (Talde, NYC), Miro Uskokovic (Gramercy Tavern, NYC), Marcel Vigneron (Beefsteak Restaurant, L.A.), Steve Walker (Rose Pistola, SF), Anna Wallace (Chop Chop Cafe & Bar, Seattle), Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto, NYC), Jessica Weiss (Maialino, NYC)