Soufflé base
- 1kg passionfruit pulp
- 60ml water
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 180g sugar
- 55g cornflour
Clément Chauvin - Passionfruit souffle with chilli explosion & coconut sorbet
The Staff Canteen
6th May 2026
Clément Chauvin - Passionfruit souffle with chilli explosion & coconut sorbet
70 min
A tropical, dramatic dessert. Light passionfruit soufflé paired with a hidden chilli passionfruit centre, crisp white chocolate shell, and refreshing coconut sorbet.
A Mother’s Table
For Clément Chauvin of Montrachet, the path into the kitchen didn’t begin in a restaurant, but at a mother’s table.
Born in St Michel-sur-Orge and raised in Savigny-sur-Orge, Clément’s early years were far from romantic. His father left, his mother remarried several times, and, as he recalls in Chefs Eat Brisbane, food was about survival, not celebration. “Most nights it was breakfast for dinner, hot chocolate and tartine.”
At 13, everything shifted. His mother met Georges, and the family moved to Lyon, a city where food isn’t just eaten, it’s lived. But it wasn’t a restaurant that changed him. It was dinner at a friend’s house.
“One of my best friends was a girl called Marion. She invited me over for dinner. Black pudding with caramelised apple and gratin dauphinois.”
That single mouthful stayed with him. “I put mustard on the sausage, some apple, potato, and that mouthful, I believe, was the beginning of me just going, holy shit, that’s wow. Literally like Ratatouille when the cheese meets the strawberry.”
He kept going back, drawn not just to the food, but to Marion’s mother’s cooking. Generous, instinctive, deeply felt. The kind of cooking that lingers. The kind that shapes you.
From there, the trajectory sharpened. Clément went on to train in Michelin-starred kitchens across France, refining a craft that began in someone else’s home. Today, he is the chef-owner behind two of Australia’s most respected French restaurants, Montrachet and Les Bistronomes, and is featured in both Chefs Eat Brisbane and Chefs Eat Canberra.
He still describes those early meals like Babette’s Feast, a table that gave more than it needed to, and in doing so, changed everything.
This Mother’s Day, it feels fitting that the dish that follows comes from a chef whose love of food began not in a professional kitchen, but in the care, generosity and quiet magic of someone else’s mum.
Ingredients
Meringue
- 200g egg whites
- 300g sugar
Chilli explosion
- 1kg passionfruit pulp
- 500ml water
- 2 long red chillies, sliced
- 250g sugar
- 2g xanthan gum
- 250g white chocolate
- 250g cocoa butter
Coconut sorbet
- 1kg coconut cream
- 200ml water
- 200g glucose
- 200g sugar
- 2g ice cream stabiliser
- 6 makrut lime leaves
- Pinch of salt
Method
Soufflé base
In a saucepan, bring the water, lemon juice and sugar to the boil. Meanwhile, mix the passionfruit pulp with the cornflour and pass through a chinois, discarding the seeds. Whisk the passionfruit mixture into the lemon syrup and return to the boil, stirri
Meringue and baking
Place the egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a bain-marie. Heat gently while whisking until the mixture reaches 60°C. Transfer to a stand mixer and whisk on medium speed until soft peaks form.
To prepare the soufflé, whisk a spoonful of the passionfruit
Chilli explosion
In a saucepan, combine the passionfruit pulp, water, sugar, sliced chillies and xanthan gum. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and infuse for 10 minutes. Blitz lightly with a stick blender and strain through a chinois to remove the seeds.
Pour
Coconut sorbet
In a saucepan, bring the coconut cream, water, glucose, sugar, stabiliser, lime leaves and salt to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Strain out the lime leaves and churn in an ice cream machine until smooth, or fr
To serve
Place a hot soufflé on each plate alongside a quenelle of coconut sorbet. Nestle a chilli explosion beside or on top of the sorbet. Garnish with micro herbs and serve immediately.
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