Sugar is not destroyed by fire but transformed. If you’re precise, of course. Brûlée Royale is inspired by François Massialot, the visionary French chef who worked in the Palace of Versailles’s kitchens and wrote the first recipe for what we would come to recognise as the crème brûlée.

Versailles in the 17th century was the dazzling epicentre of innovation in art, science and gastronomy. It was Massialot’s playground and science lab, but when preparing desserts to satisfy royal appetites, the margin for error was miniscule. In pursuit of perfection, he became known for both his innovation, and his exactitude.. Caramelising sugar with a red-hot fire shovel, for example, must have required extensive practice!

Just as Massialot stoked the flames at Versailles to achieve the perfect caramelised crust, our friends at Independent Stave Co.’s Missouri cooperage employ computer-controlled toasting and charring techniques to coax extraordinary flavours from American white oak with great precision.