But the flavors are going to be more Asian-influenced.” “All my cookbooks are French-influenced - there has to be the French aspect of a pastry or croissant. “It’s so French at Bellecour, but with this I can use taro.” On a technical level, the classic French technique will remain, but Moua’s excited to work with entirely new flavor profiles. “You’ll see a chocolate croissant here and there, but I want to use coconut and yuzu,” says Moua. She’ll serve pastries at the new restaurant, too, but expect something different than Bellecour’s traditional French offerings. And I’m like - ‘Hey, can you grow this for me? What if you grow it in this pot?’ And he’s like, ‘You just tell me what you need, and I got you.’” Moua also wants to source from local farmers markets, to support Minnesota farmers through the fleeting growing season. “My dad, I was telling him how I want some flower arrangements. In fact, some of Moua’s ingredients will come directly from her parents’ farm: peppers, lemongrass, and flowers, for example. It’s so French at Bellecour, but with this, I can use taro.” “You’ll see a chocolate croissant here and there, but I want to use coconut and yuzu. Elsewhere on the menu, she wants to cook with guinea hens, bitter melon, and seasonal bamboo harvested in Georgia and North Carolina. “So much of the stuff that I never loved before, I crave it.” She’ll serve her mom’s homemade sesame balls, and maybe a traditional dish made with pork fat, mustard greens, and fresh peppers. “I kind of want to go back to the home-cooked meals that my parents cooked,” says Moua.
The savory side of the menu will feature Moua’s family recipes, and the familiar ingredients she grew up with on her parents’ Wisconsin farm. Moua’s new restaurant can’t be boiled down to one single cuisine: She’ll pair traditional Hmong home cooking with modern savory dishes, and classical French pastry technique with Southeast Asian flavors. Details of her restaurant’s name and location have yet to be revealed, but Moua, having toured the Cities and the suburbs, has her heart set on Minneapolis.
On Tuesday, October 18, chef Diane Moua announced she’s leaving her role as executive pastry chef at Bellecour Bakery to open her own bakery and cafe.
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