Alice Héron is a multidisciplinary artist and chef, trained at the Design Lab of the Rietveld Academie. She is currently chef resident at the Villa Medici, seat of the French Academy in Rome, a programme that offers creators from different disciplines time and space to deepen their practice, fostering interdisciplinary exchange.

This bao with gorgonzola and bergamot filling is one of the dishes she served during the Dîner des Agrumes held in December 2025. A recipe that uses the bao as a support for a precise dialogue between intense and contrasting flavours, where the creaminess of blue cheese meets the aromatic bitterness and sweetness of confit bergamot.

Ingredients

For the baos

• Wheat flour: 240 g

• Water: 130 g

• Sugar: 12 g

• Neutral oil: 12 g

• Fresh yeast: 4 g (or 1.3 g dry yeast)

• Salt: 3 g

• Baking powder: 3 g

For the filling

• Gorgonzola: 160 g

• Whole Mellarosa bergamot: 120 g

• Sugar: 120 g

For steaming

• Citrus leaves: 20 pieces

Method

1. Bergamot confit

The whole bergamots are soaked in water for four days, changing the water twice a day to remove excess bitterness. Once desalinated, they are sliced and all seeds are removed.

The slices are cooked with the same weight of sugar until the fruit is soft, glossy and lightly caramelised. Leave to cool and reserve.

2. Gorgonzola

The cheese is cut into cubes of approximately 2 cm and frozen. This step makes filling the baos easier and prevents the cheese from melting too early.

3. Bao dough

The yeast is dissolved in lukewarm water with the sugar and left to rest until foamy. The oil is then added, and the liquid mixture is incorporated into the flour, salt and baking powder.

The dough is kneaded for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then covered and left to ferment until doubled in size.

Once fermented, the dough is degassed and divided into 20 g portions. The portions are shaped into balls and kept covered while working with the rest of the dough.

Each ball is flattened into a disc, slightly thinner at the edges. A frozen cube of gorgonzola and a small piece of bergamot confit are placed in the centre. The dough is sealed by pinching carefully, making sure no air is trapped inside.

4. Steaming

The baos are placed on citrus leaves and steamed, either in a steamer over the stove or in an oven with a steam function, until puffed, glossy and fully cooked. Serve hot, allowing the cheese to melt gently inside.