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When Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold2, it came with a revamped Galaxy Z Premier service that aimed to provide a bit more than mere software support or troubleshooting. It started to come with exclusive rewards, gifts, and promotions. One of the most recent (if you consider six weeks ago recent) was for a dessert box from Michelin star Chef Daniel Boulud. At a $75 value, Samsung and Daniel included a total of 6 desserts, 2 Lemon Madeleines and 4 Cannelé de Bordeaux. (Though the image showed off some sort of open-face macaron, that sadly wasn't included.)

In the usual Android Police fashion, that meant we had to take a break from sailing the world on a yacht with our $2,000 folding phone to take a look.

SPECS

Chipset

It's food.

Screen

None — and that means no notch.

Battery

At least a few hundred calories, probably more. Single-use.

Headphone jack

No.

Software

Android Madeleine. JK, this is food.

Price

Free with a $2,000 phone, ostensibly a $75 value.

Dimensions

Pastry-sized.

Camera

Looks good in photos taken from other phones — because it's food.

THE GOOD

Lemon Madeleines

Exquisite. Not too sweet, but still tangy.

Price

It was free. Well, I mean, I didn't spend anything extra.

THE NOT SO GOOD

Cannelé de Bordeaux

Looks are very deceiving.

$75 Value

There is no way these are valued anywhere close to $15, let alone $75.

As Android Police's resident Samsung expert, I was uniquely qualified to assess the pastries. Following several minutes of extensive sniffing, tasting, even some light (but deserved) chewing, I feel I can offer a definitive judgment.

Let's start with the Lemon Madeleines. It came in a plastic box with a "Daniel" sticker on it and a label signifying the ingredients and that they are, in fact, Lemon Madeleines. I'll admit, that was a point of confusion for some time, but I worked it out.

This branding is present to remind you that you're eating a dessert from a world-famous Michelin star restaurant Daniel, as you should know. Note, there are no Michelin stars on the dessert itself, should you look for one. Those are actually reserved for the restaurant.

The Lemon Madeleine was fantastic. It was soft and moist, but not too chewy — don't you just hate a tough madeleine? On my personal madeleine rating scale, I'd have to give them a solid 9/10. It is worth noting that Android Police Editor-in-Chief David Ruddock says his Lemon Madeleines were a bit dry, but his were shipped by air across the United States while mine were driven a mere 3 hours. He also lacks a formalized madeleine rating scale (and probably doesn't even have a yacht), which speaks for itself.

The Lemon Madeleine wasn't too sweet to be overwhelming but still sweet enough to help accompany the bitter, mild acidity of the lemon — complementary, not overpowering. These would make a perfect after-dinner sweet following a round of golf at one of the many country clubs I'm a member at, or while picnicking at the top of Everest in a heated dome. Did I mention the yacht? You could eat it on a yacht, too, probably.

The Cannelé de Bordeaux, on the other hand, was not fantastic.

A good dessert is as much about looks as it is taste, and I speak from experience. I was once called "sweet" after holding open a door for the maid on my yacht, which basically makes me a dessert, so I'm an expert on the subject.

Looking at the Cannelé de Bordeaux, I would have assumed this to be some sort of chocolate treat — a "lava cake," if you will. No, I've never heard of a Cannelé de Bordeaux, and no, they don't have them at the country club (or yacht!), but the shape and color strongly implied "lava" and "chocolate" for me, and I feel misled.

A traditional Cannelé de Bordeaux has a caramelized shell with a tender custard inside. Whatever I ended up ingesting — which is probably far from a classic Cannelé de Bordeaux, now that I know what that is — tasted like burnt caramel with an unbaked pie crust in the middle, entirely lacking the distinctive vanilla notes I am now told I should have expected, but drowning in an overpowering rum flavor.

Also it was dry, and kind of ugly-looking.

All this dust is also unacceptable, Daniel.

Perhaps the most glaring omission, though (other than the deceptively pictured fruited macaron Samsung advertised the promotion with), is a lack of beverage. Neither wine nor champagne was included. Not even a drop of Perrier! Given how dry that last dessert was, I'm pretty sure I might have actually died if I had choked on its chalky grains — if, say, I had been on the yacht, far from civilization. This is not the experience I would have expected from Galaxy Z Premier services, let alone Daniel.

Should you buy it? Rating 5/10

Boulud's Signature French Sweets

The Lemon Madeleines are good, but I can't say I'm really a fan of the Cannelé de Bordeaux. For something that's considered a "sweet," it was quite bitter. I find that incongruity unacceptable. The Cannelé are banned from the yacht. The Lemon Madeleines, on the other hand, were pleasantly tangy with a great lemon taste. But that Cannelé de Bordeaux ruins the box for me.

While these desserts were a nice gesture, the bitterness of those not-lava-cakes has put me off Daniel's self-titled restaurant in New York City. Perhaps someone should be asking if the Cannelé was considered when those two Michelin stars were awarded. And, really, just two stars, Daniel? Samsung should be aiming for at least twice that when looking for partners. In any case, the restaurant's sweets have escaped the much higher and more prestigious praise of our own Most Wanted award — sorry, Daniel.

 

If you are wondering how to get these desserts, you can't. They're now locked on my yacht, and the RSVP period to order them if you have a Samsung foldable is over.