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The Netherlands showpieces are amazing. I see why they beat USA. That is the kind of showpiece I am tlakin about, it didn't seem to follow the same characteristcs as the others and was much more complex than the Koreans. I give them 2 thumbs up on there presentation.

Haha. Melissa, i've noticed you can't do a single thing in this world without be being portrayed as something you may not want to be. All I do is make the best decisions possible by canceling out pro's and con's. If the product is from Bangkok Thailand, or ten miles up the road, it doesn't matter to me. All I want is the Best all around product, thats been handled right, produced legitimately, and has reasonable cost-to-value. If I get through life without being called a hippie that will be fine with me.

all i need now is a $10,000 waterjet machine and a few sheets of plexiglass about 2 inches thick and im set. I got the money for the plexi, but I think i might need a fund raiser for the water-jet.

Oh lord, living in North Carolina can be a treat, especially if you like tobacco(which i don't). But in the summer all you need is 5 bucks and any size container you can hold in your arms and fill it up with fresh strawberries. We've got fresh markets everywhere, i don't mean trade markets. I mean these people own the farm and run it in which all the fruit they are selling at the market. Great watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc.... But I see no reason why you can't buy fruit that has been shipped, just as long as it's a good company that takes care of there product. I mean, I grew up as Schreiber rep, we get all our products from around the world (except our bases) and i'll stand by every last product they sell. Vanilla comes from Madagascar; Saffron, Pepper, curry, cumin, and other spices come from India, and alot of the pods and things come from Asia, but thats fine. New Zealand has one of the greatest(if not the best) climates around for fruit, especially grapes. So why is it a problem if we have wonderful fruit grown there and shipped here. Were in a very high speed world, there is no need to constrict it because the world is definately not backing off. Everyone will just have to accept it and embrace it. Thats Why America is known for it's fusion food. We wouldn't be able to bring in so many different kinds of foods from around the world in the fresh state if we didn't have the wonderful technology and shipping capabilities that we have and are ever getting better. They have machines out, well they have been out for a couple of years but the price is dropping now, that sends gamma rays into food before they and sealed that kills 99% of all harmful components to the food without affecting the food itself. That is amazing technology.

Damm, USA got 3rd, I had a lot of faith in Shotts too. Ohwell better to be beat by France than anyone else.

In fact leaving them on the counter for a little bit actually increases there whipping power. A room temp. or thus heated egg white will surely rise higher than a cold one.

You know, i don't know why you women like your chocolate rich and fudgy, whenever i make a flourless chocolate torte/cake the women indulge almost as if they are in heaven while men seem to take a couple bites and say "man, that was good, but too much for me". I myself can't eat it. It might be because im surrounded by chocolate, I don't know but i can't even take a single bite of something so heavy.

No it won't lose it's power, the leavening through single acting baking powder and baking soda is only reacted through heat. In fact it will just slow down the double acting baking powder. Have you ever tried making cookies without leavening? Try it sometime then you'll get your answer. You want a little "give" when you bite into a cookie. If it's not leavened then it will just be a solid mass, mainly with a translucent appeal in the middle due to the fat that hasn't expanded. Cookies like chocolate chip cookies don't act like shordough as in a crust almost. They are kind like baking mini crispy cakes.

Oh, I thought that was a Geico commercial. Should have watched it considering there is nothing on at that time in the morning. I guess thats why most of my posts are at 3-4 in the morning.

Chocolate truffle cake batter -12 oz sweet dark chocolate -4 oz unsweetened dark choc. -12 oz butter -8 whole eggs -8 egg yolks -2 oz cornstarch -20 oz sugar -1 tbsp orange liqueur. I've made this a number of times and altered the preperation a little to greatly enhance its consistency. -Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler. -Add liqueur -heat eggs, yolks, cornstarch and sugar over the same double boiler to warm to the touch (so as to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch properly). -Whisk in th chocolate-butter mixture. -Pass through a fine seive. -refrigerate overnight. -Line metal rings or ramekins with strips of parchment paper -scoop or pipe batter 2/3 full -bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Oh Wendy, please don't bring dishwashers up. I could go on for days about that, well probably forever because every day it seems I am going through a new hassle of finding things. I've lost it sometimes. I know that the dishwashers just want to do a good job so they'll clean up areas you didn't want them to but lord it's frustrating. I can't stand looking for two things that belong together that are on seperate parts of the kitchen because the dishwasher didn't so the "attatchment" to each other and each piece looks like something else. What is reall frustrating is a new dishwasher, especially if it's one that can't comminucate with the rest. The whole first week will be scavenger hunt week. Ohwell, what can you do besides wash every little thing by yourself and keep alarms on them.

Im quite surprised they haven't done reality of the restaurant business. If they have i wouldn't know because i hate reality tv and reall any tv that doesn't begin with history,discovery, food network, or family guy. Though the realities of the restaurant business can be quite exciting for outside people. As for me i couldn't watch it because the whole point of watching tv is to escape that crap that we live in day in and day out.

man, they give jobs to people just to make custom mold. I want that job. If i were to customize anything it will be out of my own pocket at my house. Ohwell a hobby is a hobby. Whenever i get a camera I'll do a whole thread on acetate and molds, maybe, if i can get that sqaured away before summer. Mid-april will bring hell.

tilt head is nice because it's easier to clean and change out the parts, but it's a little awkward and sometimes a pain. If I had to make a decision i would get the bowl left just through it's practicality. And don't stop asking questions, because I don'thave time to think of something to ask, so it's easier for me to anwer/respond or reply. Probably the same for all of us.

If im even lucky enough to have my showpiece crash during a world competition that wil be enough accomplishment for me. I want the stress and intensity, I thrive on it. I hope if an when i ever get the chance to do something similar to this, that the stress is almost unbarebly. Because if i prevail all the more excited and proud I will be. hopefully in the course of the next 10 years will have big changes in the judges ideas on how to grade a showpiece. It's not like they use the same judges every year.

there are no basements where i live (chronic flooding). Infact every house is one floor up on stilts. Even if we had a basement, sand shifts so often that in about 4 years it might be a first floor.

Wow what a waste of money to never use something. Thats corporate for ya I guess. Sinclair, acetate is almost a whole nother skill. I say you should do and try everything that pops into your head for acetate. Get as many ideas from people here as possible. I have come up with some really cool tricks with acetate. It's super smooth surface is unbeatable for and desserts presentation. Chocolate casting for garnish using acetate has endless possibilties. Sometimes i play with strips just to get a new idea for a dessert, you never know whats going to pop into your head. Also I would be very careful with whatever you "construct" from the hardware store. If i mod something together i usuallly coat it with something like polyurethan or silicone to give it a sealed finish so food doesn't have any reactions with certain kinds of metals or metal treatments. Also wood dowels should be sealed too like your rolling pins because after fair amount of usage they collect debris and even if you try to wash it out the wood soaks up water obviously which could cause more problems.

I hate to be a downer on this topic but im getting rather bored with these competitions. Well the shoewpieces anyways. Everything else always gets better and more interesting. I am starting to think that the chefs have become limited. Over the last 8 years of competitions I see a great deal of similarities, through all countries and teams. They are all very beautiful and all will be but on unique scale. I did find the koreans to be a little more interesting then most with the chocolate showpiece. The last truly orignal showpiece(s) i've seen were from Neil's colleagues J.P. Maury's team. They all have similar flowing casted balls, flowers, arking techniques, as C.P. said the height, flames, loops, swirls. Made im just being hard, but i just don't notice artistic difference between P.chefs lately. They all take different approaches which come out differently, but yet they still have the same feel. It's just, when i look at all these put together I don't feel the same as if i were when i walk through an art store, no matter what it's categories. Am I insane or do some of you see this aswell. If im not insane i sha'll dedicate my next 20 years to become the most dazzling showpiece constructor the world pastry competition has ever seen.

you have to measure everything out one way or the other, doesn't bother me what you give i'll be able to figure it out even you decide to hide in a calculas equation. It would be nice to be a universal system, i blame the schools. HA

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Back in the day when i was first starting out and lived with my father (middleschool/highschool) and Dad's girlfriend now wife it was ridiculous. All three of us in the culinary field and all had our own things. An estimated geuss we probably accumulated about 4 grand wortth of resturaunt supplies. Just little stuff like pans. What we did is get one of those "office cabinets" the 6 footers and stored everything in there in an adjacent room. That helped out a lot, and made it pretty easy to find things without taking everything out of a stacked under counter cabinet and finding something barried in the back.

using ketchup for dessert sounds about as interesting as dusting funnel cake with saw-dust.

Do you have any idea of how hard it is to ge DeMarle to do custom flexi-pan. I know they do it but im not sure to what degree. i.e. for small business, personal use, one time only.... or just large production-hotel.

looks cool, but its probably a pain in the ass to clean. I'd like to try it, but it doesn't seem that hard to do it the old fashioned way. Just a couple of tosses with the nuts in the caramel with 2 spatulas and it's done. Seems like it wouldn't save me that much time, if any at all.

Hahahaaa, that litened up my night. Neil, do you use these kind of molds, because I really like these kind and haven't found better ones.

I can definately relate with the "books" issue. I have about 6 sprawled open randomly on my desk infront of me. It's kind of hard not to glance down and get trapped in the text and pictures. You definately can't put work off for another day, because thats almost a bad omen saying that the following day will be a disaster. The second you plan out finished projects for the future everything goes wrong. I pulled an 11 hour shift last night screwing around trying to make the "ultimate" cocoa-almond meringue. The more i played the more ideas kept comming in, you can't put that kind of stuff off. Ohwell. I can't beleive I sound french, im quite curious at exactly what pinpointed me in that direction. Fortunately I only received the swedish body. Quite sure everything else about me is Italian. I definately have a weakness for Italian red wine.