tan319

I hear she has a sweet book deal for a memoir. one i'll gladly read after her chicken killing essay in the nyer. the girl can cook, and she's got a real story. i hope she can pull off a book-length narrative. ← The Food & Wine piece she wrote about her mentor who reawakened her own interest in food again was a GREAT read. Thanks for the info, Michael.

A wonderful report, malacitana. If you get a chance, could you tell us about your Espai Sucre experience? Thanks in advance!

Just want to throw this in the ring re: "volunteering" in kitchens. Trailing or staging in a kitchen for a week or a few days minus pay is a pretty accepted practice and I doubt it hurts the chances of anyone else getting a gig taken from them. Management rarely need an excuse for paying lousy wages if they indeed do. Something VERY interesting to me lately IS the amount of people who have NO experience being hired by restaurants, etc.. It's a two sided sword. I 've seen people recently who are going to, say, a community college type of cooking course, and they have SO little knowledge of anything! From blanching to, jeez, you name it, extraordinary waste of time & their money. These are A.C.F. linked courses too, which makes things even scarier. But, on the other hand, somebody with some raw talent might find someplace to take off in. Doubtful but possible.

You're crazy!!! At the moment, I'm thinking most pastry people are destined to be poor I've been reading a lot of articles lately with people talking about "the passion" of cooking, pro's saying this, and it's quite true, it's often about the passion but at some point one has to make some bucks or have another source of income to make it work. chefette makes a good point, search up some of the numerous threads here in P&B about switching careers to baking or cooking in general and prepare to get "enlightened" ← I would like to add something here, seeing that you're in New Jersey. I'm not sure how the restaurants in Atlantic City are, I would think that it's not attracting quite as much starpower as Las Vegas but I think that's the closest you're going to get to "corporate" type wages & benefits. Our own 'nightscotsman', one of the hosts of the P&B forum, went to the French Pastry Schools intensive 6 month course and after graduating now works at The Bellagio Hotel in 'Vegas in one of the best pastry departments in the U.S with what I would call a "living wage" and almost more importantly, more then decent working conditions. But, I would say he made a few sacrifices, like moving to another city away from people he knew, for starters. That's the kind of gig I would be shooting for if I were you...

Thank you!!!

You're crazy!!! At the moment, I'm thinking most pastry people are destined to be poor I've been reading a lot of articles lately with people talking about "the passion" of cooking, pro's saying this, and it's quite true, it's often about the passion but at some point one has to make some bucks or have another source of income to make it work. chefette makes a good point, search up some of the numerous threads here in P&B about switching careers to baking or cooking in general and prepare to get "enlightened"

One thing I would like to ask you, tippingvelvet, is are you going to be living off of your earnings from working in a bakery or such? Just want to advise you that baking/cooking/ for a living is very VERY different from cooking in your home. It's a slog and hot and low paying usually, for starters. Brioche 57 gives great advice, beg someone to take you on, tell them you'll work for nothing or minimum wage if you can afford it.

Seems like a good idea to ask about it here, is there a Gabrielle Hamilton ( chef/ owner of Prune restaurant) cookbook coming out soon? She has a very high profile at the moment, a Bourdain penned Chow magazine piece being the most recent. Thanks in advance.

At Amazon.fr they have a pretty good deal on this plus his Larousse du Chocolat. 153 euros + shipping. Here

I think I may have tried using all dry whites some years ago on an Angel Food cake. It was a bit strange, not awful but maybe a bit wet or something. You can freeze whites as you go or maybe have a cooking weekend where you use the yolks for a brulee and the whites for an angel food cake?

That's the chance you take on these kinds of things, all look, maybe not amazing taste. A lot of competition too. Let us know if you find the notes on the desserts.

Yes Maggie, that's exactly how I felt last night as I discovered these, like "pack it up, stop pretending", etc. Xavier Le Queres work I became aware of through the movable-feast site and I hadn't thought of it until your post but I suppose I see Le Quere as bridging the gap between plated desserts and patisserie work. Hence, the not exactly square, rough or "rustic" look. I sometimes wonder if it comes from being "perfect" all the time... Drewman, the Caffet site looks great, thanks much for that link!

Prepare to be amazed! Some outstanding new things going on in France, new to me at least. It pays off to stick my nose into the French forum here every once in awhile. First, for all of the chocolate freaks, a 'new-ish' chocolatier named Patrick Roger, very nice stuff... Patrick Roger Next, a more "classique" pastry chef/chocolatier named Arnaud Larher, very nice looking items Arnaud Larher Last but not least, my personal fave, first discovered on Louisa Chu's movable feast, Pastry chef Xavier Le Quere's website. Xavier Le Quere I really like the look of Xaviers pastries, very "fresh" , these cool white squarish "pot's of chocolate creams and vanilla creams (cremeux's?), you'll see if you check 'em out. And according to Louisa, the chef and one assistant are turning this repetoire out, no mean feat. I hope you'll enjoy these sites.

I agree that this is THE book to have on ice cream for professionals. We used similar formulas in school and got excellent, consistent results. Also, by understanding how the fat, sugar, sweetening power, non-fat solids and water interact and ballance to control texture and flavor you can easily create new flavors without a lot of trial and error. It should also tell you how emulsifiers and stabilizers can improve texture, mouthfeel and storage stability. I know, many people are wary of so called "additives" commonly called stablizers, but most of these are actually derived from natural sources such as seaweed - as natural as white sugar, which an extremely processed and refined product. I don't own the book myself yet (it is expensive), but I've had a good look through and it came highly recommended by Jacquy Pfeiffer. ← Yep, if I could have this & the Corvitto book it would be a pretty wonderful world...

How was it?

Well, my stand mixer does have hydraulics and a large subwoofer, and sure, I do pipe choux paste from a jewel-encrusted pastry bag, but my pastry pimpology leaves much to be desired. ← I think you're wayyyy too modest not to mention that you're a P I M P on the Photography Phront too ( true P I M P S have to 'P' all 'F's, yo???). Spaghetttti is 'pimpin' on the the photography too!

Thanks evryone for the replies, i'm not looking to manufature ice cream on a large scale, just trying to better understand how fat,sugar and other ingredients interact and ultimatly make a better product for work ← I would second the Balaguer book as a pretty great intro to ice creams and sorbets and how to make them better and for restaurant use. Excepting that you won't get Brix or fat ratios per recipe( you will get Baume degrees), Balaguer does explain why certain ingredients added in certain percentages will affect freezing/melt points, etc. It's the most informative book I've found or used that's available in English. The Ducasse/Roberts 'Grand Livre Desserts/Patisserie' book has some good recipes and info in French. I'd love to have the Corvitto book! As for the pricing of the Balaguer book, I would compare it to a college textbook. I continue to get my moneys worth out of it.

I heard through the grapevein the Wd-50 may be having problems and there is a possibility they may close. Is there any truth to this? I did call on a wednesday for a reservation for thursday and they had any time available. Does anyone know if things a going well over there or are these things i am hearing just rumors. ←

We're going to be closing this 'Pichet Ong' edition of P&B FOCUS and all of us here at the EGullet P&B forum would love to thank Pichet for doing the DEMO and FOCUS and for Bond Girls assistance in coordinating Chef Ongs schedule. Hopefully we'll do this again with Pichet and other pastry chefs to boot. And hopefully, Pichet will drop in on us every once and awhile ( really, as often as he wants to and can ) and share his thoughts and advice with us here in P&B on our various threads, hip us to new people, all of it! We'll be closing up the thread later this afternoon, thanks to all for participating!

Pound cake in French.

Yo. In my mind, it's no different from "who's going to buy the book because of this thread" that was asked earlier. I am curious, not being snarky. And it's a valid question to be posed here. Me, I have only so much time to eat in the city and Country wouldn't even be on my radar except for this thread (and the book). Same goes for Bourdain and Les Halles. I don't DO gangs, in the street or otherwise. And it was never my intention to ruin the internet for anyone, except my teenaged sons (didn't work). ← I would give Country awhile to work out the kinks IF I was really that interested. Not that it's Psaltis's restaurant to run . I always enjoyed Les Halles, pre KC days & post.

The butter based one is basically a pate brisee recipe that is enriched with custard powder that enables the samosa to hold up its shape after baked. It is also softer in texture and works well with chocolate and banana as it is less messy when broken into. The brik pastry that they use for savory application is fried and i think that works good because it is served in a vinegar based dipping sauce. ← So that's what the custard powder is used for? For stability? I thought maybe taste might be be a factor. Sometimes I goose , say, a waflle batter with custard powder because I find I get an almost doughnutty taste from it. My imagination?

Hi pichet. What differences were you looking for between the butter based one for the banana, and the Brik pastry (which I love) for the chicken one?

I love the idea of the serendipity of it all. Working with Sam Mason, Vicki Wells, Johnny Iuzzini... All chefs whom I admire from afar, whose styles are what some would say 'vastly different' from each others. Have any particular methods or ideas had a lasting effect on your own work? Also, the idea of pre packing ice creams and sorbets in those containers is really awesome. I might have to borrow and elaborate on that idea! BTW: When I decided to make the switch from savory to sweet, it was the shallots that were ruining my life Thanks in advance!

I've been trying to stay out of this for a few days now but... See, the above post about ""who's going or NOT going to Country based""... really is annoying. It smacks of gang-ish mentality, the whole 'jury by internet' junk that ruins this medium for many of us. And seconding anybodys cred because of cranky 'how dare they' posts ... I mean, that's cool? This thread was started with seeming innocence, lay dorment for two or four days and then exploded into tittilation and innuendo and, for anyone who didn't read the book itself, ignorance. Somebody above thread here said none of us who have enjoyed the book really explained why. As a cook, a chef myself, somebody who came into this life as a second career, it gave me some perspective, for one thing. Being in this business can isolate the hell out of you, you constantly ask yourself if it's worth it, etc. Outside of NYC, is everyone really getting together to talk about cooking? About what's going on? Christ, I hardly ever hear anyone in a kitchen talk about much besides pussy, drugs, internet porn, how poor they are and how the NFG sucks. Which is fine but, why put down some guy who was trying to be as good as he could be? Because he talked smack about Dan Barber? Under a different name? If Barber is as worked up about it as half of the posters here who haven't even READ THE BOOK, I'd be amazed. And, hey, he knows where the guy works, . Barber can call him a son of a bitch to his face, smack him, buy him a drink, whatever,he's a big boy. Guarantee you less people have read the Dan Barber (Peter) chapter then have read this thread. Talking about the book I don't consider it very well written. If fact, after reading the first chapter or perhaps two, I cut right to the stuff where he starts stage-ing anywhere he can in the city on his days off. What can I say, it spoke to me. It's about achievements, it's about standing up to the incessent badgering and screaming of intense assed French chefs, who can make tons of people run for the hills. Were there points, lessons? Yes. I suppose, in roundabout ways. The chapter in Psaltis' book on The Ducasse/Chowdorow/Mix adventure reminded me much of the "Pino Noir:Tuscan Interlude" chapter in 'Kitchen Confidential' I mean, there's so much lying and bullshitting and promises made to people, really talented people all of the time in this business, and I would say Psaltis learned a lot about the old adage "Money Talks, Bullshit Walks". And like a lot of others before him, he probably walked away from some surely good gigs, and obviously made the mistake of walking into some "not meant for him situations" too. I also have to agree with Lesley C, I've read this thing numerous times now, and still can't see what the fuss is about. And sorry, Bourdain had everybodys butt up in a snoot when KC came out, that was half of the fun of it, and the truth of it. Not that it really bothered me but, IMO, calling a chef an EWOK is not exactly endearing, nor is scoffing "at the foam guys", which, given the time and what has transpired since with Bourdains (unreleased?) documentary on "the foam guys" ,'Decoding Ferran Adria', was clearly uninformed and basically,talking smack about someones cuisine he hadn't even yet sampled. Did he make amends in the show? Say, "Hey Chef, just have to tell you, when I was writing my Kitchen Confidential book, I sat around with this pretty talented chef I was writing a chapter about, and poked fun at you and your brothers FOAM tricks, hope you understand". Doubtful, and I don't hate him for it. Bourdain is a massively more charming person, writer, human being probably but Keith Richards or Gordon Ramsey are too, in my book. I DO agree with akwa, in that if Psaltis could have found it within himself to talk about being enraged, "kicking peoples asses', smacking waiters, it would have been more compelling, certainly more passionate but, does Ramsey or Marco Pierre White or any of these chefs with a rep, really go into how they're tearing up people in kitchens in their cookbooks, or whatever??? It's what they do, it would be like talking about a bowel movement to them, less interesting, probably. And akwa, we'll ALL probably be seeing each other at the end of that particular blvd. I'm out