nightscotsman

confiseur - glad the recipe worked for you and you like the 'mallows. AlainV - Sorry it didn't work for you . Assuming you cooked the syrup to the correct temperature, it sounds like it's the gelatine that's the problem. I know there are different strenghs of of leaf gelatine, but I've only used one kind, so I'm not sure how to advise you. Can anybody else give some pointers on determining jelling strength and substitution guidelines?

Oh man, that is EVIL! (and really, really funny )

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Fluid Flex. Is it some kind of mix or additive product? Please enlighten us.

Blackberries go really well with rosemary. I've had the combination in a couple things - jam we made in school and a dessert at Brasa in Seattle - and both definitely worked.

I would use the same amount of glucose. There is a little more water in the corn syrup, but at this volume it shouldn't make much of a difference. It is essential to soak leaf gelatine in water before using. here's what I would do: soak the gelatine with the initial 1/2 cup water in a small bowl. When it softens, heat the gelatine in the microwave just until it melts. Pour it into the mixer bowl with the strawberry puree and procede with recipe. This way the larger pieces of gelatine will more easily incorporate into the hot syrup.

Fred! Thanks so much for posting the great photos and class descriptions from the Forum. Looks like there were several that I would have liked to attended. Which was your favorite class? And did you learn anything that will change the way you work at home, or inspire you to try any new things?

Yeah, nitrogen is the normally used innert gas used to keep things fresh longer. Most chip manufacturers use it in baged snacks for this purpose. By the way, to do a little myth dispelling - fairly recent investigations have determined that it wasn't the hydrogen in the Hindenburg that caused the thing to flame out. Hydrogen is actually not as combustible as many other gases and fuels, including gasoline. The real problem was that the whole thing was coated in powdered aluminum (to get that nice, shiny silver) which is extremely combustible and is more commonly used today as ROCKET FUEL.

I'm willing to bet that at least part of the issue is that the French team was made up entirely of MOF's and the Belgian team had two MOFs, while the US team had none (and one member who wasn't even born in France). There's a big feeling of entitlement that goes with those three little letters, and I'm sure it really bugged the crap out of them that they didn't win. There were also some rumblings that Jean Philippe Maury dominated and bullied the other judges into giving it to his hand-picked US team, and there were alot of upset MOFs calling the office from France after the show. I know that he has a very strong personality, but I have a hard time believing one person could have that much influence, especially with Jacque Torres overseeing the judging. Yes, the Belgian chocolate piece was amazing and seemed flawless (and they did win a medal for it), but 40% of the score was for degustation, and I don't think anybody but the judges who tasted can really know who came out on top there. You just can't look at a cake or plated dessert and know if it tastes good. Another thing to keep in mind is that even before the competition started, the judges found some items in the French kitchen that violated the rules (some ingredients mixed ahead of time, I believe). They were allowed to go ahead and use the stuff, but points were deducted because of it.

Here are the last of my photos: the showpieces. Chocolate - Australia Sugar and Pastillage - Australia Chocolate - Belgium (first place) Pastillage - Belgium Sugar - Belgium Chocolate - France Sugar and Pastillage - France Showpieces - Germany Chocolate - Japan Pastillage - Japan Sugar - Japan Chocolate - Netherlands Sugar - Netherlands Chocolate - Poland Sugar - Poland Showpieces - Singapore Chocolate - South Korea Pastillage - South Korea Sugar - South Korea (first place) Showpieces - Switzerland Chocolate and Pastillage - Taiwan Sugar - Taiwan Chocolate - USA Sugar - USA

We baked some bread and brioche in them in school. Worked great and I could see how they would make a nice package for gifts or shipping. Much classier than those disposable aluminum pans.

Wow - wish I had your resume. I hope you have luck in finding good people to work with you, and the new place does well. Please keep us posted on how things work out (if you can find the time ). And do let us know the name and location when you are free to disclose.

Sounds like a potentially great opportunity. Perhaps you could give a little background on yourself and your experience - where and with whom you have worked, your style and philosophy, who will be the restaurant's executive chef, etc. These are some of the things I would want to know before giving away a substantial amount of my valuable time and efforts.

Any half-sheet sized pan will work for the full recipe. I have a non-standard 13x17 pan from Wilton that I like to use, because it has perfectly square corners and non-sloping sides. You many not even fill the sheet, which is fine. Just spread them out as thick as you like and turn up the end of the foil lining to keep it in place.

I love taking the train, but believe it or not, Amtrak doesn't stop in Vegas.

JB Prince carries an excelent selection and has generally reasonable prices for the quality. Design and Realisation (in Canada) has a somewhat smaller selection, but lower prices on some items. Plus they can custom manufacture some things such as cake rings. They carry the Flexipan brand molds, but I actually prefer the Silicone Flex molds for several reasons, and they're much cheaper.

Yep, that's where pastry chefs make their money - selling air and water. I'm very happy you like them and the recipe works for you. If you would like more volume from the chocolate ones, you might try using less cocoa. They won't be as strongly flavored, but the mixture should foam better. You're right about dissolving the cocoa in hot water and letting it cool. That's actually what I did and I should have mentioned it in the recipe. The acid in lemon juice shouldn't affect the gelatine at all. It's only an enzyme in some fresh tropical fruits that you have to watch out for. So using lemon juice and zest (or lemon oil) should work fine. Orange might be another nice flavor to try, maybe with a bit of orange flower water and vanilla.

For simple, I like Pierre Herme's chocolate whipped cream as a cake filling: 375 g heavy cream 1 Tbsp sugar 65 g dark chocolate (he recommends Valrhona Caraibe, which is I think a 65%?) bring cream and sugar to boil and pour over chocolate. Mix as for a ganache. chill at least 5 hours. When ready to use, whisk by hand until it's almost firm. Don't overwhip. It should be firm enough to spread, but not stiff. Since there are so few ingredients, the quality of chocolate is really important.

I think you could probably use all sugar, though the mouth-feel might not be as creamy and they would be a bit sweeter (corn syrup has a lower sweetening power than sucrose). You could also use glucose if that is easier for you to find. Possibly, but Torani syrups contain a lot of sugar which you would have to rebalance the recipe for. I think you would get much better quality from unsweetened ingredients like fruit purees, spices, cocoa and such.

Actually, for most of this stuff your guess is as good as mine as to what's in it. I had to work during the time when the entremets and minis were tasted by the judges, so I didn't see the insides, but even seeing the tasting of the plated desserts I couldn't be sure of what I was looking at. The judges are given diagrams detailing all the components of each item, but spectators get no inside info. Actually, that was one of the things I thought the organizers could do a little better. Why not give everyone access to the diagrams and descriptions? I wouldn't even mind getting them after the competition is complete. $150 is not a small amount of money to pay for a ticket, but seating is way away from the kitchens on a flat floor, so you can't really see anything of what the chefs are doing. There are a couple big video screens showing feeds from several cameras roaming the kitchens, but often what we were seeing was not what the comentators were talking about and the camera men had no clue what was important to film. Really it was almost pointless to be there in person. I would much rather pay $25 for photos of all the cakes and showpieces with descriptions, even if they are digital and not printed. The Pastry Art and Design issue that comes out covering the contest is fine, but doesn't include full photos of everything. Usually there are only partial views of several of the showpieces and there are no pictures and/or descriptions of many of the other items. Thankfully, the cakes and gateaux were available for viewing up close in cases after the judging, and the video screens were a step in the right direction, but the loss of the bleacher seating was a huge step backward.

You are correct - adding oil is the answer. You could use a nut oil, but that would introduce another flavor which you may not want. I would just use a flavorless vegetable oil. You'll have to experiment to find out how much to add. I wouldn't add liquor or liqueur since they contain water. The small amount of water will make the chocolate seize and become grainy. You would have to add much more water to make the chocolate smooth, but then you would basically have a water-based ganache. Actually, another thing you might try is small chunks of firm ganache in your ice cream. I imagine it would be more like fudge chunk than chocolate chip.

More, more, MORE photos! Here are the frozen entremets. Sorry for the crappy quality of some of the images. I had to shoot without a flash to avoid getting glare off of the glass front of the display case, so it's hard to hold the camera steady for the longer exposure (and with the crowds jostling for their turn to look). Oh, and the final detailed score breakdowns have been posted here. Australia Belgium France Germany Japan Poland Singapore South Korea Switzerland Taiwan USA

Congratulations! Do you know when you start yet or your hours? Time to go shopping for a bigger spatula! Sorry to get off topic here, but it'll be great to have another eGullet junky in the kitchen.

I hope you don't mind if I explain a little bit more of what you are referring to here in your post, but lepatissier recently finished a 6 week externship in our pastry kitchen at Bellagio and is in the middle of the application process for a job on the banquet crew. Gone in for your drug test yet? The wheels of corporate America grind slowly...

And here are the petit gataux: Coming up: ice cream cakes and showpieces.

Finally, more photos. Here are the entremets in alphabetical order: