Cookbooks by Pastry Chefs

[lilthorner]

i was looking for a recipe to adapt for caramel mousse and I saw a post that I believe was made by wendy on another board regarding Michel Roux's book Finest Desserts... I have never heard of him.. i love searching eg boards and looking for advise from the "experts" ( I am a pastry student), but do I just keep searching for the tried and true folks? or when do I learn that part?

[McDuff]

always keep in mind...There are no dormant geniuses.

I don't have any problem finding what I need in the books of people who are better at what I do than I am. As far as creativity goes, I have good technical skills.

Finest Desserts is a beautiful book, but some of the stuff looks intimidating. Quantities seem to be very small in some recipes.

[prairiegirl]

I just received the "chocolate" by ramon morato. Nice pictures! Anyhow, I can hardly wait to read it.

[Tri2Cook]

I'm not sure I understand the question. I've found some very good recipes in little paperback church or club fundraiser cookbooks and some recipes I could live without in books from big name chefs. If a book is on a subject of interest to me, I check it out. If I like it, I buy it. If I can't check it out and I'm really curious, I order it. Doesn't matter who wrote it. I've made a few expensive mistakes that way but I've added a lot of great books to my collection that way as well. Recipes aren't the most valuable part of cookbooks anyway, the inspiration and education they provide are. Even if a book turns out to be crap, it can teach you a lot of things not to do.

[lilthorner]

I didn't even realize that I had gotten some replies.. I'm not sure what no dormant geniuses means. I mean i know what dormant is and i know what genius is, so maybe I'm just being a lil slow.

I usually buy any book that interests me also, unless I can check it out from the library.

I guess the question was like when do I find out who the tried and true (as much as can be) pastry chefs are.

I mean awhile ago, somebody could have said Pierre H to me and I would have thought Hermes like scarves.

so Ill just keep doing what I been doing. looking and searching! thanks for the responses

[alanamoana]

It seems that what you're looking for are books by well known pastry chefs and/or books that have great recipes OR a combination of the two...it's just that you don't know who the well known pastry chefs are. Since you are a pastry student, it would behoove you to read all the trade magazines that you can get your hands on (Pastry Art and Design, Food Arts, Pastry and Baking: North America, etc. etc.). After you read them for a while, the same names keep on popping up and you'll start to recognize who's who and what they're known for.

Do research on restaurants as well. eG is a great resource and there are some well known pastry chefs posting here and there. The internet in general is great because restaurants have websites that show current menus and the names of the pastry chefs. It's a great source for inspiration. Talk to your chef instructors as they will be able to point you in the right direction as well. And finally, some of the better equipment websites also sell professional books that you can't find at the library or local bookstore. There's a great resource in C.H.I.P.S. Books, but their prices aren't always the most reasonable. I go there to see what's available and then shop around to find the best price.

Look up other websites like Pastry Scoop or Star Chefs and others. These will have bios on well known pastry chefs in the hotel and restaurant industry. You'd be surprised at how many of them have books out. That being said, all books are not equal and even some of the famous chefs/pastry chefs have books out that aren't that great (i.e. recipes don't work, ingredients too hard to source, etc). One book I bought early on in my career was Charlie Trotter's dessert book. Nice pictures and very 'modern' for the time...but I didn't like any of the recipes that I tried from the book.

edited to add: And finally, it depends on what subject matter you're looking for when deciding what to buy. I wouldn't buy a book focusing on chocolate by a pastry chef known for cakes. You have to know their specialty to judge whether it is worth the investment. I say investment because some of the better books tend to be around the $200 mark. Look also in the Cookbooks and References forum as there are a lot of reviews on specific books.

Edited July 18, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[gfron1]

That explanation sure helped me alanamoana. With that, THIS topic about top US pastry chefs might be helpful. Not all will have books, and its only the US chefs, but its a great list.

[lilthorner]

thank you alanamoana! that really helped me also.. the only mags available at school (community college-maybe thats the diff.?) is the ACF mag, but my chef is really good at letting me look at his books, suggesting which ones may be good only for technique which may be for recipes, etc..

I go on amazon and looked for used copies most of the time once I find something that may interest me..