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TOC List The Pastry Chef’s Companion Introduction: Part I: Part II: Chapter 1: The Ingredients The Recipes Flours • Fruit tart Sugars • Puff pastry: Napoleon, Pithivier, Jalousies, Fats Turnovers Leavening agents • Weekend gateau Simple cake/torte with filling Dairy products • Chocolate truffles Eggs • Trifle • Tiramisu Chapter 2: Equipping the Kitchen • Creams: Crème Anglaise, Bavarian Cream, Ice Appliances Cream, Pots de Crème, Crème Brulee Hand tools and small wares • Chocolate Mousse Workspace • Dobos Torte • Linzer Torte with Cookie Variation Chapter 3: Basic Pastry Techniques • Apple Strudel Creaming • Pâte à Choux: Cream Puffs/Swans, Paris-Brest, Rubbing Profiteroles, Choucettes, Gougeres, Whipping • Crêpes Two-stage Blending • Berliner/Doughnuts Laminating • Sabayon with Berries or Gratinée Interviews with the Masters • Stepane Treand, MOF France/USA • Sebastian Cannone, MOF & Jacquey Pfeiffer, France/USA • Lau Didier Rosada, World Baking Champion, France/USA • Laurent Branlard, Two-Time World Champion, France/USA • Frederic Deshayes, France/Singapore • Franz Ziegler, Switzerland • Fabian Reimer, Switzerland • Iginio Massari, Italy • Thomas Haas, Germany/Canada • Steran Riemer, Germany/USA • Anhil Rohira, India • Thaddeus DuBois, Former White House Executive Pastry Chef, USA • En Ming Hsu, World Pastry Champion, USA • Jean Pierre Wybau, Belgium • Susan Notter, England/USA • Pierre Zimmerman, France 2 THE PASTRY chef’s APPRENTICE 3 THE GOOD SON. THAT’S HOW THADDEUS DESCRIBES HIS FORMATIVE YEARS, FIRST IN CALIFORNIA AND LATER IN IDAHO. THE THIRD CHILD OF SIX SIBLINGS, HE WAS THE FIRST ONE TO HELP IN THE GARDEN, TO COOK AND CLEAN IN THE KITCHEN, OR TO ASSIST WITH OTHER CHORES. HE WAS THE “GOODIE-GOODIE” AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL, WHERE HIS WORK WAS IN THE TOP PERCENTILE. THIS BEHAVIOR REFLECTS THE TRAITS SEEMINGLY INHERENT IN ALL GREAT PASTRY CHEFS: THE ABILITY TO WORK LONG HOURS, OR- GANIZATION, COOPERATION, TEAMWORK, THE DESIRE TO PLEASE OTHERS, AND THE DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED. THADDEUS DUBOIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF AND CULINARY MENTOR. Living in the western United States where became more appealing. While in college, fruits and vegetables are easily grown, he worked in a pie shop/café making 400 his family’s hobby of gardening fueled pies per day and up to 1,000 per day in the Thaddeus’ appreciation of natural, local days preceding the Thanksgiving holiday. ingredients at an early age. It is not surpris- The determination to become more ef- ing that his first area of interest in school ficient and to create better pies ignited his was horticulture, which he considered as interest in a baking and pastry degree. As a a career, but like many young people, he result, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute would drift through several other areas of of America in Hyde Park, New York. study before he settled on the pastry arts. His flirtation with a music career lasted lon- ger, and he received two degrees in music, one in theory and one in performance. As he matured, the pragmatism of a steady job 4 THE PASTRY chef’s APPRENTICE THADDEUS DUBOIS 5 “The traits seemingly inherent in all great pastry chefs: the abil- ity to work long hours, organi- zation, cooperation, teamwork, the desire to please others, and the determination to succeed.” His resume charted a course that could have been navigated by a five-star admi- ral. After graduation, he was the assistant pastry chef to the top sugar and chocolate I was introduced to Thaddeus in 1993 artist in the world. In the years that fol- when he was working at the Sun Valley lowed, he was pastry chef at the Fairmont Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, to fulfill the Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Duquesne externship requirement for his diploma Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Beau from the CIA. There was a commitment Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi, and to the culinary arts in the kitchen, but the the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic level of professionalism matched the laid- City, New Jersey. back vibe of a mountain community. He was instantly noticeable in a large kitchen And then came the job that put him on with his spotless pressed uniform, tall the covers of newspapers and magazines: toque, crisp neckerchief, and a tool kit that Thaddeus was selected to be the Executive mimicked that of a surgical table. He would Pastry Chef to the President and First Lady work into the evening, so immersed that he of the United States of America in 2004. frequently missed meals. Reminding him He served his country and the first family to eat did not work; he had to be forced out for two years until he once again yielded to of the kitchen for rest and food. By the end the siren call of the hotel pastry kitchen. of his externship, it was obvious that the He returned to the Borgata in Atlantic City professionalism of the pastry and culinary where he is energized by having a creative kitchens had risen largely due to Thaddeus’ outlet and the ability to mentor the next example of determination, desire, and generation of pastry chefs. commitment to excellence—and this was from a student. Most round fish have pesky pin bones that pin bone with a firm even tug, wiping your need to be removed before cooking. Also tweezers or pliers on a paper towel or damp known as intermuscular bones, the pin kitchen towel in between. Always pull in bones are “floating” bones that are not at- the direction that the bones grow and pull tached to the main skeleton. Some experts toward your body to prevent tearing the use ordinary needlenose pliers to remove delicate flesh of the fish. Inspect on the cut the bones; I prefer my small stainless steel side of the fillet at the head end to locate fish pliers. the thicker harder pin bones. See “Boning Fish Steak and Making Fish Roulade” for The pin bones start at the head end where instructions on removing the pin bones they are longest and stiffest, and run about from a fish steak. Alternatively, cut out the one-third of the length of the fish, gradually pin bones in a very narrow V-shaped slice. shortening and thinning with one bone per layer of flesh. Hold the fillet from under- Here we remove the pin bones from a neath or place the fillet on an inverted salmon fillet and a walleye fillet. bowl: The pin bones will poke out making them easier to find. Grab on to the pin Turn the fish fillet so that the head end is bone while applying even, flat pressure to toward your writing hand and the backbone the fillet with your other hand. Pull out the faces you. 6 THE PASTRY chef’s APPRENTICE THADDEUS DUBOIS 7 “A pastry chef is someone who is completely dedicated to his or her craft—passionate to the WHAT ROLE DID MENTORING point of being crazy—and is PLAY IN YOUR PASTRY CAREER, the neighbor who always brings AND HOW DO YOU UPHOLD THE dessert to get-togethers.” UNWRITTEN CODE OF GREAT PASTRY CHEFS OF PASSING THE TORCH TO THE NEXT GENERATION? Any success I’ve had in my career is due to invaluable lessons I learned from Ewald Notter and Joe McKenna. In turn, I have had fifteen interns under my direction since achieving the title of pastry chef. It is of the utmost importance for our craft to be passed on the next generation, especially as the industry has gravitated toward fac- tory premade items. INTERVIEW WITH THADDEUS DUBOIS WHICH OF YOUR JOBS ENABLED WAS THERE A DEFINING MOMENT Unlike painting and sculpture, however, YOU TO GROW THE MOST? OR DID YOU HAVE AN EPIPHANY both vanish physically the moment they Surely, my first job helped me grow the OTHER THAN BUTTER, FLOUR, WHEN YOU KNEW THAT BAKING are enjoyed. Music can be recorded and most. I was working as Ewald Notter’s photos of pastry can be taken, but the true assistant in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His SUGAR, EGGS, AND SALT, WHAT AND PASTRY WAS MORE THAN A ARE THE FIRST TEN INGREDIENTS LOVE AND WOULD BE YOUR LIFE’S moment of listening to a live performance utmost determination to push the envelope of music or enjoying the actual moment completely motivated me. I was able to YOU WOULD SELECT FOR YOUR WORK? of eating a wonderful dessert are full of meet hundreds of pastry chefs, foodies, KITCHEN? I was always interested in four careers: nuances and subtleties which disappear entrepreneurs, and students who have Dark chocolate, almonds, lemons, hazel- music, pastry arts, horticulture, and in the haze of memory. I don’t see many remained invaluable assets to my career. nuts, oranges, cinnamon, tapioca, heavy meteorology. I received two BAs in music; differences between the two. cream, apples, and agar-agar however, during these studies I became WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER more interested in pastry and thought it HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE A OTHER THAN AN OVEN, WHICH would make a better career. TO SOMEONE INTERESTED IN A PASTRY CHEF TO SOMEONE WHO CAREER IN THE PASTRY KITCHEN? ITEMS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR EQUIPPING YOUR HOME WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES HAD NEVER HEARD OF ONE? Get a solid education and immediately A pastry chef is someone who is completely KITCHEN? AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN A work under the wing of a great pastry chef. dedicated to his or her craft—passionate Read everything possible about pastry A stand mixer with a minimum bowl CAREER IN MUSIC AND A CAREER to the point of being crazy—and is the including the new trends, compete, and of capacity of 5 quarts (4.7 L) , pastry bags IN PASTRY? neighbor who always brings dessert to get- course, practice, practice, practice.

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