Call me strange, but I really don’t care for the flavor of apples as much as I like the flavor of pears. And thankfully, even in my neck of the woods, there are numerous varieties of them to choose from nowadays. Thinking back to my days making classic restaurant apple tarts and tart tatin, I wanted to do something for thanksgiving that likened to those, but were centered around the pear.

I decided on a roasted pear tart. Wanting to capture the flavor of a tart tatin, it’s got a caramelized crust on top… much like a crème brûlée. It sits on a pâte sablée crust, which is one of my favorite doughs of all time practically. The pears themselves were cooked much in the fashion of an old family apple tart, just out of the crust.

For the pâte sablée:
135g unsalted butter
120g sugar
55g egg yolks
4g vanilla extract
3g salt
9g baking powder
180g AP flour
1 egg for egg wash

Sift the flour and baking powder together. Cream the butter and sugar until very light. Add the salt, vanilla, egg yolks scraping down the bowl. Then add the flour mix until just combined. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Chill in the refrigerator.
Roll dough to a thickness of about 1/3 inch. Cut into the shape you like to fit the mold you are using. Brush with egg wash and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

For the pears:
This tart is held together loosely by gelatin. For 10 pears, two sheets will work well. Bloom in cold water. Select any variety that you’d like. I like to mix it up with several kinds. Peel and core them. Chop into a large dice. Saute in butter, sugar and vanilla beans until nicely caramelized. Place in a 325 degree oven and continue cooking until just softened. Melt the gelatin n a microwave until just liquefied. Add to the warm pears.
Place sablée into bottom of mold. Add pears to fill on top, pressing down to ensure that there aren’t any spaces. Try for a nice level top. Place in refrigerator to set.
When ready to serve, remove from mold and sprinkle with demerrara sugar. Caramelize with a torch.

There are flavors that classically are intertwined. Those include things like: chocolate and raspberries, balsamic vinegar and strawberries and blueberries with lemon. One of my personal favorites is coffee and bananas.For this dessert I’ve also added two other primary flavors which blend with the others very well. Those are chocolate and Sambuca.

My ideal makeup for a dessert incorporates several different textures, flavors and temperatures. I like to limit it to 3, maybe 4 key flavor elements. The approach with this dessert is a coffee panna cotta with a circle of caramelized bananas on top. These are ringed by a sambuca foam and topped with a chocolate caviar.

For the Panna Cotta:
340g. heavy cream
80g whole coffee beans
1 vanilla bean
6g leaf gelatin
115g sugar
200g mascarpone
100g half and half

Bloom the gelatin leaves in water. Place the heavy cream and coffee beans into a heavy saucepan. Split and scrape the vanilla bean and add to the cream. Heat gently until scalded. Cover and let steep for at least an hour. Blend the mascarpone and half and half together with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to break the cheese by beating it too hard.After the steeping period is over, gently re-warm the cream with the sugar added. Add the gelatin and the mascarpone. Strain and portion.

For the cocoa caviar:
(I’ve made some of this recipe in volume because the size of some of the ingredients is too small for most scales to measure)
118g sugar
55g glucose
2 T cocoa powder
100g water
1/8t locust bean gum
1g agar agar

2 cups very cold vegetable oil (around 32 degrees F.)

Cook sugar and glucose together to a rich caramel. Make sure you wash down the sides with a brush to prevent crystallization. Deglaze with the water then mix in cocoa. Whisk in Agar and the Locust Bean Gum, bring to a simmer. Strain and cool slightly, but retain a little warmth to prevent solidifying. Fill a squirt bottle with a very small tip. Drop into cold oil. You can vary the size of drops with hand pressure.

For the Sambuca foam:
250g whole milk
55g Sambuca
50g sugar
1g powdered lecithin

Heat milk with sugar to a scald. Whisk in lecithin. Pull off heat and add Sambuca. Reserve.

To make the Banana circles and finish:
Sliced bananas (try to not make a bias cut)
melted butter
Demerrara sugar

Arrange banana slices on parchment paper squares. Form them into a circle around a half inch smaller than the container your panna cotta is in. Overlap each slice so it forms a tight ring. Coat with melted butter and store in the refrigerator. Coating them will make them easier to handle and will also delay oxydization. When ready, remove from the refigerator and sprinkle with demerrara sugar. Caramelize with torch until evenly brown. Try to move quickly, if heated too long the bananas will start sliding apart. Let cool and place on top of the panna cottas. Place Sambuca milk in a container that will leave you with at least 3 inches of side above the milk. Take a hand immersion blender and froth the milk. Spoon the bubbles around the edge of the bananas. Top with a spoon full of cocoa caviar.

recipe courtesy Timothy Horst, pastrypros.com

Jason Licker, Executive Pastry Chef of The Venetian Macao Resort – Hotel, a three thousand room property. Jason oversees the pastry and bakery service, twelve outlets and sit down banquets for up to ten thousand.
This is the second largest building in the world and the foundation of the Cotai Strip in Macao.

Q: Firstly, Chef, Welcome to Pastrypros.com
Thanks, its great to see such a cool website dedicated to pastry..

Q: Secondly, may I call you Jason? lol!
Yeah, definitely, I have been called much worse…..

Q: The infamous first question is, why pastry? Did you start there or move over from savory like so many of us?
I can’t cook.. I don’t even know how to cook a hamburger, but I can eat a few… I started in pastry pretty much as most, by accident… My mother was ill at the time and wanted muffins, has to be low sodium, low sugar and so on.. I made them and it was fun and then did everything I could do to absorb information on pastry…

Q: Where are you from ( born)?
I was born in raised in Dix Hills, Long Island, just 45 min from NYC… so was regularly pigging out in Manhattan as a kid.

Q:Where is Macao? Overseas, I take it.
Macao is in China… Its the Las Vegas of Asia… I am one hour boat ride to Hong Kong and just 15 minutes to mainland China. The Venetian is a part of the Cotai Strip with will eventually consists over over fifteen brand name hotels. Venetian is currently the largest casino in the world and the second largest building in the world. Macao actually out grosses Las Vegas at the moment, so you can say we are quite busy! ahhh..

Q: List of awards,etc. that maybe we can start with?
I was a Rising Starchef in 2004 at the Peninsula New York. I coached my team in Shanghai won a total of three gold medals, a silver and two bronze at the Shanghai Culinary Competition in 2005 and 2006. Other then that, I think I won a cookie eating contest in sixth grade.

Q: Favorite dessert to eat?
Dam, this is a tough question… In Tokyo at Pierre Herme’s Pastry Shop I his Praline Mille Feulle. Was layers of perfect puff pastry, rich butter cream and feulletine. Was a double crunchy, creamy praline piece of heaven.

Q: Favorite items or desserts to make?
I love make chocolates. Molded, dipped or whatever… I actually love every aspect of pastry….

Q: Other chefs whose work you are into.
I am a fan of all Pastry Chefs. It takes passion and love of our craft to do this job. The dedication everyday to do what we love. Some of my favorites are Dominique Ansel of Restaurant Daniel, Vicki Wells of Mesa Grill, Jason Casey of Jean Georges in Shanghai and of course Sam Mason and Johnny Iuzzini who have brought our profession to the forefront.

Q: Did you just decide to go to culinary school or were you working in restaurants before?
I interned at Union Square Cafe for a summer before I went to Culinary School. I wanted to see if this is what I really wanted to do. Pastry Chef Stacie Pierce taught me well and really was hard on me. That made me even more hungry to succeed. I enrolled at The French Culinary Institute and felt I already had a solid foundation, so I was lucky to get a pastry cook job at Jean Georges under Pastry Chef Eric Hubert. He is a genius… Was an amazing experience on another level…

Q:Where was your first gig?
My first Pastry Chef job was at Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur. I was 22 and really had no idea what I was doing… ha ha.. I learned, made mistakes and had my first opportunity to manage a staff.

Q: Your history is chock full of really great schools & locations.
The Valrhona school, ” L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat”, is like a mystery to many of us in that people rarely see what happens there. The biggest look inside for me has been off of Christophe Michalaks Passions Gourmandes site.

Q:Was it as great as one would think?
I was the last class of the old L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat.” They opened a new school that same year. Its just amazing. The town smells like chocolate. The production facility is mind blowing. I wish I could have slept there overnight!

Q:Who was teaching classes and is it OK to not be fluent in French?
The classes were taught in English… I went with a bunch of Chefs from the states. Was super cool

Q:Does Kim ‘O’ Flaherty teach there or run an operation here for them?
Hmm.. Kim was working for Valrhona in the states, but I believe she is raising her three children at the moment. She was a gifted, talented Pastry Chef.

Q: You also went to renown Chocolatier Andrew Schotts “Chocolate Loft ” school. I saw some great pictures of the School, which Pastrypros.com Publisher Timothy Horst also attended.
Some great equipment in there! The Chocolate Loft was a school and also a production facility for Andrew’s line of chocolates. He had every piece of machinery. He moved out of the city, but he was producing some crazy good chocolates.

Q: With culinary education getting a bit dissed sometimes here in the states, especially now when money for education is tightening up even more, perhaps you can tell us what these schools gave you in competitive terms, The French Pastry School also, if that’s cool.
The FCI was an amazing experience. It builds a foundation of knowledge. Yes, you can be self taught and learn on the job, but I think its always good to have a base of knowledge.

Q:Favorite gigs: You’ve had the opportunity to work at some really great places. From Union Square Cafe , Jean George’ and Nobu, vast differences in what you needed to bring to the table or were these early days?
I was a Pastry Cook at Union Square Cafe and Jean Georges.. they were amazing. Totally different dining experiences. At Nobu I was the Pastry Chef and I just loved the simplicity and lightness of the Japanese ingredients. I could not choose a favorite one. All were great and made life long friends.

Q: Now you’re doing BIG places, hotel properties in particular. Can you talk about transitioning from more intimate solo focused work to being in charge of… I guess you could have a fine dining and a casual restaurant, room service menus, banquets and so on.
Well… where to start. This is a 3000 room hotel, second largest building in the world and the latest casino in the world. I manage a staff of thirty and we can do banquets sit down up to ten thousand. You have to be organized, be able to teach and check everything… I mean really check everything. We can have 50-60 functions in a day and have to be on top of everything to ensure the best quality and consistency. As you get the larger operations, its less cooking and more managing. Everyday is an adventure..

Q: A typical day in your chef life?
I wake up at 8am and get into work about 830.. Have a ridiculous amount of coffee and then drink more coffee.. I have the morning meeting to go over the events at 930am. After that I check the countless emails and then go through the events with the sous chefs and my assistant. I do some production and check everything and at noon I make my round to the outlets and then to the banquets. Have lunch at 2pm and then check emails, do some production and prepare for dinner service and the banquets for the evening. I will stay to about 8pm and make sure everything is running smooth, but if there is a VIP event I will stay til the end. Its a bit hectic and lots of last minute things, but chefs love pressure…

Q: What kind of gear do you have in your lab?
This is a mass production operation. So we don’t have anything high tech super cool. I have 80 quart mixers, combi ovens and all the standard things. I would love a liquid nitrogen kit, you can do some real cool things with it

Q:We LOVE pictures of kitchens, if you want and have time to include!
A: Will send pic!

Raspberry Passion Mousse

Praline Crunch Bottom –
Milk Chocolate 150 grams
Cocoa Butter 50 grams
Praline Paste 350 grams
Feulletine By eye

Method:

1) Melt the milk chocolate and cocoa butter together
2) Add praline paste and whisk till smooth.
3) Fold in feulletine.
4) Spread on a silpat and roll thin.
5) When set cut oval shape corresponding to the flexipan mold.

Passion Fruit Gelee –

1000g – liquid
500g – sugar
20g – gelatin
20g – agar agar

Method:
1) Boil the passion puree and sugar
2) Burr Mix the agar agar powder in and then the gelatin.
3) Pour in a half frame
4) When set, cut in oval shapes.

Raspberry Mousse–
1000 gr Raspberry Puree
600 gr Sugar
13 gr Lemon Juice
27 gr Gelatin
800 gr Whipped Cream

Method:

1) Boil the lemon juice, raspberry puree and sugar
2) Add the softened gelatin sheets.
3) Cool down till cool to the touch.
4) Fold in whip cream

Chocolate Glaze –
240 gr Cream
290 gr Water
360 gr Sugar
150 gr Cocoa Powder
25 gr Gelatin

Method:
1) Boil the cream, water, sugar and cocoa powder.
2) Add gelatin.
3) When cool, ready to glaze

Assemble Mousse:

1) Pipe some raspberry mousse in the flexipan half full.
2) Place a layer of passion fruit gelee.
3) Place the crunch bottom.
4) Freeze, pop out of mold and spray red.
5) Glaze half the mousse.

Ingredients:

Lime risotto:
113g Arborio rice
710ml milk
232g cream
75g sugar
1 van bean, scraped
Zest 2 limes
Juice 1 lime
10ml rum

Coconut sorbet:
500g coconut puree
160g water
600g sorbet syrup
Juice 1 lime

Tropical fruit:
Small dice of ripe tropical fruit

Thai basil caramel:
2oz water
8oz sugar
2oz water
150g thai basil puree

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Method:
For the risotto-
Combine rice, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla seeds in pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is cooked. Cool and add rum, lime zest and lime juice. Cover and refrigerate.

For the sorbet syrup-
Heat water, glucose and 2/3 of sugar. Mix remaining sugar with stabilizer and whisk into water/sugar mix. Bring to a boil and strain. Chill and let mature 24 hours.

For the coconut sorbet-
Blend puree, water, sorbet syrup and lime juice together. Process in batch freezer.

For thai basil caramel-
Combine first water and sugar and cook to a very light caramel. Deglaze with remaining water, cool and add thai basil puree. Refrigerate.

recipe courtesy Timothy Horst, pastrypros.com

Ingredients:

Pate sucree:
500g AP flour, sifted
375g unsalted butter
175g sugar
75g blanched almond flour
75g 10x sugar
6g salt
100g whole eggs
1 van. Bean, scraped

Chocolate ganache:
225g 61% chocolate
225g cream
25g trimoline
10g liquid glucose
60g butter, soft
26g lemon juice

Salted caramel sauce:
50g sugar
200g cream
125g white chocolate
15g butter, soft
2g salt

Chocolate sauce:
300g sugar
300ml water
200g cream
125g cocoa pwdr

Candied pistachio powder:
Pistachios
Salt
sugar

Whipped crème fraiche:
Crème fraiche
10x sugar
1 van. bean

Method:
For pate sucree-
Butter, salt, van. seed and sugar together in the kitchen aid until just malleable. Add almond flour and 10x sugar and combine. Add eggs and flour, alternating ending on flour. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap and refrigerate. Roll, portion and bake, blind, in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

For ganache filling –
Heat cream, trimoline and glucose until it just reaches a boil. Pour over chocolate and stir to emulsify. Add softened butter and stir to melt and incorporate. Add lemon juice. Pour into shells and refrigerate to set.

For salted caramel sauce –
Mix sugar with a little water and cook in saucepan until it reaches a light caramel. Heat cream, and whisk into caramel. Pour over white chocolate and stir. Add softened butter and salt. Refrigerate.

For chocolate sauce –
Heat water and sugar to a boil. Pour over cocoa powder and whisk smooth. Place back on the heat and bring to a boil. Strain into ice bath and add cream. Refrigerate.

For candied pistachios-
Place pistachios, sugar, salt and a little water in a bowl. Stir and place over heat. Constantly stir with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to burn nuts. As the sugar melts, scrape onto sides to allow crystallization. When the sound of sand appears, remove from heat and continue stirring until it crystallizes fully. Cool and pulverize in a coffee grinder.

For whipped crème fraiche-
Whip crème fraiche, enough 10x to sweeten and the seeds from 1 vanilla bean until stiff. Refrigerate.

recipe courtesy Timothy Horst, pastrypros.com

Hi everyone!!!
I’ve not been around for awhile, that’s what happens when you go to France to make a record ( January 08) get back, help open and become exec pastry chef of a new restaurant, a gastropub actually, but more about that later.

Some new literature pastry wise is about and I thought people might want to check it out.

I just bought the new P.H. book, “Macarons” and think it’s amazing…
Firstly, it’s the definitive book, it has to be, on the macaron, the French meringue cookie that’s the vehicle for so much exploration flavor wise and maybe even as a plated dessert inside two cookie shells.

I still don’t have PH10, I was waiting for it to be published in one of those twin language editions ( I’m pretty sure that won’t be happening ) so the exposure to all of his flavor profiles, some that I don’t think got into ‘10, are mindblowing.

From “Exceptions” like Foie Gras, Chocolate & Fig to some of his newest like Wasabi and Grapefruit. All of his classic and signature flavors are featured, in addition to a chapter on some of his creations that were created for clients such as Paris Match, in that classic French magazines red, black and white color of it’s logo as well as the perfumerie L’ Occitane in a ‘mac that features Pink Peppercorns and Mandarine.

Many pages of beautifully shot black and white ‘how to’ pictures, over twenty of them, and the always superb color photography of Bernhard Winklemann make this a must have!
Even if it stays in a French language edition only.
With Christophe Michalak and his Los Angeles collaboration with Koumetz Paulette, the ‘mac might be getting ready to explode on the US scene like cupcakes did.
‘Herme’s ” Macaron” could certainly help anyone have an “upper hand?

At only twenty six euro or, all of the fantastic pics and info, I couldn’t refuse.
Can you?

The other big news, Big News , is that after more then 12 years, / Partner/Creative Director /Pastry Chef of the world famous Spanish three star restaurant, El Bulli, is finally following up his 90’s masterpiece (and out of print ), “Los Postres de El Bulli”!
Alberto Adria is readying the release of his new book “NATURA” and it promises to have as big an influence if not bigger then “Los Postres” did.

If you don’t believe me, check out our most recent “Featured Chef” Luca Lacalamita.
He staged at El Bulli in the not too distant past and he has some interesting advance words on what promises to be a great addition to any pastry library.
How can you miss?
It’s in Spanish AND English too!

Luca Lacalamita, Pastry Chef, Osteria Francescana, Modena Italy

Starting in a local pastry shop at the age of 16, Luca then took his passion to Great Britian to start his tours of the best restaurants in the world. PLease join us as he graciously answers our questions about his life in pastry.

Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you get started in your work as a Pastry Chef?
I actually started in culinary school and in the meantime i was working in a restaurant in my hometown Trani, which is a nice small city in the south of Italy in the Apulia region,as a regular commis. So I started practicing as a cook, and when I got to age 16, I started working with a friend in his own pastry workshop, so I was practicing pastry and….. I liked it a lot!

The things where simple now that I’m thinking about them, but at that time were so hard! There where classics and like 30 different kind of small pastries, it’s been my first approach to pastry and I will always say thanks to my friend. Then I finished my studies,and I went to London at 18 years old, I worked at the Dorchester Hotel and in Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus Restaurant. These were both great experiences that started to ampliate my pastry background, then back in Milan at Cracco and another good experience as a Head Pastry Chef.

After that I went to El Bulli, that actually gave me the big inspiration about the way of creating ,and after it in Modena at Osteria Francescana as Head Pastry Chef….

Tell us a little about your current position. What type of menu, how many menu items, etc.

My menu is always structured with 7 dessert that involves fruit, vegs, chocolate and 2 unusual desserts which are always changing every month as my inspiration, and also we recommend a small tasting “dessert non dessert menu” — 5 small plates that starts from a savory and sweet to end up with the real dessert.
I started this kind of modern and progressive way of structuring the menu because the dessert has to be a gradual experience, not just 1 single dish , and obviously the customer enjoy more this kind of formula.

How do you find the times at the various restaurants you have worked in influenced your own desserts?

Well i had so many influences , like the terroir and the way of thinkin of each chef where I worked and obviously the technique , but I’m sure the only one is to choose the great and the best product on the market otherwise the result will not be the same , in every case , for that i really thank Ramsay for teaching me that.

How do you come up with your flavor combinations? Some are inspired by nature, some by architecture … I myself am usually inspired most by the first bite of something new. Right away flavor combinations will flood my head… What are your favorite flavor combinations?

Absolutely from nature and architecture for the final plating, I started to make these reconstructions of gardens and fields just because i wanted to find a concept for every single dessert I made and I will make, is the only way to let the customer feel emotions. For the flavour combinations I have quite a lot of favourites, but the best are passion fuit and milk chocolate , raspberry and greek yoghurt , mint and coconut , as well as coconut and saffron, pineapple and tonka beans and tomatoes and white chocolate which sound weird but i guarantee it’s really good!

I see through your photographs that you favor using herbs and vegetables in your desserts. Do you find that well received? I know here in America, it’s taking a little getting used to for our patrons sometimes!

In italy sometimes yes, sometimes no, obviously a gourmet will understand more the meanings of these ingredients , but most of the customers understand the concept and apprieciate the flavours.
Recently I’ve been to wd 50 and Alinea, and I guess that in the US you are starting to appreciate more herbs in desserts, but not everyone thinks in the same way.

Your stage at El Bulli really stands out of course, tell us about your time there. How did you find working for the Adria brothers? Was it what you’d hoped it would be? Can you give us some thoughts about what is new at El Bulli?

I probably spent the best time there , the way of working is really good and Ferran and Alberto are always in the kitchen with us to try , think, write down every single thing they make. It’s impressive the way they always research the new teqnique and the new combination, most of the people think elbulli = foams… but it’s not like that, in the whole season in pastry we made like 2 or 3 kinds of espumas and that’s it, the rest was normal and traditional pastry technique. I’m going there in august to say hello , they are wonderful people . This year Alberto will come up with his new book and he said that it’s gonna have the same effect the movie matrix had when it came out, so you will see a lot of new stuff…

Do you find that you concentrate mostly on plated desserts, or do you find time and opportunity for centerpieces of chocolate and sugar? Do you enjoy that part of pastry work? Do you compete in pastry competitions at all?

I find that I’m concentrated on plated desserts, but at the restaurant we always make sugar and chocolate centerpieces for anniversary and birthdays. We all enjoy that part of work, well no I never compete because I don’t feel that I want to be better or worsse than everyone else , I like to be simple ,to do what I like and follow my passions.

What are your plans for the future? Do you envision your own restaurant or Chocolate business?

First I will start something in Spain and I will let you know, that’s the early future for the long one I have to say that I really the loved Will Goldfarb restaurant formula. So I have this kind of vision in my head , it’s gonna be in some years but it’s always good to know where you want to go, no?

PANINO ALLA NUTELLA
recipe courtesy Luca Lacalamita, Pastry Chef, Osteria Francescana, Modena Italy

Milk chocolate cremeux

250 double cream
25 tremoline
240 jivara lactee vahlrona choc

Creamy nutella ganache

750 nutella
500 double cream
4 sheets gelatine

Raspberry and hazelnuts gallette

300 flour
160 icing sugar
100 freeze dried rapberry powder
275 butter
100 hazelnuts powder(toasted)
2 salt

Milk chocolate mousse

50gr yolks
35 sugar
100cream both the mousses need to spreaded one on top of each and
freezed,then cutted with a circle mould in order to put them
275 jivara lactee in the brioche

White chocolate mousse

200 milk
40 sugar
400 white chocolate
500 double cream

Brioche

750 flour
20 salt
135 milk
65 sugar
15 fresh yeast
286gr whole eggs
230 butter

Proove 2 h and then cook in steam pots 6 mins,freeze and then
fry them till golden brown

espresso ice cream

750 milk
100 cream
30 dextrose
4 ice cream stabiliser
100 sugar
70 nescafè

Hazelnuts praline

300 hazelnuts
150 sugar

Luca, that you very much for taking the time to talk with us. We wish you the best luck in your future!
If you’d like to contact Luca directly, you can email your thoughts or comments here.

Ted Niceley: Hi Michael, and welcome to PastryPros.com!

It’s definitely a pleasure for me, Ted! You guys are doing great job with this site.

TN: I hate to do this to you but, please, can you tell us how you got into cuisine in general and what led you to your first gig?

I’m what you might call an “accidental” chef- actually, I think there are a lot of us! How far back do we need to go?

I think even at an early age, I enjoyed what little cooking I did (we’re just talking the random batch of pancakes or cookies) because I sensed the feeling of accomplishment, of getting your hands dirty, of producing something greater than the sum of its parts. It was merely a bonus that others could take part in the enjoyment of those results- I mean, really, don’t most of learn to cook out of our own hunger?!

But I didn’t grow up in a “gastronomic” environment by any stretch of the imagination! Any foray into “exotic” food wouldn’t happen until, as a young, politically inclined punk, I would dive headfirst into vegetarianism (eventually I would take it to the next level and become a vegan for a couple of years). In that situation, in order to eat well, you have to do a lot of your own cooking. During that period I began to look toward the veg-friendly cuisines of the world: Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern. So that’s where a good deal of the interest and curiosity came from.

Taking a break from art school, as well as drifting away from being a vegetarian, I did some traveling, spending time in a number of different places. Upon my return to Detroit, I fell back into my old social network. A roommate of mine had a brother who was running a pastry shop/catering business, which at the time sounded a bit more interesting than going back to school. I did a lot of the grunt prep work but eventually moved on to bread. That’s what made something in my head click.

I ended up creating my own shift: 6pm until “whenever”, which usually meant 12-16 hour days. Long story short, by the end of that era (mid 1990s), I had a fairly broad,-but not so deep- exposure to both pastry and savory cooking

TN:What would you say were the most developmental aspects of that gig?

From that initial experience, I found out just how much of a work ethic I have, first and foremost. And that I could study and research and experiment in my own vacuum and turn out something slightly better than “edible”! But with that came a certain inflated belief in my own skills, that I had learned all the fundamentals and could therefore do anything. I soon realized that I had barely scratched the surface, and hence the welcome revelation that, in this profession, you never, ever stop learning.

And at this point, it still wasn’t really a “profession” in my mind, but more of a compulsion. I really wanted the experience of a real restaurant, but I also knew that I didn’t want to get lost in a big place, or waste time with the mediocrity so prevalent among Detroit’s dining options. The next stroke of luck in my career would be to land a spot in the tiny kitchen of Emily’s, owned by chef Rick Halberg. It was exactly what I thought I needed: a small restaurant/staff, a reverence for food, and a laboratory-like environment that I knew I could develop in.

While there I worked my way up the food chain, from pantry guy to sous chef, somewhere along the way creating a pastry chef position where none had existed. And it was there that I began following the food ‘scene’ and paying serious attention to what was going on in the world at large. Remember, it was around this time that the whole celebrity chef thing was hitting a new level. The gastronomic universe suddenly seemed to get smaller due to the increasing speed of information (i.e. the internet). The burst of creativity was also exciting; I remember those very first mentions of Ferran and Albert Adria back in the late nineties, as well as the faint rumblings of something called Molecular Gastronomy. Perhaps everyone goes through an early period of wonderment, regardless of what is happening at the time, but it sure felt like there was a creative explosion underway. That time and that environment were indeed quite a catapult into what I had by then, finally, considered my career.

TN:After that you heard about a pastry chef opening at Tribute?
And went for it?

Sort of. Tribute’s opening was a pretty big deal for the Detroit scene: they spent a lot of money, they brought in an out-of-town chef, the food was at a level never seen around town, and it would be the only restaurant to get any real national exposure. So any ambitious cook would jump at the chance to get into that kitchen.

I wasn’t seeking a pastry job. Takashi Yagihashi, the Japanese chef lured from Chicago, arrived with his whole management team in tow, pastry chef included (the awesome Tanya Fallon). I was leaning heavily toward the savory end of the curve, so a line cook spot was what I was after, though during my first few months at Tribute I remained the ‘stealth’ pastry chef at Emily’s.

I literally threw myself into the fire with this move. Up to that point, I had found passion and creativity, but with Takashi it was all about technique. And discipline. If perfection had previously been merely a goal, in Tribute’s kitchen it was compulsory. Refinement was now my mantra. I continued to push, and probably learned as much in that yearlong stint as I had in the previous three or four combined. And operating at that level introduced a whole new culture of cooking; it was now a philosophy, a state of mind, a way of life. Cuisine or Death.

I didn’t figure out why until much later, but pastry kept calling me. Sure, there was a little jealousy of Tanya, the pastry chef, and all of her bright shiny equipment. But looking back, I think I always coveted the autonomy of the pastry chef. I ended up leaving the line cook job for a return to Emily’s and what would be my ‘golden age’ there. And sadly, that restaurant recently closed after a twelve year run.

But when I heard that Tanya was leaving Tribute, well, of course I put my hat in the ring for that one. The familiarity helped, but I’d also like to think that Takashi and I had clicked on a personal level, and that my tasting/audition reflected his food; having been a cook there was certainly an advantage on that end. And there I stayed for five years.

TN: Again, what were the most developmental aspects of being at Tribute?
To me a big influence would be tasting menus.
Was Executive Chef Takashi Yagihashi a big influence on your dessert cuisine?

Those five years were spent really honing my technique and further refining in terms of taste, texture, and presentation. Really, that was my first ‘real’, full time pastry chef job, so I suddenly had much more time and the resources to explore new ideas. Management, too, was a new phenomenon when I had started, and while there was an evolution for sure- there was a period when I had been referred to as the ‘cake nazi’- I think I left that experience with a lot of confidence and fairly good skills. Getting people to buy into your vision and to work toward it is perhaps the most important aspect of this profession. Ultimately, Tribute was where I found, for lack of a better word, my voice or style. And on top of that, due to some huge support from other chefs and from the attention given to the restaurant, I started to gain some semblance of identity to the world at large.

The thing I loved the most about the various tasting menus, was the freedom for spontaneity that I had. There was a sort of fearless creative energy present for a few years in our corner of the kitchen and carte blanche to do whatever it took to carry the guests to the next level. Working within the vocabulary of multi-course desserts, my dishes became smaller, tighter, and more focused. Because so much of our output consisted of one-offs, or simply never saw a printed menu, my only regret is not having properly documented a lot of that stuff!

I still maintain a great friendship with Takashi; his influence will always be impossible to quantify. His trust and encouragement were hugely important. When I hear these stories from pastry chefs who don’t get along with their chefs, I’m mystified, because I’ve luckily always found that mutual respect. Overall, the crucial aspect of that relationship was that I understood what he was doing, and in turn worked toward a perfect transition for the desserts that followed. And all egos aside, that should the primary goal of all restaurant pastry chefs.

And of no small importance, I happened to have met my wife at Tribute!

TN: When we first met, it was around the time of the Spanish Pastry Explosion/Pastry Explosion in general. Did the tasting menu format of those restaurants influence you?

Yeah, by about 2002, it felt like there was this massive swirl of information and through sources like eGullet.com, where we stumbled upon each other, there was this amazing exchange of ideas. It’s one thing to sit at home with a book or magazine, in a vacuum of sorts, and quite another to process that information with a group of people with different perspectives.

As moderators, we had attempted to say, “Alright, let’s create this little basket, and if you see/hear/read something interesting, throw it in there and let’s talk about it.” With chefs like Adria, Balaguer, Butron, Conticini, Sam Mason, and several others, there was plenty to talk about. The work they were (and still are!) doing, and the discussion about it not only addressed technique, but also ingredients, chemistry, concepts, and sometimes even philosophy. It’s still an exciting time to be a pastry chef!

It’s hard to say what I took away from that initial ‘explosion’ that you refer to. Surely techniques and ideas influenced me, but honestly, and perhaps ironically, the most valuable thing I learned is the importance of knowing when to pull back and exercise restraint. With freedom and expanded options, I think there is a danger in getting a little too caught up in it. This is, in a sense, my current feeling on the relatively recent prevalence of ‘chemicals’, hydrocolloids, and the like. I’m no culinary Luddite; I have a lot of these ingredients on hand and I do my best to keep up with all of the ‘new’ stuff. But my enthusiasm for it is tempered somewhat as there are already plenty of things to keep me busy!

TN: You were also able to dine in Europe a good bit, Pierre Gagnaire and Arpege, to name a few.
Can you tell us some of the dessert courses you had there that blew you away?

Unfortunately, my European travel is rather limited to France, though I’ve been lucky enough to have visited a half dozen times over the last ten years.

Through my experiences at Gagnaire and Arpege (4 meals at each), I can trace, in a way, my own evolution, and if not two distinct but sometimes opposite influences. Gagnaire has always been an idol of sorts; I greatly admire his excitement, thought process and aesthetic, even if some of his dishes resemble barely controlled chaos. Alain Passard at Arpege represents a more minimal approach that I think I’ve come to increasingly align myself with, especially since working with Eric Ripert. I also experienced Ducasse and appreciated his emphasis on product and technical perfection at his initial Parisian restaurant.

On desserts specifically, a significant influence was Gagnaire’s ‘Grand Dessert’, which consisted of up to six or seven courses (often served in flights of two) of mostly fruit based desserts, the delicacy of which blew me away! After my first visit I immediately began thinking in terms of smaller desserts and progressions of flavors, implementing them into my menus alongside more conventional ‘a la carte’ options.

Philippe Conticini has always been another big deal in my world. His desserts at Petrossian (he was also the executive chef, by the way) really liberated presentation and the forms in which dessert had appeared before. I credit him with the onslaught of the shot glass-based desserts that has popped up everywhere over the years! He also pioneered pairings of beverages- favoring tableside infusions and tisanes over sweet wines- with his desserts.

I sampled heavily at Conticini’s revival of Peltier, and the experience, along with Pierre Hermé’s long awaited opening, made me seriously rethink the potential of retail shops. At the time, I was under the opinion that restaurant pastry was the only place to be. And since that time, the bar has certainly been raised. Japan, in particular, is very exciting in that regard!

It’s been two years since my last visit, and I’m woefully behind and out of the loop on what’s happening there now, which I think is also a symptom of being in New York’s insular environment. Aoki was hot when I was there last; I think the exchange between France and Japan is very interesting.

And it goes without saying that I’m long overdue for a trip to Spain!

TN: How many people are on your team now at Le Bernardin?

At the moment I have a team of seven split between two shifts, which includes pastry chef de cuisine Jose Almonte and sous chef Ricardo Guaman. At any given moment, we also have an extern or two, plus stages.

TN: Are you using a PacoJet or Turbine type of ice cream machines or both?

Apart from a couple of our consulting projects which use them exclusively, I haven’t worked on a Pacojet regularly since Tribute. While I like the expanded options it offers, as well as its versatility with small batches, it doesn’t make much sense given our production. We spin up to six quarts of a dozen ice creams and sorbets everyday. But I do think each has its place in any kitchen.

Earlier this year I was able to replace the batch freezer that dated back to Payard’s stint at Le Bernardin, which is surely a testament to their durability!

TN: Combi-ovens or induction burners?
If so, how are the Combi-Ovens helping you improve your products?
(Personally, when I used the Rational I really liked how you could just turn them on and 5 minutes later you’re baking. I really liked the way crème brulees etc. baked in them)

I sometimes joke that we’re working with the finest of 1985’s technology! That means one convection oven and a four burner range in terms of major hardware. I do however like the precision and portability of induction burners; it actually took me a long time to get used to open flame after working on them for five years.

TN: Sous vide equipment?

That is one thing I miss. I did a lot of cooking with the Cryovac, but what I liked most was bagging ingredients and components for super efficient storage and organization. And when you travel and ship food on a regular basis, it’s the only way to go.

TN: Do you have any fave chocolate or other items you prefer?

I pretty much stick with what I know and have used for years, but I do like to work with and showcase smaller chocolate producers from time to time. I was an early supporter of Plantations, if anything, because I thought it was an important venture in terms of their social and economic aims.

I’ve recently begun working with the Italian producer Amadei, which is a bit prohibitive due to its price and limited production, but their stuff is amazing!

On the whole, whether it’s organic hazelnuts, freeze dried corn, or smoked cinnamon, there are more and more ingredients and sources for them than ever. It’s a very fun part of the job looking for them!

TN: Any “industrial” products like Gellen, maltrodextrin, lecethin, etc. that are finding their way onto your plates? On a side note, I remember a (coconut?) dish you did that had a very foamy emulsion sauce as a component and years later thought “LECITHIN!!!” Was I correct?

I began sorting through a lot of these ingredients a year or two ago, and most have found their way into a dish here and there since then. But there is still so much to learn! For the most part, my approach is to familiarize myself with the function and properties of an ingredient and then wait for the right opportunity when it becomes the solution to a particular problem. I try to resist building a dish just for the sake of using something new. There is also the factor of practicality; alginate spherification, as an example, is a great tool to have in your arsenal, but it’s not practical to execute in a busy service.

I’ve been quite interested in expanding my knowledge of pectins and agar in particular, but gellan, maltodextrin, locust bean gum, xanthan, lecithin (you are probably right on that one, Ted) are all in limited daily use. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer restraint with most of this stuff and resist the idea of it becoming a base for a ‘style’ of cuisine!

TN: Eric Ripert ( Executive chef and co owner of Le Bernardin) has been doing various consulting gigs in the US and abroad. You’re helping on those projects too, yes?

Since I joined Le Bernardin over three years ago, I’ve worked on eight different projects of varying intensity and concepts. We’ve had both high profile and ‘under the radar’ gigs here in the city, as well as jobs stretching from Miami to southern California. Our most intensive focus is Chef Ripert’s ongoing relationship with the Ritz Carlton, which began with their opening in Grand Cayman and continues with a new Restaurant in Washington DC and planned openings elsewhere in the near future.

Even if I feel I maintain two or three full time jobs, these projects have been a great exercise in versatility. I do feel that my bosses, Chef Ripert and Maguy LeCoze, have been very smart and influential in the way they’ve structured the consulting arm, rather than expanding and diluting the Le Bernardin brand.

Most exciting for me have been the ongoing projects I’m involved with in Japan. Somewhat separated from the restaurant, I and others here in New York have consulted for several pastry shops in varying capacities for a couple of years now. It’s been a really amazing experience so far!

TN: Do you get to possibly stretch out a bit more for a restaurant in the Cayman Islands, with the kind of local influences & product they have there?

Every project presents not only challenges, but also certain freedoms. And almost all require some research and development due to location or concept. With Cayman in particular, there is an interesting amount of unique and indigenous product, and that of course influences the menu. Specifically, there are amazingly sweet local bananas, an interesting variety of ‘water apple’, and wild herbs unlike anything we’re familiar with on the mainland. Nutmeg and rum, of course, are important historically and economically in the region as well. Because we use the Pacojet there, sorbets in particular a great vehicle for showcasing many of the local fruits. On the flipside, it is sometimes the basic stuff that comes from outside of the island that can prove unreliable and frustrating! But for sure, everything comes into play when we put our menus together. To use Cayman as example once again, not only are location and seasonality important, but being located within a hotel is also a factor. Indeed, what we will offer in a casual poolside restaurant will differ greatly than what you will find at the fine dining, white tablecloth outlet.

TN: Are there any books from the last year that are turning you on?

There have been so many that I honestly don’t get much of a chance to spend serious time with most of them. And I still get a majority of my information and inspiration in small bites from magazines like Apicius or Art Culinaire, but most often from various sources on the internet. Books dealing with chocolate, especially those from Andrew Shotts, Jean Pierre Wybauw, and Peter Greweling have filled a very important knowledge gap. I haven’t seen much of Ramon Morato’s new book, but I look forward to attending a demo of his here in New York soon. And surely Torreblanca’s output, as well as Fredric Robert’s book, will remain important references. The last major acquisition of mine was Hermé’s PH 10; I still think he is the standard bearer worldwide, not only embracing the ‘new’, but also perfecting the ‘old’. And reinforcing his role as an innovator, I’m eagerly anticipating Grant Achatz’s forthcoming Alinea book.

TN: Chefs that are turning you on, at home or abroad?

By mentioning one, I’d be forgetting many! Johnny Iuzzini is most definitely still at the top of his game. I’ve recently enjoyed the work of Dominique Ansel at Daniel. I’m excited to see what Sam Mason will do now that Tailor is off the ground. As far as the cutting edge, few can touch Alex Stupak. No doubt, Will Goldfarb will again raise the bar on his next venture. I have always had a ton of respect for Bill Yosses, who surprised many when he moved into the White House position. I always look forward to seeing what Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot are up to over at Ideas In Food. Not only do I miss what both Paul Liebrandt and pastry chef Nick Morgenstern were doing at Gilt, I’m anticipating their next projects. Bill Corbett, recently at Anthos is one to watch as well. And then there are the dozens of great, not-so-famous pastry chefs that I’ve gotten to know that we’ll surely be hearing about in the future!

TN: After working in New York for a few years now are there any insights you’ve had to add to the “Laiskonis Manifesto” you so graciously let us post on PastryPros.com?

Manifesto? That makes it sound so… serious! All kidding aside, I do love what I do, and it has been gratifying to know that sharing my own experience may have helped others. I think if I had to add anything, it would be just that, the importance of sharing information and community building. Whether it’s as simple as the exchange of techniques, ideas, or recipes, or inspiring excitement and mentoring in general, that’s really how things move forward. And that is how we improve ourselves. None of us would be anywhere without the generosity and guidance of others, so I think it is important to keep that spirit alive both among your staff and co-workers as well as the pastry community at large.

TN: Any idea what you would like to be doing say, Five years from now?

You know, it’s hard to answer that, because in so many ways, I’m still living out my dream! It’s also been difficult to create such new goals, because the options for pastry chefs have certainly expanded over time. Consulting, ownership, research and development, writing a book, moving to the middle of nowhere and making bread… it’s all appealing to me, as is maintaining a successful restaurant pastry kitchen. Because of, and perhaps in spite of, whatever recognition and media buzz have come my way, I definitely feel more confident in creating mostly personal goals- still working to perfect things on a day-to-day basis. It’s that pursuit that is sometimes the hardest, but certainly the most important and rewarding, to achieve.

TN: Michael, we can’t thank you enough for the time taken and for being a pal here.
Thank you and continued Good Luck!!!

Thank you! It’s been great fun!

You can visit Micael at michael-laiskonis.com

TN – Ted Niceley
photo courtesy Michael Laiskonis

Jamie Ronan, Pastry Sous Chef, Food for Thought Catering, Chicago,IL

Where did you get your start?
Okay, so I started out as a live in nanny and loved to cook for the family, desserts being my fave. I went to the French Pastry School to learn more about classic French desserts.

I’ve worked in restaurant kitchens most of all.

What and Who are your greatest influences?
My greatest influences would be Pierre Herme and Oriol Balaguer .

Who do you consider your mentors?
My mentor would be En Ming Hsu.

Do you keep up with pastry in the media? How?
Media up keep, I read a lot, go to the latest hot spot, several times over if it’s really good like Nomi and Scylla.

Are you a cook book reader? What are your favorites?
Cook books I love are The Food Lovers Companion and Devil in the Kitchen.

Tell us a little about how your day goes?
Daily Grind- I get in @ 6:45 a.m., look over my prep list., “Place” every thing out, go to town so to say on some of the major things, assign my assistants some of the rest. Place my orders, print up menus, go over them with Chef etc..

What gear do you use in the kitchen? What’s your go to
tool you can’t live without?
Gearing up- Love my bowl scrapper, can go where no other spatula can. And my baby off set is a charmer for me all the time.

Do you have a favorite dessert item that you make?
Sweet on preparing plated desserts with a lot of beautiful and innovative components. Like cellophane sprinkled with edible flowers right out of the oven. That would accent a nice hazelnut mousse covered in shinny mirror glaze and silver leaf flecks.
I like to make different gastrique’s and powders. I feel it gives the plate depth and creativity with out being sloppy.

Pave

Crust:
8oz. milk chocolate
8oz. praline paste
2cups fieutine flakes

Mousse:

1# 12oz. white chocolate, armed slightly.
12oz. milk
1 vanilla bean split- heat with milk
3 cup whip cream w/ 1tsp. cinnamon
6 sheets gelatine- bloomed

Combine all ingredients for the crust, melt over a double boiler.
Spread onto a half sheet pan, lightly sprayed with pan spray.
Dust with cocoa powder. Freeze for half of an hour.

Whip cream and set aside in cooler. Heat milk with vanilla bean.
Warm the white chocolate, pour the milk over this, squeeze the gelatine
And toss into the milk mixture. Whisk over an ice bath, when cool fold in
Cream. Pour and spread onto crust. Put in cooler for 3 hours.

Pastry Art and Design has released it’s “10 Best Pastry Chefs in America”.

They are:

pastrypros.com would like to extend a whole hearted congratulations to all the winners!