Chef Stéphane Chéramy is currently the Executive Pastry Chef at The Ritz-Carlton & JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, a role he has held since 2006. In this capacity, Chef Chéramy has led the pastry team at this AAA 5-Diamond, Michelin-award-winning resort, managing various aspects of the pastry and bakery operations. 

Chef Chéramy is also the President of Club Pastry World Cup Team USA, a member of the Académie Culinaire de France and the James Beard Foundation. From 2006 to 2012, Chef Chéramy was the Chairman of the Ritz-Carlton Pastry Advisory Board - Global.

Prior to his tenure in Orlando, Chef Chéramy held several notable positions, including Executive Pastry Chef and preopening team member at The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, and Assistant Pastry Chef at The Ritz-Carlton Naples. He also served as an Assistant Pastry Chef and member of the opening team at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Before coming to the United States, Chef Cheramy worked in a number of restaurants and patisseries in the south of France. 

He has judged multiple competitions including the United States tryouts for the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, US Pastry Chef of the Year, and others. Chef Chéramy won the gold medal at the National Plated Dessert Competition (USA), and multiple silver medals include one at the National Chocolate Competition in France. 

Club Coupe du Monde Team USA is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is dedicated to promoting transmission, exploration, vision and advancement of both the artistic and scientific realms of the Pastry Arts. The Club seeks, recognizes and support America’s best pastry chefs to represent the United States in the Pastry World Cup. With 50 participating countries, this biannual event is considered to be the most prestigious pastry competition in the world.

In this episode we discuss:

•    How Stéphane first became hooked on pastry
•    His training and honing pastry skills in France 
•    The job that brought him to the U.S.
•    His career with the Ritz-Carlton
•    Being named President of Team USA Club Coupe du Monde
•    His goals for Team USA
•    Stéphane’s top kitchen tip and advice for aspiring pastry chefs
•    And much, much more!

Upon completing an AAS in Culinary Arts from Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, Andy Chlebana attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park to study baking and pastry. He began his career working for the Four Seasons Chicago, focusing on fine-dining desserts. Chef Chlebana’s career has included positions at The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island Grill Room, opening team of the Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C., and Pastry Chef/Corporate Account Manager at Albert Uster Imports, Inc. Chlebana has spent the past 18 years teaching baking and pastry at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, where he is now Pastry Chef/Professor. Most recently, Chlebana was the coach of Pastry Team USA, which competed at the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, and has completed revising the second edition of his book The Advanced Art of Baking and Pastry (Wiley, 2017), due out later this year. He resides in Plainfield, Illinois with his wife Heather and four children.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Andy first got hooked on baking
• Taking an alternate route: community college and pastry at the C.I.A.
• Landing his first job at the Four Seasons Chicago
• Opening the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.
• Joining the sales team at Albert Uster Imports
• Finding his true calling: beginning his teaching career at Joliet Junior College
• The challenge of earing his CMPC certification
• Coaching Team USA for the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie
• And much more!

After over 20 years of making sweets in celebrated kitchens all over the world, Chef Adam Thomas launched his own brand, Thomas Craft Confections, in Brenham, TX. Adam began his professional journey working at a San Diego bakery at age 18 with Alsatian master baker Pascal Zindel, and it was there that he realized that confectionary arts was his calling. During a successful apprenticeship at the prestigious Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Adam connected with long-time mentor, Jean-Francois “Jeff” Lehuede. While still working at the Ritz-Carlton, Adam took on a second role at the St Regis Monarch Beach Resort to learn from pastry chef Stéphan Tréand, MOF. After taking the role of Head Pastry Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey, Adam was sent to help open other Ritz-Carlton hotels in Abaco Island, Bahamas, and Denver, Colorado. From there, Adam was sent to Enniskerry Ireland to assist with another opening at the Ritz Carlton Powerscourt. Then it was chocolate competitions in Cologne, Germany, and Madrid, Spain and learning chocolate science in T’Hain l’Hermitage, France and Schwyz, Switzerland. Adam went on to Executive Pastry Chef residencies at Capella Singapore, The Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, and at the longest running 5-star resort in the country, The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs. It was in Colorado Adam was able to sink his teeth into the baking and pastry program and make it one of the very best in the country. Adam now owns and operates Thomas Craft Confections in Brenham, Texas.

 In this episode we discuss:

•  How Adam got hooked on pastry
• His apprenticeship under Pascal Zindel
• His illustrious, global career with the Ritz-Carlton
• Why he was drawn to chocolate work
• The experience of chocolate competitions in Europe
• Working in Singapore and appreciating desserts with less sugar and fat
• Engaging with peers on the ‘Untempered’ podcast
• Adam’s kitchen tips and advice for neophyte pastry cooks 
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by
Guittard Chocolate Company

We know the level of expertise required to succeed in pastry.  At Guittard, our family has been perfecting our craft for five generations.  We source premium cacao beans from all over the world to offer a variety of flavor profiles and meet any application need. Now these chocolates are available in an easy to use 3 kilo bag.  At Guittard, we focus on the chocolate details so you can focus on your craft.  Visit www.Guittard.com to learn more.

You may recognize Rebecca from her appearance on Top Chef: Just Desserts or the standout mention in Southern Living where her Houston-based, sweet tooth haven of a storefront, Fluff Bake Bar, was named one of the “South’s Best Bakeries.” The Wyoming native made her first “go big or go home” play back in 1999 when she secured a spot at the famed Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris, and soon after, a coveted internship at the landmark Le Bristol hotel.  There, under the tutelage of Pastry Chef Gilles Marchal, she got a taste of Michelin-starred kitchens. After graduating, she worked her way through many famed New York City kitchens, eventually becoming head pastry chef at The Red Cat with Executive Chef Jimmy Bradley. After years of work in the Big Apple, Rebecca pivoted to Texas just as Houston’s culinary scene was starting to heat up. Masson accepted an invitation from Executive Chef Ryan Pera, now chef-owner of Coltivare and Revival Market, to oversee pastry for *17 Restaurant and the Sam Houston Hotel. She quickly generated a cult following in the 713, earning a nickname as the city’s “Sugar Fairy”. My Table Magazine designated her Best Pastry Chef, the first of many local honors, which led to positions with Houston-based and nationally noted chefs and restaurateurs ranging from Charles Clark to Chris Shepherd, as well as a role with HEB Central Market, before stepping out on her own with Fluff Bake Bar in 2011. Masson moved Fluff to its current, larger location in the Heights neighborhood in 2020 and her pastries and confections have received notable coverage in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Texas Monthly, Houston Chronicle, Culture Map, Saveur and TimeOut, among many others.

 In this episode we discuss: 

•  How Rebecca got hooked on pastry
• Her experience attending Le Cordon Bleu
• Staging at Le Bristol in Paris
• Working for Daniel Boulud in NYC
• Opening Fluff Bake Bar, using a commissary kitchen
• Launching the brick-and-mortar Fluff Bake Bar
• Rebecca’s top kitchen tips and advice for future pastry chefs
• And much more!

   

Episode Sponsored by
Guittard Chocolate Company

We know the level of expertise required to succeed in pastry.  At Guittard, our family has been perfecting our craft for five generations.  We source premium cacao beans from all over the world to offer a variety of flavor profiles and meet any application need. Now these chocolates are available in an easy to use 3 kilo bag.  At Guittard, we focus on the chocolate details so you can focus on your craft.  Visit www.Guittard.com to learn more.

Jana Lai is a pint-sized pastry chef with an insatiable appetite for success. With her determination and fierce competitive spirit, Jana has fought through the competition scene, recently taking home second place at the World Pastry Cup as the first female ever to join the French team.

Hailing from Australia, Jana began her culinary journey under the guidance of notable chefs Maria Lantelme, Shaun Quade, and Pierre Roelofs. But the call (and smell) of the pastry capital of the world proved too strong to resist, and Jana followed her heart to France, where she continues to hone her craft with an unrelenting dedication to perfection.

Today, Jana serves as a pastry chef instructor at the prestigious Ecole Bellouet Conseil, under the expert mentorship of Jean-Michel Perruchon, MOF. And with her fire still burning bright and her sights set even higher, Jana shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Jana first became interested in pastry
• The trip to Paris and the connections she made that changed her life
• How she got a job working for Jean-Michel Peruchon at Bellouet Conseil
• How she ended up on Team France, competing at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie
• The rigors of training for the competition
• The excitement of placing second at the Coupe
• Three of Jana’s favorite pastry shops in Paris
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by
Guittard Chocolate Company

We know the level of expertise required to succeed in pastry.  At Guittard, our family has been perfecting our craft for five generations.  We source premium cacao beans from all over the world to offer a variety of flavor profiles and meet any application need. Now these chocolates are available in an easy to use 3 kilo bag.  At Guittard, we focus on the chocolate details so you can focus on your craft.  Visit www.Guittard.com to learn more.

Elaine Boddy is a sourdough baker, cookbook writer and teacher, but mostly a sourdough ‘simplifier’. The key focus of everything she does, and shares, is to show how truly simply sourdough can be made. She removes the complication and unnecessary steps, and often the fear, that can come with making sourdough. Elaine shows bakers all over the world how they can easily make their own healthy, tasty bread, week in, week out, in their home kitchens, to suit their lifestyle and timings. She has a website, Foodbod Sourdough, a YouTube channel and a new podcast, The Foodbod Pod.  

Website: https://foodbodsourdough.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elaine_foodbod/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodbodsourdough

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/foodbodSourdough

In this episode we discuss:

• How Elaine fell in love with baking sourdough bread
• Tips on making a thriving sourdough starter and what flour to use
• How Elaine developed her master sourdough recipe and why it works so well
• Why she starts with a cold oven and leaves the lid on!
• Her advice on using pasta and vegetable water in bread
• Using hydration percentage to control the strength of the dough
• Tips on making and shaping baguettes without the bother
• And much more!

In 2006, while pregnant with her first son, Chef Nicole Patel made a batch of chocolate truffles as last-minute holiday gifts. To the delight of her friends and family, truffle-making became an enjoyable pastime for Nicole that relieved the stress of her corporate engineering job. In 2008, a serendipitous trip to the Texas Wine Country led to Nicole being the first person in Texas to make truffles using local wines. Thanks to her dedication and self-taught skills, Delysia Chocolatier quickly rose to become one of the Best Chocolatiers in the Americas, as recognized by the International Chocolate Salon and Taste TV.

Nicole has most recently been named 2023’s Best Chocolatier in the Americas with the highest honor, Six Star Award: Grand Master Chocolatier, an impressive designation she has received a total of ten times. Her most recent accolades comprise over 88 awards in total, among which are 20 gold medals and 22 silver medals. Notably, she has demonstrated unmatched mastery in the Spicy Chocolate, Hot Chocolate, Ruby Chocolate, and White Chocolate competition categories.

Nicole now pairs the process efficiency skills from her Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees from Texas A&M University with unbound creativity in the kitchen to keep Delysia successfully moving forward. Nicole never could have imagined how her experience working at a Fortune 100 company as a supply chain, quality, and business process improvement expert would prime her for distributing her own products across the country.

Nicole lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Rahul and their two sons, Sébastien and Colin.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Nicole made the transition from a corporate career to chocolatier
• Juggling her day job with her chocolate business sideline
• The construction challenges of opening a brick-and-mortar business
• How she cultivates partnerships with other food artisans
• The big pivot: promoting virtual chocolate tastings during the pandemic
• How Nicole develops and maintains her corporate gift giving accounts
• Nicole’s top tips for cleaning chocolate molds
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by 

Dobla - IRCA

We know pastry chefs are busy. Ordering from Dobla and IRCA means not having to make everything from scratch, and instead spending time assembling final products for sale. It means getting more products in one place, which cuts down on the time spent browsing catalogs, placing orders and visiting with sales representatives. That means you spend less time focused on the business and more time on the thing you love: creating succulent sweets and savories that will keep your customers coming back for seconds. For more information, visit www.dobla.com.

A certified pastry star, Kelly Nam is the Executive Pastry Chef and Partner at Joomak Banjum restaurant in New York City. She began her career as a pastry cook at Radius in Boston, and then went on to hone her skills at prestigious restaurants including L’Espalier in Boston and Nobu 57, Gordon Ramsay at The London Hotel, The Modern and Electric Lemon in New York City. She also served as Executive Pastry Chef at Frenchie in Paris. Last year she was named 2022 Pastry Chef of the Year by the Michelin Guide NY. Follow Kelly on Instagram at @shell.bugi or @joomakbanjum.

 In this episode we discuss:

•  How Kelly first got interested in baking
• Her work experience at top restaurants and the chefs who inspired her
• How Joomak Banjum came to be
• Her innovative use of savory flavors in desserts
• Her thoughts on being named Michelin Guide NY Pastry Chef of the Year 2022
• How she deals with the problem of finding and retaining team members
• Kelly’s advice for those thinking about becoming pastry chefs
• Her tips for making a perfect meringue
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by 

Dobla - IRCA

We know pastry chefs are busy. Ordering from Dobla and IRCA means not having to make everything from scratch, and instead spending time assembling final products for sale. It means getting more products in one place, which cuts down on the time spent browsing catalogs, placing orders and visiting with sales representatives. That means you spend less time focused on the business and more time on the thing you love: creating succulent sweets and savories that will keep your customers coming back for seconds. For more information, visit www.dobla.com.

Cedric Barbaret, owner, operator and chef of Bistro Barbaret & Bakery in Lancaster, PA, has over 25 years of professional pastry experience as well as a Master’s Degree in Pastry from Patisserie Chereau in France. His passion for pastry began at Patissrerie Barbaret, his family’s bakery near Lyon, France, where he served his apprenticeship. Chef Barberet’s experience includes a position as Executive Pastry Chef at Donald Trump’s prestigious Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. While working in Palm Beach in 2005, he spent two months creating Donald Trump’s five-foot high, seven-tier Grand Marnier chiffon wedding cake. Barberet has also worked at the Las Vegas M Resort Casino & Spa with Executive Pastry Chef Jean Claude Canestrier. In 2009, Barberet joined the prestigious team at Philadelphia’s Le Bec-Fin as the Executive Pastry Chef and most recently served as the Executive Pastry Chef for Buddakan. Follow Chef Barbaret on Instagram at @cedricbarbaret or the business at @bistrobarbaretandbakery.

In this episode we discuss:

• Cedric’s pastry roots at his family’s patisserie in France
• His decision to get a Master’s degree in pastry at the age of 18
• How he landed in America as a young pastry chef
• Designing and making Donald and Melania Trump’s wedding cake
• Opening the luxury M Resort in Las Vegas: hello high volume!
• His days as Executive Pastry Chef at Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia
• Winning FoodNetwork’s Chopped Sweets
• And much more! 

Episode Sponsored by 

Puratos

Imagine a milk-alike, plant-based chocolate that tastes great and does good. That’s what makes new Belcolade M. Plant Based Cacao-Trace Chocolate so exceptional. Our cocoa beans are carefully selected and fermented to perfection at our post-harvest centers across the globe. The result is a creamy, dairy-free chocolate like no other—and greater income for our cocoa farmers. Take your creations to the next level with Belcolade M. Plant-Based Chocolate. Great Taste, Doing Good. Learn more at https://www.puratos.us/en/chocolate/categories/real-belgian-chocolate/belcolade

Karen Krasne is the owner and Executive Pastry Chef of Extraordinary Desserts and the author of Extraordinary Cakes: Recipes for Bold and Sophisticated Desserts, which is in its third printing. Once called the “Queen of Cakes” by Gourmet magazine, Karen brings a fresh and contemporary sensibility to special occasion cakes. What makes her cakes showstoppers are their unexpected flavor combinations and vibrant touches using fresh fruit and real flowers, which add flair without being fussy.

Karen’s cakes have graced the cover of Bon Appetit, and Forbes recognized her as one of the country’s ten best pastry chefs. Karen has been featured in The New York Times, Sunset, and The Los Angeles Times, among other national and international publications. Karen is an industry veteran having been in the industry for over 30 years. She studied pastry making at the Cordon Bleu and returns to Paris, France each year to train with the masters at LeNotre and Bellouet Conseil.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Karen first became interested in pastry
• Her European training
• Why she decided to start her own business
• Her signature items at Extraordinary Desserts
• Her inspiration and process for creating new recipes
• Karen’s priority of hiring and nurturing women employees
• Writing her book, Extraordinary Cakes
• Her thoughts on the latest pastry trends and the next generation of pastry chefs
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by 

Dobla - IRCA

We know pastry chefs are busy. Ordering from Dobla and IRCA means not having to make everything from scratch, and instead spending time assembling final products for sale. It means getting more products in one place, which cuts down on the time spent browsing catalogs, placing orders and visiting with sales representatives. That means you spend less time focused on the business and more time on the thing you love: creating succulent sweets and savories that will keep your customers coming back for seconds. For more information, visit www.dobla.com.

Brad Kintzer is the Chief Chocolate Maker at TCHO Chocolate, based in Berkeley, California. Prior to joining TCHO, Brad was chocolate maker and product developer at U.S. bean-to-bar chocolate pioneer, Scharffen Berger, acquired by The Hershey Company in 2005. Previous to his 20 years of chocolate making, Brad studied tropical botany and environmental studies at the University of Vermont, and spent months working on cacao plantations throughout Latin America to better understand the origins of chocolate flavor. At TCHO since 2009, Brad and his team are focused on innovating in every aspect of chocolate making; from cocoa genetics, fermentation and roasting, to creating unique and tasty chocolate products for market. Brad volunteers on the board of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) and also the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund (HCP).

 In this episode we discuss:

• How Brad’s interest in botany became an obsession with the cacao plant
• Brad’s first job at a chocolate factory
• His first job as a chocolate maker at Scharffen Berger in San Francisco
• Landing a job as Chief Chocolate Maker at TCHO in Berkeley, CA
• How TCHO partners with cacao farmers to produce better chocolate
• How TCHO transitioned to 100 percent plant-based
• Brad’s favorite source for cacao beans
• His thoughts about eliminating heavy metal contamination in dark chocolate
• And much, much more!

Episode Sponsored by

Dobla - IRCA

We know pastry chefs are busy. Ordering from Dobla and IRCA means not having to make everything from scratch, and instead spending time assembling final products for sale. It means getting more products in one place, which cuts down on the time spent browsing catalogs, placing orders and visiting with sales representatives. That means you spend less time focused on the business and more time on the thing you love: creating succulent sweets and savories that will keep your customers coming back for seconds. For more information, visit www.dobla.com.

Josh Allen is the Founder of Companion Baking. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Allen was immersed in the food and baking industry from an early age. His great-grandfather founded Allen Foods, a well-known broadline food distributor with a large customer base across the Midwest. Allen spent much of his childhood delivering groceries to various foodservice operations, cleaning the freezers and sweeping the trucks for his family’s business.

Today, Companion’s award-winning bread is served in more than 400 restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses around the Midwest and across the country. Allen credits his success to listening and nimbly adapting to his customers’ wants and needs. In addition to their baking operations, Companion has two cafes in the St. Louis area and has expanded to offer a small line of pastries.

In this episode we discuss:

• What inspired Josh to become involved in artisan bread baking
• How he started his first wholesale business, Companion Baking, at the age of 24
• Josh’s emphasis on “listening to his customers”
• How he cultivated the customized bread programs at Companion Baking
• Companion Baking’s initiative to reduce waste across the board
• How Companion Baking has dealt with labor shortages, supply chain issues and inflation
• Josh’s top tip for measuring fermentation
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by Puratos

Imagine a milk-alike, plant-based chocolate that tastes great and does good. That’s what makes new Belcolade M. Plant Based Cacao-Trace Chocolate so exceptional. The cocoa beans are carefully selected and fermented to perfection at their post-harvest centers across the globe. The result is a creamy, dairy-free chocolate like no other—and greater income for their cocoa farmers. Take your creations to the next level with Belcolade M. Plant-Based Chocolate. Great Taste, Doing Good. Learn more at https://www.puratos.us/en/chocolate/categories/real-belgian-chocolate/belcolade

Susan Bae is the Executive Pastry Chef and founding member of Moon Rabbit restaurant in Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Bae is a 2024 James Beard Foundation Semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Before coming to Moon Rabbit, Bae worked as Pastry Chef at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, Texas, and the Michelin-starred Kali in Los Angeles, among other restaurants. Chef Bae draws inspiration from nature, and uses it as a reference point in her desserts. She adores herbs, often employing them to switch up standard pastry flavors.

Once an aspiring school teacher, Chef Bae likes to mentor, and believes it is important to make everyone’s voice heard. She feels that cooks are so important, and that things could not get done without them. It is her opinion that collaboration is key. In her words, “Pastry is not necessarily about the food; it’s about methodical science.”’

In this episode we discuss:

• How she learned to bake by reading blogs
• Changing course from teaching elementary school to working in a kitchen
• Getting a formal culinary degree
• Honing her skills at a succession of restaurants
• Landing her dream job with Kevin Tien at Moon Rabbit
• Her unique dessert menu and what inspired it
• Being nominated for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef
• Susan’s kitchen tip and advice for pastry chef wannabes
• And much more!

Pastry chef, entrepreneur and bon vivant, Cheryl Wakerhauser, sees every day as a chance to learn something new and contribute something else. After a short-lived career studying to be an astronaut, Cheryl received a degree in pastry arts from Vancouver’s Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and then headed straight to Southern France to further train at the prestigious pâtisserie of MOF Philippe URRACA. Her eccentric dessert restaurant, Pix Pâtisserie, was born in Portland, Oregon in 2002, where adventurous guests could enjoy bold flavored sweet treats paired with a Belgian ale late into the night. Bar Vivant was added to the space in 2012, bringing a savory menu of San Sebastián inspired tapas to pair with the ever growing, award-winning beverage selection, showcasing both champagne and sherry wines. The pandemic inspired a new business model – vending. The Pix-O-Matic debuted in 2020 selling the same fine French pâtisserie that was served in the restaurant, but in a 24-hour contactless vending machine.

Her techniques, flavor combinations and whimsical design (along with a few parlor tricks!) can be discovered in her acutely instructional cookbooks, Modern French Pastry and Petite Pâtisserie, which have received accolades by France’s two most prestigious professional cooking trade journals, Thuriès Gastonomie and Le Journal du Pâtissier. She also teaches food and wine master classes, where students can learn how to make a croquembouche, perfect their macarons or explore the different styles of sherry wine.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Cheryl first became interested in pastry
• How she landed an internship with Phillipe Urraca, MOF
• What it was like to be one of the only women in a French pastry kitchen
• How she turned her dream of opening a pastry shop into reality
• The careful crafting of a fun atmosphere at Pix Patisserie
• Navigating the COVID pandemic and the brainstorm of the Pix-o-Matic
• How she was able to write two successful cookbooks
• Cheryl’s secret for making pastry cream in record time
• and much more!

Episode Sponsored by

Dobla - IRCA

We know pastry chefs are busy. Ordering from Dobla and IRCA means not having to make everything from scratch, and instead spending time assembling final products for sale. It means getting more products in one place, which cuts down on the time spent browsing catalogs, placing orders and visiting with sales representatives. That means you spend less time focused on the business and more time on the thing you love: creating succulent sweets and savories that will keep your customers coming back for seconds. For more information, visit www.dobla.com.

Maurizio Leo is the software engineer-turned-baker behind the award-winning sourdough website, The Perfect Loaf. He grew up in an Italian household and spent summers visiting family in Italy and the back kitchen of his family's Italian restaurant, learning the importance of making food by hand. He holds a master's degree in computer science and co-created the stargazing app, SkyView, before circling back to food and discovering the craft of baking sourdough bread. Since that first loaf of bread, he's been obsessed with adjusting the balance between yeast and bacteria, tinkering with dough strength and hydration, and exploring everything sourdough. His debut cookbook, The Perfect Loaf (Clarkson Potter, 2022), is now available wherever books are sold.

In this episode we discuss:

• Maurizio’s first career as a software engineer and as co-creator of the Skyview app
• How he became obsessed with sourdough baking
• Why he started his blog, The Perfect Loaf
• Maurizio’s take on fermentation and tips for maintaining a successful sourdough starter
• The importance of hydration in sourdough
• Why dough temperature is a key to making a perfect loaf
• What it was like to write his first book (which is over 400 pages long)
• His tips on home flour milling and storing wheat berries
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by

The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley

Get complimentary samples of The Perfect Purée to experience flavor first-hand delivered directly to your business. Samples are available to foodservice professionals in the United States to sample the robust flavor line-up of fruit purees, concentrates, zests and blends. Visit www.perfectpuree.com/pastryarts to request your samples now.

Cynthia Samanian is the founder of Culinary Creator Business School, an online business education company dedicated to the culinary industry. Her students learn how to create, sell and teach virtual cooking classes, corporate events and recorded courses that help them unlock more freedom and flexibility. Cynthia hosts the 5-star rated Culinary Creator Business School podcast. She's appeared as a guest on top industry podcasts and conferences including Eat Capture Share, Food Biz Wiz, the Food Blogger Summit and the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Growing up as a first-generation American in a Persian family, Cynthia is no stranger to the power of food to unite people across cultures. Cynthia is a graduate of Harvard Business School and currently lives in sunny Oakland, California with her husband and two young daughters. Learn about the free training for pastry and baking pros at www.teachpastryonline.com.

In this episode:

• How Cynthia got started with her business school
• The market opportunity for online classes, courses and events
• The primary benefits of teaching online
• How to achieve financial flexibility, time freedom and impact online
• The 4 proven ways to make money teaching online
• How to get started with teaching your very first online class
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by

The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley

Get complimentary samples of The Perfect Purée to experience flavor first-hand delivered directly to your business. Samples are available to foodservice professionals in the United States to sample the robust flavor line-up of fruit purees, concentrates, zests and blends. Visit www.perfectpuree.com/pastryarts to request your samples now.

Genevieve Ko is a deputy editor and columnist of New York Times Cooking and the Food section, for which she also writes articles and develops recipes. She came to The Times from The Los Angeles Times, where she was cooking editor. She is the author of Better Baking (HMH, 2016) and has contributed to more than 20 cookbooks, as well as other food publications. Born and raised in East Los Angeles, she now lives in New York City and cooks dishes from everywhere. Check out Genevieve’s recipes for Thanksgiving pies here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/dining/thanksgiving-pies-recipes.html

In this episode we discuss:

• What initially piqued Genevieve’s interest in food and cooking
• How she got a foothold in the world of food writing and recipe development
• The process of collaborating with high-profile chefs on cookbooks
• Writing her own book, Better Baking
• How the food media landscape has changed over the past 10 years
• Some of Genevieve’s favorite dessert recipes on NY Times Cooking
• Genevieve’s advice for budding food writers and editors
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by
Dobla - IRCA

We know pastry chefs are busy. Ordering from Dobla and IRCA means not having to make everything from scratch, and instead spending time assembling final products for sale. It means getting more products in one place, which cuts down on the time spent browsing catalogs, placing orders and visiting with sales representatives. That means you spend less time focused on the business and more time on the thing you love: creating succulent sweets and savories that will keep your customers coming back for seconds. For more information, visit www.dobla.com.

Lasheeda Perry is the pastry chef and owner of Queen of Flavor, a company that specializes in everything from revamping your dessert menu to helping you design and execute your dream dessert menu.

Lasheeda has always had a passion for culinary arts, and luckily for the sweet-tooth everywhere, this love has materialized into a successful and rewarding career.  Prior to creating Queen of Flavor, she received her culinary education from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.  Immediately after graduation, Lasheeda secured an entry level pastry cook position at Four Seasons Resort Dallas. Within five years of beginning her career, Lasheeda would hold the title of Executive Pastry Chef at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Bon Appetit Management Company LinkedIn.

Throughout her culinary journey, Lasheeda has received numerous awards and accolades. In 2012, she won season two of Food Network Sweet Genius after proving her skills by overcoming tight time constraints, masterfully incorporating secret ingredients and accommodating larger-than-life requests. That same year, several of Lasheeda’s desserts landed on Philadelphia food critic Craig LaBan's coveted Four-Bell Finestlist.  In 2018, she was a finalist on Food Network Best Baker in America, Season 2 where she was named the “Queen of Flavor”.  Lasheeda is never the one to pass up a cool opportunity. Last November, she was presented with the chance to take on an iron chef, on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, and that she did! Queen of Flavor’s pastry services include, menu development, virtual baking classes, R&D development, interim pastry services, pop-ups, and more. 

In this episode we discuss:

• How a high school teacher jump-started Lasheeda’s path to a culinary career
• Her first taste of success: winning a culinary competition and a trip to China
• How C-CAP helped her land a full-tuition scholarship to Johnson & Wales
• Lasheeda’s first job in the pastry kitchen at the Four Season Hotel in Dallas, TX
• Her first Executive Pastry Chef position at Bon Appetit Management Company at LinkedIN
• Landing the position as Executive Pastry Chef at the Four Season Atlanta
• How she got her first gig on the FoodNetwork and how it felt to beat Bobby Flay
• Lasheeda’s best advice for those entering the industry
• And much more!

• And much more!

Sponsored by Ghirardelli Chocolate Company

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Romain Dufour knew from an early age that he wanted to be a baker. He was inspired by his uncle who owned his own bakery in a small town near Bourges, France and Romain worked as an apprentice there for two years. Romain attended the Ecole de Boulangerie et de Patisserie de Paris, earning two diplomas in four years. For his second diploma, Romain was hired at the renowned Plaza Athenée Hotel in Paris, under the direction of Christophe Michalak, World Champion of Pastry. In 2016, Romain arrived in Chicago with a new position as the R&D Master Baker for Eurogerm KB, a French-American company specializing in dough conditioners, bread mixes and pastry mixes. In this role, he brings together his high-end baker training, extensive production experience and innate creativity to develop new, clean label recipes for an impressive list of notable clients within the dynamic food industry.

In this episode we discuss:

• Romain’s introduction to baking: trial by fire
• Baking at the Plaza Athenee in Paris under Christophe Michalak
• A challenge at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai
• The differences among dough conditioners
• What a clean label means in terms of Eurogerm dough conditioners
• What a typical day is like for Romain
• Romain’s top tips on making the perfect flakey croissant
• And much more!

Sponsored by Taste Europe, Butter of France

French butter is churned longer to achieve 82% butter fat making it richer and creamier with a golden hue. For tips, tricks and recipes on how to use French Butter to romance the flavor of any cuisine visit www.tasteeurope.com.

Cydni N. Mitchell (aka Cyd) is a Bakery Consultant and the Sweet Business Coach behind Sweet Fest. Based in Atlanta, GA, Sweet Fest is an online company that supports the business needs of the Sweet Community in the areas of professional development, marketing, branding and web design. By trade, Cyd is an Accountant & Financial Analyst with a Masters from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Head Instructor of the Sugar Coin Academy, an online business academy for business owners in the baking and sweets industry, and she is also the organizer of The Ultimate Sugar Show, Georgia’s Largest Annual Baking and Sweets Expo in Atlanta. She is also a Columnist for American Cake Decorating Magazine and has served as a judge on the Holiday Kids' Baking Battle on the CW.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Cyd's background and how she got started in the pastry and baking industry
• The challenge with pricing that many owners face
• A big mindset shift in determining pricing for products
• Marketing channels that are working now
• How other dessert business owners are marketing products
• And much more!

Get complimentary samples of The Perfect Purée to experience flavor first-hand delivered directly to your business. Samples are available to foodservice professionals in the United States to sample the robust flavor line-up of fruit purees, concentrates, zests and blends. Visit www.perfectpuree.com/pastryarts to request your samples now.

Carol Gancia is the founder and head chocolatier of Kokak Chocolates, an artisanal chocolate company that specializes in small-batch single-origin heirloom chocolates in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco and ships within the continental U.S.  Hailing from San Francisco, Carol Gancia is an immigrant, LGBTQ member and rising female chocolatier. Kokak, which means “ribbit” in the Filipino language, is inspired by Gancia’s Asian heritage. She spearheads the creative process in designing each chocolate’s flavors and pairs it with colorful, playful designs.

In this episode we discuss:

• How tasting European chocolates as a child inspired a lifelong love of chocolate
• How she embarked on a first career in video production
• Her stint as a television producer for culinary shows
• How she learned the techniques of crafting artisan chocolates
• How Gancia launched Kokak Chocolates
• Her love for Nacional cacao from Ecuador
• What the LGBTQ community means to her
• And much more!

As a graduate of the plant-based and raw food nutrition programs at Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy and the Pure Joy Academy, Crystal Bonnet has worked hard to learn the importance of the culinary aspect and nutritional elements of living foods. “With knowledge, anything is possible!” she emphasizes, and these five words inspire and guide her to create beautiful, innovative raw food and desserts and share her knowledge with those seeking to learn more about raw food and desserts.

Her work within the plant-based culinary industry has led her on many adventures, including the development of unique plant-based menus for new restaurants. She launched her Crystal Dawn Culinary courses, easy to follow and comprehensive classes that allow Chef Crystal to share with her students so that they will have as much knowledge as necessary to understand raw foods and their health benefits. Visit her website at www.crystaldawnculinary.com, or follow her on Instagram at @crystal_dawn_culinary.

In this episode we discuss:

• Crystal’s journey to a vegan and raw diet
• Her tips for emulating the texture of baked cakes in raw ones
• Some misconceptions that non-vegans have about vegan and raw desserts
• Why Crystal started teaching the art of raw desserts
• How Crystal launched her raw food culinary academy
• The process of writing and photographing her first book, The Art of Raw Desserts
• Crystal’s top tip for making raw desserts
• How she stores her nuts, seeds and other raw ingredients
• And much more!

Get complimentary samples of The Perfect Purée to experience flavor first-hand delivered directly to your business. Samples are available to foodservice professionals in the United States to sample the robust flavor line-up of fruit purees, concentrates, zests and blends. Visit www.perfectpuree.com/pastryarts to request your samples now.

Michael Laiskonis joined the Institute of Culinary Education in New York as Creative Director in 2012, fresh off of an eight-year tenure as Executive Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin. He has long been one of the industry's most creative and talented chefs, noted for helping Le Bernardin earn four stars from The New York Times and three Michelin stars. Laiskonis was also named among America's Top Ten Pastry Chefs by Pastry Art & Design in 2002 and 2003, and was Bon Appétit's Pastry Chef of the Year in 2004. Best known for his use of modern techniques to reinvent classic desserts, he was presented with the coveted James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2007. Chef Laiskonis received the IACP's 2014 Culinary Professional of the Year Award, one of the most distinguished honors in the culinary field.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What first piqued Michael’s interest in the culinary arts
• What drew him from savory cuisine to pastry
• How he developed his pastry style at Tribute in Detroit
• How he honed his style as Executive Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin
• About his role as Creative Director at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC
• All about The Chocolate Lab, a unique facility for chocolate research and learning
• About Michael’s thoughts on how to evaluate chocolate
• What Michael sees for the future of our industry

Amy Guittard, Chief Marketing Officer at Guittard Chocolate Company, is the great-great-granddaughter of Guittard's founder. As the fifth-generation of the family business her great-great-grandfather started in 1868, Amy has an innate passion for cocoa and chocolate. In addition to leading Guittard's marketing department and spearheading the development of the brand, Amy’s involvement at Guittard also includes sourcing and sustainability, serving on several committees for the World Cocoa Foundation, and traveling to origin to meet with farmers, buyers, and traders. She continues Guittard’s long-standing tradition of collaborating on the ground with those closest to the source.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How and why Amy’s Great-Grandfather started the company
• The changes Amy’s father Gary gradually introduced into Guittard
• Guittard’s process of sourcing cacao beans
• The company’s involvement in pre- and post-harvesting processes
• How Guittard develops a new chocolate product
• The significance of chocolate percentages
• Guittard’s involvement in heirloom cacao preservation
• Sustainability and long-term company goals
• And much more!

Tavel Bristol-Joseph is the Pastry Chef and Partner at Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo, Henbit, TLV and Canje in Austin, Texas. He began his culinary journey as a young boy, spending every Saturday afternoon baking cookies, cakes, and pies with his aunt. After moving to the United States from Guyana when he was 17 years old, Bristol-Joseph attended the New York Restaurant School. He then worked in a variety of restaurants in New York before moving to Tucson in 2006, where he joined Fox Restaurant Concepts. He worked within the restaurant group for two years before going to Zona 78 where he met and began working with Chef Kevin Fink. Fink and Bristol-Joseph decided to move to Austin to open Emmer & Rye in November 2015. Emmer & Rye has been included in Bon Appétit’s “America’s Best New Restaurants 2016” list, as well as named Austin American-Statesman’s“2018 Best Restaurant in Austin.” In 2020, Bristol-Joseph opened Hestia with Fink which has been named “#1 Best New Restaurant in America” by Robb Report. Bristol-Joseph also received the StarChefs Rising Star Award in 2017 and was named one of FOOD & WINE Magazine’s “Best New Chefs of 2020.” Bristol-Joseph is a proud father to teenaged twins and currently resides in Austin with his wife Brittany and his dog Gus Gus.

In this episode we discuss:

• Growing up in Guyana
• How Tavel got hooked on baking when he was young
• Moving to New York and enrolling in the New York Restaurant School
• Tavel’s work experience and meeting his future business partner
• Opening Emmer & Rye in 2015, and the challenges that came along with it
• Building the business, opening five more restaurants
• What makes Tavel’s Basque Cheesecake so good!
• How he motivates his team
• Being named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s ‘Best New Chefs of 2020’
• And much more!

Born and raised in the Bronx, Pastry Chef Shaun Velez graduated from the French Culinary Institute, now known as the Institute of Culinary Education, in 2008. Following his studies, he established his career in the award-winning kitchens of Chef Daniel Boulud, where he worked closely with his mentor and James Beard Award winning pastry chef Ghaya Oliveira at both Boulud Sud and Restaurant DANIEL. Before making his way back to New York, Shaun spent some time in Boston as the Executive Pastry Chef at Deuxave, chef-owner Chris Coombs’s contemporary French restaurant. There, he brought new skills, flavors and concepts to the restaurant’s pastry program and Boston’s overall dessert scene.

In 2018, Shaun returned to the Daniel Boulud family, this time as the Executive Pastry Chef at Café Boulud. Two years later, Chef Daniel tapped Shaun for the Executive Pastry Chef position at his acclaimed restaurant DANIEL. As Pastry Chef at DANIEL, Shaun continues to hone his craft by employing innovative techniques to transform classic desserts into modern creations, working on stunning constructions with the very best ingredients he can find.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Shaun first became interested in the culinary world
• His experience of attending culinary school, and the opportunities it provided
• Shaun’s first experience working at in one of Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurants
• His first Executive Pastry Chef position at Deuxave in Boston
• How he landed his dream job at Restaurant DANIEL
• His signature style and some of the desserts on his current menu
• What direction he thinks modern pastry in the U.S. will go
• His views on work-life balance
• And much more!

Dee Frances is the voice and creator behind the baking blog One Sarcastic Baker, where she shares sweet baking recipes and different information about baking and baking science.

Working in retail bakeries and years of exploring and learning has given Dee the experience and knowledge to dive deep into the world of baking science and write her new book, Baking Science (April, 2022, Page Street Publishing), where she talks about the importance of science in the baking process and how we can use it to better our craft.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Dee became obsessed with baking
• What motivated her to start a baking blog
• The dirty details of food blogging
• The role of eggs in baking
• A unique method for stabilizing whipped cream
• When to use butter vs. oil in baking
• The importance of acid in baking
• Why freezing is a type of baking
• Dee’s tip for pre-heating an oven in record time
• And much more!

Chef Amado began his foray into the culinary world at the age of 16, selling churros in the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico. As a young man he made the move to the U.S. to pursue an education in culinary arts. In 1992 he graduated from Grand Rapids Community College, and not long after, traveled to Belgium where he worked to develop his knowledge of classical European pastry and chocolate.

He returned to U.S. in 1994 and worked in a variety of positions at private country clubs and fine dining restaurants throughout California, Indiana and Michigan. Since 2016 he has been directing the Baking and Pastry Arts Program at Lake Michigan College, where he develops curriculum, teaches classes and coaches students for national and international competitions. He owns the Luis Amado Chocolate Academy in Stevensville, Michigan, where he offers personalized and small group chocolate classes to students from around the globe. His work has been featured in numerous magazines including The ACF National Culinary Review, Revista Dulcypass and So Good Magazine.

Chef Amado is very passionate about competitions and has captured more than 22 gold medals and 6 best-of-shows awards from competitions including the 1996 Culinary Olympics in Berlin, The 2000 National Dessert Competition, numerous ACF-approved Culinary Arts Salons, The Great Lakes Regional 1999-2003, and most recently the 2017 AUI Chocolate Cup in Washington, D.C.

In this episode we discuss:

• Luis’s entré into the world of food as the owner of a churro cart
• How a customer helped him enroll in culinary school in the U.S.
• Luis’s passion for culinary competitions
• How the student became a teacher
• His style and process for developing new chocolates
• His tips on working with chocolate
• Advice for future chocolatiers
• Why he decided to open the Luis Amado Chocolate Academy
• And much, much more!

Jimmy Griffin is a sixth-generation master baker from Galway Ireland. He has forty years' experience in the bakery industry, growing up in the family business. He is a specialist in viennoiserie, sourdough, bread and cake production. He holds a Master's degree in Food Product Development and Culinary Innovation and lectures to honors degree bakery students at the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, Technological University, Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin. He also works as an advisor and consultant to industry. In 2016, Jimmy was appointed as president of the Jury at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris. He regularly lectures and teaches overseas and has been involved with baking and competitions in most continents of the world.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Being a sixth-generation master baker
• Why he chose baking as a profession
• Describing lamination techniques
• His process of making the perfect croissant
• Why croissants are challenging for some professionals
• The differences in flours in relation to specific pastry products
• Yeast considerations for laminated doughs
• The bicolor croissant inception
• Croissant trends today
• How competitions influenced his career path
• Self publishing his book
• And much more!

Known as “Sourdough Duffy”, Chef Matthew James Duffy is a sourdough expert and teacher with an impressive resume. He spent over a decade working as a professionally trained chef in the some of the world’s finest kitchens, including a time at Relais & Chateaux property Langdon Hall in Ontario, Restaurant Noma in Copenhagan, as well as five years working with Chef Daniel Boulud at Café Boulud NYC and as Sous-Chef opening Café Boulud Toronto. But even as he toiled in these restaurant kitchens, Duffy was always thinking about sourdough, and how to improve the bread offerings at each restaurant. He eventually left the restaurant kitchen to pursue this passion for baking by working with well-known bakers around the world, reading a library full of bread books, and embarking on a never-ending journey of learning the craft of sourdough baking. On this quest he worked with King Arthur Flour’s bread master, Jeffrey Hamelman, and attended classes at the San Francisco Baking Institute and the French Pastry School in Chicago. He has represented Canada twice at the world Slow Food Conference in Turin, Italy, and is currently Professor and Program Coordinator at Centennial College’s Pastry Arts Management Program in Toronto. Visit his website at www.matthewjamesduffy.com.

Highlights of this episode include:

• What made Matt embark on a culinary career
• What drew Matt to sourdough baking
• His strategy for learning as much as he could about sourdough bread baking
• Matt’s tips on using fresh milled flour
• What Matt has learned about making panettone
• Matt’s tips on making a high-hydration sourdough
• Tips for incorporating discard into recipes
• Matt’s goals for his upcoming bread book
• And much more!

Originally from Sydney, Australia, Richard Hawke discovered his love for pastry during an apprenticeship with a French pastry chef in his home city. Inspired by this experience, he traveled to Lyon, where he landed a job with Jérôme Langillier (Champion du Monde de Pâtisserie, 2009). Hawke continued to hone his pastry skills at various pâtisseries in the region, then took a position teaching at l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie, the school founded by Yves Thuries and Alain Ducasse, where he deepened his knowledge in all aspects of his profession.

Today, Richard teaches master classes at the finest pastry schools around the globe and works as a consultant for international clients. He specializes in allergen-free baking, and has just released his first book, ADAPT: A Unique Pastry Concept (ICEP Publishing, 2021), which features a collection of Hawke’s recipes, each presented in three different versions: gluten-free, vegan and lactose-free. Ingredients include both gram amounts and percentages to enable readers to understand and adapt the recipes easier. The book is written in English and French, and includes beautiful photographs of his elegant desserts. For more info, visit www.richardhawkepastry.com.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Richard went from delivering pastry to making it
• Landing a job in Lyon with a World Pastry Champion
• Teaching at L’Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Patisserie
• How he came to specialize in vegan and allergen-free pastry
• The concept of his new book, Adapt: A Unique Pastry Concept
• Basic rules for converting recipes to gluten-free
• Can vegan dessert recipes be as good as classic ones?
• And much more!

Plus, find out more about the Pastry Arts Virtual Summit at www.pastrysummit.com. 

Zoë François studied art at the University of Vermont while also founding a cookie company as a way to earn extra money. She then traveled throughout Europe, tasting pastries along the way, and later studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Since then she has been a pastry chef at several Twin Cities restaurants and has worked repeatedly with Andrew Zimmern. Together with Jeff Hertzberg she wrote the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which turned into a bestselling series. She created the Zoë Bakes website in order to share her passion for pastry. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Graham, and two sons, her best creations yet!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What Zoë learned about food growing up on a commune in Vermont
• About her experience opening her first business, selling cookies
• About her big break – being hired as a pastry assistant by Andrew Zimmern
• How she met and began a cookbook collaboration with Dr. Jeff Hertzberg
• All about her latest solo book, Zoë Bakes Cakes
• Some of Zoë’s tips for making beautiful desserts
• How she landed her own show on the Magnolia Network
• And much, much more!

From January 2007 to July 2014, Bill Yosses held the prestigious title of the White House Executive Pastry Chef.  As Pastry Chef of the White House, he was closely involved with Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move initiative with the goal of reducing childhood health problems related to diet. While there, he conducted bi-weekly tours of the White House vegetable garden for school groups.

In a related project, he has given lectures for the “Science and Cooking Course” in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University.

The New York City Department of Education has hired his non-profit “Kitchen Garden Laboratory” to give seminars at their STEM INSTITUTE, on the art of cooking to teach science in the classroom for middle-schoolers.

His most recent book is entitled, The Sweet Spot: Tamping Down Sugar and Amping up Flavor (Pam Krauss Books, 2017). 

Yosses earned his A.A.S. degree at New York City College of Technology, a Master of Arts at Rutgers University in French Language and a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toledo.

In this episode we discuss:

• Bill’s first cooking job at a restaurant in Paris
• Working with top chefs such as Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and David Bouley
• How he landed the job as Executive Pastry Chef of The White House
• How he planned the menus for State dinners
• His involvement with Michele Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ initiative
• Opening The Perfect Pie and Palais by The Perfect Pie in NYC
• His current role as Chief Nourishment Officer of the Eugene Gasana Foundation ONE WORLD KITCHEN
• And much, much more!

Fran Costigan, chef, cookbook author, and Director of Vegan Baking and Pastry at the Rouxbe Online Culinary School, is internationally renowned as the authority on vegan desserts. Professionally trained, Fran was a chef in both traditional and vegan pastry kitchens before moving into teaching over 25 years ago. Her unapologetically luscious confections lack nothing — except dairy, eggs, white sugar, and cholesterol. Fran’s vegan desserts are appropriate for everyone who loves dessert, whether or not dietary restrictions are an issue. The 90-day Essential Vegan Desserts Course that Fran developed and leads at Rouxbe, the world’s leading online cooking school, is based on her wildly popular Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive®. She is thrilled to welcome students of all skill levels, beginners to professionals, from around the globe to this unique in the world course.

Fran’s cookbook, Vegan Chocolate Dessert: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy-Free Desserts, is available in German, French, and Italian editions and follows the classic More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts. For more information and recipes, newsletter sign up, visit www.francostigan.com.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Fran’s career journey to becoming an expert in vegan baking and desserts
• Her scientific approach to developing vegan recipes
• Fran’s recommendations for egg substitutes
• How to determine which butter substitute to use for different recipes
• How Fran uses aquafaba
• Fran’s opinion of soy-based products
• What she thinks the next big trends in vegan desserts will be
• And much more!

Martin Sorge is a baker, recipe developer, and food writer based in Chicago, IL. A tried-and-true Midwestern native from Fort Wayne, IN, Martin’s passion for baking dates back to his early childhood when he accidentally set a microwave on fire while attempting to make a “biscuit” out of a few simple ingredients. Despite that setback, Martin forged ahead with his love of food to become a self-trained home baker, educating himself on the variety of baking techniques through cookbooks, blogs, friends, learning from mistakes, and lots of eating. He started by baking simple breads and cookies before incorporating more complex dishes to his repertoire, which quickly garnered interest from his friends, family, and community. Looking to share his love for baking with the world, Martin competed in his first-ever baking competition, The Great American Baking Show, and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith named him the winner in 2023.

Today, Martin takes his approachable Midwestern roots, his homebase of Chicago, and his not-too-serious (sometimes corny) personality and combines those with his nerdy technical knowledge to create accessible recipes for the home cook. When he’s not in the kitchen baking up a storm, Martin enjoys board games, jumping in lakes, exploring places near and far with his husband, and his newfound hobby—pottery. (Now he can make the cake and the cake plate.) Follow along with Martin’s baking adventures via Instagram @martinsorge, TikTok @martinsorge, Twitter @martinsorge, his website martinbakes.com, and his Substack newsletter: Great Bakes.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Martin’s food-centric Midwest family nurtured his love of cooking
• How determination, research and hard work turned Martin into a talented baker
• Martin’s career as a consultant in economic development for small businesses
• His top survive-and-thrive tips for owners of small food-related businesses
• Surviving the application process for The Great American Baking Show
  
• The dirty details: what it’s really like to compete on The Great American Baking Show
• Some of the things Martin's working on now, from recipe development to his Substack newsletter
• And much more!

Episode Sponsored by
Republica Del Cacao

This podcast is sponsored by Republica Del Cacao. Say hello to this authentic Latin American Chocolate! They are a local brand with a global impact! The value of their products begins in the hands of their allied farmers, whose raw materials reach their team. Through processes of excellence, they transform them to create fine origin chocolate enjoyed by Chefs and Chocolate enthusiasts in more than 20 countries, as a community and a brand, they are changing the world, one cacao bean at a time! 

Gianni Vietina is the co-owner and Executive Chef at Bianca, an Italian, Argentinian and French restaurant with bakery in Culver City. Most of Gianni’s earliest memories are of times he spent immersed in hospitality. Gianni’s parents are restaurateurs, so instead of going home after school, he headed to the restaurants in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, to cook and help out. In the 1980’s Gianni’s family moved to Los Angeles, where his father opened celebrity acclaimed Madeo Ristorante in Beverly Hills. Gianni’s work at Madeo and his other restaurant ventures around the world (including Saudi Arabia, Italy and the US) is complemented by his passion for wine. He earned his status as a Certified Sommelier (Gold Pin) and taught at the Italian Sommelier Association and the North American Sommelier Association. In 2019 Gianni and his brother, Nicola, partnered with Federico Fernandez to open Bianca, named after their beloved grandmother. As the Executive Chef, Gianni’s menu is an intersection of international flavors inspired by his childhood, his family and the multicultural influences of Los Angeles. 

Federico Fernandez is the co-owner and Executive Pastry Chef at Bianca. As a child, Federico kindled his passion for baking with his mother in Argentina. He went on to study culinary arts at the International Buenos Aires Hotel & Restaurant School. Thereafter, Federico embarked on his career in the US, including New York’s famed BiCE. Federico worked at hotels including the Intercontinental, Hyatt, Marriott, and then the Four Seasons, where he spent 20-plus years lending his expertise in Uruguay, Argentina, Canada and across the United States. Federico departed his post as the Executive Pastry Chef of the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles to open his own venture, Bianca, with his business partner, Gianni Vietina. At Bianca, Federico embraces the freedom of creativity by recreating classic recipes from his childhood and adding seasonal twists, while taking inspiration from his surroundings and his family.  Federico has been a guest on several TV shows such as Taste Show, The Today Show and Iron Chef.

In this episode we discuss:

• The background of Executive Chef Gianni Vietina – born to be a restaurateur
• The background of Executive Pastry Chef Federico Fernandez – a career working in luxury hotels
• Opening Bianca restaurant – success!
• The arrival of COVID-19 and its challenges
• Focusing on a diversified business plan and pivoting to delivery
• The importance of cultivating a loyal customer base and catering to their needs
• And much more!

Known as the ‘Diva of Desserts’, Rose Levy Beranbaum is the author of eleven cookbooks, including her best-selling book The Cake Bible (1988), which was inducted into the International Association of Culinary Professionals Culinary Classics. Her next book, The Cookie Bible, will be published in November of 2021. A luminary in the world of food writing, Rose was a Contributing Editor for over a decade to Food Arts Magazine where "Rose's Sugar Bible" (April 2000) received two prestigious awards: The Association of Food Journalists Award for the Best Food Feature in a Magazine and The Jacob's Creek World Food Award for Best Food Article. She is also a contributor to Food52, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Fine Cooking, Bride's, Reader's Digest, and Hemispheres. Rose has been inducted into the James Beard Foundation/D'Artagnon Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Rose got hooked on baking

• How she got her first cookbook published

• Why she made the monumental decision to include weight amounts in her books           

• When to use unbleached vs. bleached flour

• How she developed her meticulous recipe writing style

• Rose’s process of writing a cookbook, from idea to finished book

• Her position on freshly milled flours, farm-fresh eggs and European-style butter

• Rose’s baking pet peeves

• And much, much more!

*************

This episode is sponsored by

Curate a complimentary custom sample pack at https://perfectpuree.com/pastryarts

*Offer is complimentary for professional chefs and bakers only.

Tish Boyle is an editor, food writer and cookbook author with expertise in baking, desserts and chocolate. A graduate of Smith College and La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, Tish has held a variety of positions in the food world, including chef on a luxury barge traveling the canals of France, pastry chef, caterer, food stylist and recipe developer.

Tish has written several dessert and baking books including Chocolate Passion (Wiley, 2000), Diner Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2000), The Good Cookie (HMH, 2002), The Cake Book (HMH, 2006) and Flavorful (HMH, 2015). Co-writing credits include Payard Desserts (HMH, 2013) and the Grand Finales series of books. Currently she is the Managing Editor of Pastry Arts Magazine (pastryartsmag.com), host of the Pastry Arts Podcast, and co-founder of pastryathome.com.

In this episode, hosted by Shawn Wenner, President and Editor-in-Chief of Pastry Arts magazine, we discuss:

• How Tish got into the pastry business
• How she got her first cookbook published
• Cookbook writing – is it right for you?
• What goes into a cookbook proposal
• Two routes: traditional vs. self publishing
• Funding your book via crowd sourcing site
• Reflecting on career choices in the pastry business
• And much more!

Originally from Kent, England, Ed Tatton has worked in fine dining kitchens around the world and has been making sourdough since 2008. Ed and his wife Natasha moved to Canada in 2013 to snowboard for a season, and both worked in hospitality, Ed working at farm-to-table restaurant Alta Bistro in Whistler, BC. While taking some shoulder-season leave and working on Vancouver Island farms in the summer of 2014, Ed started a sourdough culture that he took with him back to Alta Bistro and implemented a bread program for the restaurant.

In 2016, Ed rented the bistro’s kitchen once a week to make bread for his friends, who subsequently told their friends, and before long demand had increased to a point where Ed had outgrown the equipment. That’s when Ed and Natasha decided to open BReD, a 100% plant-based organic sourdough bread shop in Creekside, Whistler. As committed vegans, it was important for Ed and Natasha to bring that into their business. BReD sells loaves for pick-up in-store and a selection of vegan baked goods.  

In this episode we discuss:

• Why Ed and Natasha decided to go vegan
• Their decision to open their own vegan bakery in Whistler
• Ed’s process of recipe development and his tips for creating top-level vegan baked goods
• Ed and Natasha’s commitment to sustainability and how that is reflected at BReD
• Ed secret for making vegan brownies with a crackly top
• Ed’s tip on lamination and his quest to create the best vegan croissant
• And much more!

Elisa Strauss founded Confetti Cakes in 2000.  She is a graduate of Vassar College and The Institute of Culinary Education, where she received a degree in pastry and baking arts.  Elisa also spent one semester studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to culinary school, she worked as a designer for Ralph Lauren. In fact, it was a cake she made for Ralph (in the shape of a Bugatti, his favorite sports car) and the heaps of praise it received from fashion industry notables that inspired her to bring her design talents to the kitchen full-time. Her creations have appeared on the Today show (one of her cakes was selected as the winner of the “Today Throws a Wedding” series), Sex and the City (she made Charlotte and Harry’s wedding cake during Season Six), The View and Martha.  Elisa has also been featured on The View, and has appeared over ten times on the Food Network, including the “Extreme Cake Challenge” where she won the grand prize. Confetti Cakes has also been featured in InStyle, Martha Stewart Weddings, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Elle, Vogue, Modern Bride, New York, BRIDES, Elegant Bride, and The Knot. And in 2008 was selected as one of America’s Top Ten Pastry Chef’s in Pastry Art and Design.

Elisa’s first book, The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery, was released in Spring 2007 and is in its sixth printing, while her second book entitled Confetti Cakes for Kids was released in the Fall of 2008.

In 2010, Elisa stopped making cakes for clients to focus her business on online tutorials, teaching, product design and special consulting projects.  She’s busier than ever working with manufacturers, culinary schools, and television producers.  In addition to her work in the kitchen she is an active board member and supporter of Icing Smiles, an organization that provides critically ill children with custom cakes. She also serves on the advisory council at The Institute of Culinary Education.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Elisa got hooked on baking as a child
• Elisa’s career in fashion, working for Ralph Lauren and Frédéric Fekkai
• Her experience designing and making Ralph Lauren’s 60th birthday cake
• The challenges of running a cake business
• Elisa’s tips and advice for those just entering the cake and pastry business
• Her most challenging cake project
• Her shift from making cakes for clients to teaching and consulting
• And much more!

David Vidal was born in Canada, but moved to Malta with this family at the age of 12. His uncle owned a pastry shop there, and the young David worked at the shop after school during the week. He decided to go to culinary school in Malta at the Institute of Tourism Studies and later set out to become a savory chef. His education led him to London where he honed his skills cooking in hotels and restaurants throughout Europe. He and his wife decided to move to his wife’s hometown on the west coast of Sweden, Strömstad, where he became chef at a harborside restaurant at the age of 25. He eventually moved to the Laholmen Hotel in Strömstad, where he currently works as Sous Chef. About five years ago, Vidal began doing pastry again, and posting some of his work on Instagram. The posts of his desserts were so inspirational, that Vidal’s following increased exponentially – today he has over 400,000 followers. Follow him there at @Vidal31.

In this episode we discuss:

• David’s first job in the pastry business
• Attending culinary school and honing his skills in Europe
• His decision to become a savory chef
• Competing with the Culinary Team for West of Sweden at the World Cup 2018
• His gradual return to pastry
• How he became an Instagram sensation
• Teaching Master Classes in pastry around the world
• How he balances his work with his home life
• And much more!

Known as "The Sugar Daddy" and "King of Cakes," Dana Herbert is the Executive Pastry Chef and owner of Desserts by Dana in Newark, Delaware. Chef Dana began his culinary career when he received a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Delaware. He then went on to complete a second Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts and an additional Associates of Arts in Pastry. His first professional cooking job was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, working the savory side. But he longed to move to pastry, and he got his opportunity soon after, becoming the In-House Pastry Chef for the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott. In 2011 Chef Dana became well known after he won the first season of TLC’s Cake Boss: Next Great Baker. Chef Dana has appeared on countless television programs and has created cakes for some of the world’s biggest names, including Oprah Winfrey, Ice Cube and Jill Biden. For more info, visit www.dessertsbydana.com.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How Chef Dana’s love of pastry was nurtured as a child
• How he has dealt with the Covid-19 crisis
• What it was like to compete and win on Cake Boss: Next Great Baker
• The biggest challenge of starting his own business
• The most popular trends in celebration cakes
• Chef Dana’s biggest career regret
• His best advice for those just starting their pastry careers
• And much more!

Widely known under the moniker @pastryschiff, Caroline is a celebrated pastry chef and culinary consultant based in Brooklyn. She got her start in the restaurant industry a decade ago cooking at The Good Fork, and worked her way up through a number of acclaimed restaurants and bakeries including Mas (la Grillade), Maysville NYC, Kenton's NOLA, and Greene Grape Provisions before coming full circle to work with Sohui and Ben once again as Gage & Tollner’s Pastry Chef. Heralded as one of the “Most Badass Female Chefs in New York” by Thrillist, Caroline has been featured on Beat Bobby Flay, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appétit, Chopped, VICE Munchies and The Untitled Action Bronson Show. Caroline’s signature gravity-defying hairdo is outsized only by her enormous heart; in her spare time you can find her either supporting charitable causes or running a marathon.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How an out-of-control sweet tooth and a year in France convinced Caroline to pursue a career as a pastry chef
• How she turned an internship into a full-time job cooking on the line
• How she came by the moniker of being one of the “Most Badass Female Chefs in New York”
• How she landed the coveted position of Pastry Chef at the highly anticipated Gage & Tollner restaurant in Brooklyn, and what her plans are for the dessert menu
• About her involvement with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in New York, and the importance of giving back to the community
• How she deals with the stress of working long days in the kitchen
• And much more!

Born in Senegal of Lebanese parents, Karim Bourgi moved to Paris at the age of 16. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Paris in 2001, he began his career in Beirut at La Cigale, followed by Laduree Paris Champs Élysée, Makyan Traiteur, Goû Beirut, and Fauchon Paris in Dubai. Currently, he is the head pastry chef of Al Mana Group, and the regional development and creation chef for La Maison du Chocolat Paris. He believes that excellence is achieved by virtue of persistence and surrendering to true passion in pastry.

In this episode we discuss:

• Chef Bourgi’s pastry training
• His creative process
• Where he gets his inspiration for new desserts
• His philosophy on garnishes
• Key considerations for designing dessert décor
• Thoughts on the Covid-19 crisis
• And more!

Get your free 4-day pass to the Pastry Summit at www.pastrysummit.com!

After attending the Baking and Pastry Program at Chicago’s Kendall College, Jenny McCoy landed positions in a variety of Chicago’s top restaurants, including Charlie Trotter’s, Blackbird, Gordon and Bittersweet Bakery. It was in these kitchens where Jenny learned to refine her palate and develop her talent for composing seasonal desserts.

Following her formative experiences in fine dining, Jenny took a brief hiatus from professional baking to travel and complete a BA in Food Writing at DePaul University. When Jenny returned to the pastry kitchen, she oversaw three restaurant pastry departments for Emeril Lagasse, as well as contribute weekly to the Cooking Blog at Emerils.com. While working at Emeril's Delmonico, Jenny was a nominee for the PastryScoop.com Best Dessert Menu Award in 2006. It wasn’t long, however, before she felt the pull of New York City’s vibrant culinary scene.

In New York, she headed the pastry departments of top restaurant including Marc Forgione, A Voce and Tom Colicchio’s Craft, which earned three stars from The New York Times during her tenure. Jenny was also a pastry instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York from 2010 to 1018, and is the author of Desserts for Every Season (Rizzoli, 2013) and Modern Eclairs (HMH, 2016). Jenny’s newest venture is Recette, a bakery that sells handmade pastries such as French canelés at farmers’ markets and occasional pop-ups in Chicago.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

• How Jenny got hooked on pastry and baking
• Her experiences working in some of Chicago’s top restaurants
• Her hiatus from pastry when she traveled to broaden her culinary horizons
• Running the pastry departments of three Emeril Lagasse restaurants in NOLA
• Moving to NYC and earning three stars from the NY Times at Craft
• How she co-founded Cissé Trading Company, a line of hot cocoa and baking mixes
• Her experience writing two dessert cookbooks
• All about Recette, her latest baking adventure
• And much more!

Based in Los Angeles, California, Chef Mario Bacherini is the West Coast Pastry Chef of L’École Valrhona, where is he is in charge of conducting classes, demonstrations and workshops for professionals, providing one-on-one culinary consultations and bringing Valrhona’s expert touch to the West Coast. After graduating from culinary school in Florence, Italy, Chef Bacherini went on to do his apprenticeship as a chocolatier. He began working in Michelin-starred restaurants across Italy and France until he decided to settle in Perpignan, France, where he trained under Olivier Bajard (Meilleur Ouvrier de France). In 2008 he moved to Paris, where he worked at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée with French Pastry World Champion Christophe Michalak. Four years later, Bacherini left Paris for New York City, where he took on the role of Executive Pastry Chef at Nobu, managing three restaurants. While in New York, he also traveled the world to teach pastry masterclasses in various countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Italy and France, as well as the United States. In 2017, he moved to Los Angeles where he began his own consulting company, providing consulting for bakeries, pastry shops and restaurants, and later on had the opportunity to work side by side with one of the best pastry chefs in the world, Amaury Guichon, in his newly opened school in Las Vegas. Chef Bacherini continued to deliver his expertise across the United States and abroad until he got the call from Valrhona to join their North America team at the beginning of 2023.

In this episode we discuss:

• Bacherini’s challenging childhood and how he became interested in pastry
• Attending culinary school in Florence
• How he snagged his apprenticeship with a top-notch chocolatier
• Moving to France to work for Olivier Bajard, M.O.F.
• Working with French Pastry World Champion Christophe Michalak at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée
• Landing the position of Executive Pastry Chef at Nobu in NYC
• His experience teaching masterclasses around the globe
• How he became West Coast Pastry Chef for L’École Valrhona
• A typical day at the office for Chef Bacherini
• The importance of using high quality ingredients and staying “authentic”
• And much more!

Chris Curtin’s journey to the top of the chocolate world started more than three decades ago, in Madison, Wisconsin, where, following his success as a nationally ranked cross-country skier, he found his next challenge in the kitchen. He enrolled at the renowned New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, but soon left to forge an even more rigorous path of independent study—he was accepted to live as a pâtissier at the Compagnons du Devoir, the premier guild for artisan craftsmen in France, and subsequently became the first American to earn the title of Konditormeister, or Master Pastry Chef and Chocolatier, in Cologne, Germany.

Immersed in the realm of the world’s top chocolate makers, Chris continued honing his knowledge under some of the world’s great chocolate makers in Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Japan—legendary producers like Confiserie Bachmann in Switzerland, Confiserie Coppeneur in Germany, Herman Van Dender and Pierre Marcolini in Belgium, and Poire in Japan—where he had the privilege of sharing in confectionery’s greatest secrets and techniques.

Having mastered the art and techniques of Europe’s finest chocolates, he returned to the U.S. in 2004 and founded Éclat Chocolate, where his craftsmanship rivals that of the Old World’s most storied houses.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• His jump from cross-country skiing to culinary
• Why he left culinary school to train in Europe
• The inspiration for opening his chocolate business
• Collaborations with celebrity chefs and chocolate colleagues
• Chris’s favorite piece of equipment in his shop
• Differences between European and American chocolatiers
• The chocolate trend Chris wants gone
• And much, much more!

Food writer, pastry chef and culinary educator, Robert Wemischner has always been intrigued by the flavor potential of ingredients, from turmeric to tea and from cumin to coffee. The author of four books, including The Dessert Architect (a book for professionals and serious amateurs alike about how to craft sensational multicomponent desserts), Wemischner began his career to great media acclaim in the food business in the early 70’s as the owner of a pioneering gourmet-to-go shop in Beverly Hills.

He then went on to open a similar operation in Baltimore, and in the early 90’s, returned to LA and began teaching pastry and culinary arts in earnest. Drawing upon his exposure to classical cooking at a young age through informal apprenticeships to chefs in France, he has been imparting his knowledge to a diverse audience of students as a teacher of baking and pastry for the past 30 years at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.

He also does presentations on cooking with tea, baking, pastry and other food-related topics to professional organizations, and at tea festivals and conferences including the World Tea Expo and the LA International Tea Festival, among others.

He has been a regular contributor to Pastry Arts Magazine, Pastry Chef and National Culinary Review magazines. He also writes a regular column for a preeminent tea blog Tching (tching.com), about the culinary uses of tea.

In this episode:

• How the young Robert got into some of the best kitchens in France to learn cooking
• His time owning and operating a gourmet to-go shop in Beverly Hills and Baltimore
• How he transitioned into teaching and food writing
• How to develop a balanced restaurant dessert menu that makes sense
• The importance of using baker’s math in recipes
• Robert’s tip for making perfect Italian meringue
• Robert’s tips on making and piping pate a choux
• And lots more tips on techniques, including lamination, macarons and cakes!

Chef Charity George – known as The Sugar Sorceress – is a pastry chef and cake artist in San Diego, CA.  She specializes in chocolate and sugar art, with particular regard for wedding cakes, as well as specialty and extreme cakes. She has also specialized in baking and cooking for those with food allergies and sensitivities. Charity owns d’Zrt Cake Studio in La Mesa, CA.

Charity is also on the Board of Directors for Icing Smiles, a non-profit organization that provides custom celebration cakes and other treats to families impacted by the critical illness of a child.

Charity is the “secret chef” on the extremely popular Netflix show Nailed It! – she’s the pro who creates all of the cakes that the competitors then have to replicate. Charity has also been a judge at numerous cake shows and contests, and has taught sugar arts across the country to sold out workshops.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• How Chef Charity got hooked on baking as a child
• Why she left a prestigious culinary school in Paris after three months
• Where she learned the skills necessary to create ‘extreme’ decorated cakes
• How she landed on her first tv show
• How she became the ‘secret chef’ behind the cake creations on Netflix’s Nailed It!
• Her involvement with Icing Smiles, an organization that brings cakes to the families of critically ill children
• The time she had to act as a secret service agent to protect one of her cakes
• And much more!

Florian Bellanger is a pastry chef and co-owner of Mad Mac Macarons, "the Authentic French Macarons and Madeleines." Mad Mac serves the retail, food service, and hospitality industries, and has been recognized as a leader in quality and innovation in the macaron industry.

Before starting his own company, Bellanger was the Executive Pastry Chef at Fauchon, and oversaw 24 other pastry chefs at its Tea Salon flagship store in New York City. Chef Bellanger was named one of the 10 Best Pastry Chefs in America in 2003 and 2004 by Pastry Art & Design magazine. In 2000 and 2001, the James Beard Foundation acclaimed Bellanger's accomplishments with a nomination for "Outstanding Pastry Chef." He has been featured on many networks, including CNN, NBC, Food Network, and Martha Stewart Living, and served as a judge on the Food Network’s competition series Cupcake Wars. Chef Bellanger will also be a judge on the upcoming show Buddy vs. Duff, also on the Food Network.

Bellanger is a member of City Harvest's Food Council, and spends his free time donating to charities such as C-CAP Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, CCAP, the Wolfgang Puck Charity and the Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

• How Chef Bellanger landed the job that every other pastry chef wanted
• His experience as opening Pastry Chef at Fauchon in Qatar
• His first opportunity in the U.S. – Executive Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin
• Opening the Fauchon flagship store in NYC
• Becoming an entrepreneur: finding his niche and opening Mad Mac
• How he became a Food Network star along the way
• And much, much more!