Pastry Arts Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Dana Herbert: A Talk with "The King of Cakes" Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

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!

Caroline Schiff: Gage & Tollner's Pastry Chef Aug 19, 2020

Show notes

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!

Karim Bourgi: Creativity, Inspiration, Garnishes & More Aug 04, 2020

Show notes

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!

Jenny McCoy: From Chicago's Top Restaurants to Cookbooks & Canelés Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

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!

Christopher Curtin: The Journey of a Master Chocolatier May 19, 2020

Show notes

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!

Robert Wemischner: The Fundamentals of Pastry Techniques Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

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!

Charity George: The Sugar Sorceress behind Netflix's Nailed It! Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

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: From Fauchon to Food Network & Mastering Maracons Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

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!

Lauren V. Haas: From the White House to Teaching the Next Gen of Pastry Pros Dec 21, 2019

Show notes

Lauren V. Haas is an Associate Professor for the International Baking and Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales University. In addition to her role at Johnson & Wales, Lauren works with John E. Koerner & Co. as the U.S.A. technical advisor for 100% Chef and TouFoods, and is a member of the prestigious Cacao Barry Ambassador's Club.

Prior to joining the faculty at Johnson & Wales University, Lauren honed her pastry skills at some of the country's most esteemed establishments, including the residence at the White House, Albert Uster Imports, the Hotel du Pont, and the Inn at Little Washington.

Lauren's interest in sustainability led her to pursue a master's in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College, and she also holds a bachelor of science in Baking & Pastry Arts from Johnson & Wales University. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including So Good: The Magazine of Haute Pâtisserie, American Cake Decorating, and Pastry Chef. In 2016, Dessert Professional Magazine named Lauren one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America.

Well versed in the foundations of classical pastry and emerging techniques and trends, Lauren's passion is educating students and pastry professionals in the art and science of pastry. For more information, visit www.laurenvhaas.com.

In this episode, you'll learn about:

How Lauren landed her first job in pastry
Her first Executive Pastry Chef position: making high-end, Indian inspired desserts
Making desserts for foreign dignitaries at The Blair House in Washington, D.C.
Working as a consulting pastry chef at The White House
Focusing on chocolate work at Co Co Sala in D.C.
Her position as Corporate Assistant Pastry Chef at Albert Uster Imports
Switching gears: becoming an Associate Professor at Johnson & Wales University
And much more!

Nathaniel Reid: The Path to Becoming a Dessert Entrepreneur Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

Nathaniel Reid is the chef and owner of Nathaniel Reid Bakery in Kirkwood, Missouri. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris with a Grand Diploma in Culinary and Pastry Arts, Chef Reid worked in top pastry kitchens around the world, including Michelin 3-star restaurant, Joël Robuchon, in Las Vegas and the AAA Five Diamond St. Regis hotel in California.

In August 2016, his longtime dream to own his pastry shop became a reality with the opening of Nathaniel Reid Bakery. With his namesake brand, Reid takes thoughtful consideration into every detail of the guest experience. Each guest is greeted with a friendly, professional welcome as they are guided through his carefully curated menu of pastries and confections. From the twelve flavors of macarons to the spellbinding specialty cakes to the perfectly executed croissants and French pastries, each offering showcases Reid's care for quality ingredients and expert technique. He built his bakery to be a place for the community and, in just a short amount of time, it has become just that – a community bakery led by a man with a superior talent and an even bigger heart.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Why Nathaniel switched his studies from biology to pastry
His decision to move to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu
Overcoming a setback, when a promised job in NYC didn't materialize
Working on the opening pastry team at Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas
His first gig as an Executive Pastry Chef at the St. Regis Monarch Beach
His position at Norman Love Confections in FL
Nathaniel's tip for making perfect pâte à choux
And much more!

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