Being a pastry chef is hard work, with so many things to remember about temperatures sugar and caramel and other delicacies bake to, it is important to be away of what you are doing at all times. Here are a few of the most recognized chefs that have made their mark in the pastry world. If you have a dream to ever become a pastry chef, you should study their work diligently.
One of the most recognized pastry chefs, the king of pastry- really, was Antonin Careme. He started pastry chef school when he was a young boy and has been known as the creator of high cuisine in the French food world. Careme was known for his fancy sugar work and was actually the inventor of caramel as we know it. He worked under many famous chefs throughout his time, and even managed his own shop for a brief run. His life’s works and practices ranged widely from trivial to practical. Such as the invention of the toque, the famous French hat that all chefs and baker’s wear, after having many people complain about hairs in their food, he thought that it would be a good idea to cover the hair so that it was not getting into the food. He also wrote several books on pastry work and French cooking.
Following the success of Careme, Gaston Lenotre was the next most recognized pastry chef when he recognized that the public was looking for fresh ingredients and items that were continuously made fresh. Wanting to create a lighter dish for something new and inventive, Lenotre started introducing mousses, and other more airy sauces to the world and not the thick cream based desserts that people had grown accustomed to. He was most famous for introducing fruit to the pastry world using compounds and essences that others had not even dreamed of. He brought tropical fruits to France that they had never even heard of like the kiwi. His passing was hard on many as there were so many things that he had left unfinished, such as a line of chocolates that he was working on.
Chef Jacques Torres is a very recognized pastry chef for several reasons, but one that stands out to many. in 1996 he designed the French Culinary Institute’s Classic Pastry Arts program that has brought much light to the institute. In 1986, he became the youngest chef ever to win the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France Pâtissier competition. If it had not been for Jacques Maximin giving him a position and allowing him to work with him all over the globe, this may never have been possible. In 2000, Chef Torres opened his own chocolate shop in Brooklyn where he spent his days creating chocolate pastries and candies. In 2004 he added a chocolate factory in New York City where he processes his own cocoa beans and turns them into chocolate bars, right before your eyes.