Pastry Arts Podcast

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

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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!

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.

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!

Episode Sponsored by ASR Group Experts trust Domino and C&H Sugar brands because each powerful grain of their cane sugar delivers an impact. Proving that baking is all about what you put into it. Visit thebakingexperts.com for more insights.

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!

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.

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

Episode Sponsored by ASR Group Experts trust Domino and C&H Sugar brands because each powerful grain of their cane sugar delivers an impact. Proving that baking is all about what you put into it. Visit thebakingexperts.com for more insights.

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!

Episode Sponsored by ASR Group Experts trust Domino and C&H Sugar brands because each powerful grain of their cane sugar delivers an impact. Proving that baking is all about what you put into it. Visit thebakingexperts.com for more insights.

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!

Episode Sponsored by ASR Group Experts trust Domino and C&H Sugar brands because each powerful grain of their cane sugar delivers an impact. Proving that baking is all about what you put into it. Visit thebakingexperts.com for more insights.

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!

Episode Sponsored by ASR Group Experts trust Domino and C&H Sugar brands because each powerful grain of their cane sugar delivers an impact. Proving that baking is all about what you put into it. Visit thebakingexperts.com for more insights.

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!