Unsung heroes
I love pastry, and I admire pastry chefs.
For the last few years, I have witnessed what I call the “pastry oedipal complex.” It’s a fancy term for a simple phenomenon - pastry chefs are no longer relegated to their pastry rooms but have become celebrities in their own right, and not just as suppliers to the “star chef.” Pastry chefs are stepping into the spotlight - their names start appearing on menus; they have their own TV shows, books, blogs and brands; and some even own retail stores.
How many pastry chefs - known by the public and not just within our industry - could you have named 10 years ago? If you just take France as an example, you have Pierre Hermé, Christophe Michalak, Philippe Conticini, Jean-Paul Hévin, Patrick Roger, Sadaharu Aoki and Christophe Adam, to name but a few. Some of them already have a large international following.
So what? Is this worth a post? I thought so after the following happened to me:
A few weeks ago, I was just leaving a 3-star restaurant after an excellent culinary experience. I was particularly impressed by the quality of the desserts but didn’t see the name of the pastry chef on the menu, which has become more and more common for restaurants that value their talents. Shaking hands with the chef at the door, I asked him about this.
“Chef, the desserts you’ve served were really amazing! How come you don’t mention the name of your pastry chef on your menu?”
The chef took a step back, his whole body went rigid, and with laboured breath he answered:
“And why not also the name of my dishwasher?!?”
… [ sic ]
Stéphane Bellon, founder, Studionomie, Geneva
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