Product Description

The reference of choice for thousands of pastry chefs and home cooks
A favorite of pastry lovers and serious chefs worldwide, The Professional Pastry Chef presents comprehensive coverage of basic baking and pastry techniques in a fresh and approachable way. Now skillfully revised and redesigned to meet the needs of today′s pastry kitchen, this classic reference is better–and easier to use–than ever.
The new edition contains more than 650 recipes, which offer a new emphasis on American applications of European techniques with yields suitable for restaurant service or for entertaining at home. It shares encyclopedic guidance on everything from mise en place preparation and basic doughs to new chapters covering flatbreads, crackers, and homestyle desserts. Throughout, award–winning Executive Pastry Chef Bo Friberg explains not only how to perform procedures, but also the principles behind them, helping readers to build a firm foundation based on understanding rather than memorizing formulas. Illustrated step–by–step instructions demystify even the most complex techniques and presentations, while 100 vivid color photographs bring finished dishes to life with a sublime touch of visual inspiration. Whether used to develop skills or refine techniques, to gain or simply broaden a repertoire, The Professional Pastry Chef is filled with information and ideas for creating mouthwatering baked goods and tantalizing desserts–today and for years to come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114824 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1040 pages

From the Inside Flap
A favorite of serious chefs and passionate home bakers worldwide, The Professional Pastry Chef offers comprehensive coverage of basic baking and pastry techniques, all presented in a fresh and approachable way. Now skillfully revised to address the latest developments in pastry making, this classic resource is truly the reference of choice for anyone looking to achieve true artistry in today′s pastry kitchen.

The Professional Pastry Chef contains encyclopedic guidance on the preparation and presentation of an abundant array of pastries and desserts––including breads, cakes, cookies, tarts, petits fours, croissants, Danish pastries, mousses, soufflés, ice creams, sorbets, and sauces, syrups, and fillings––plus a completely new chapter covering flatbreads, crackers, and rolls.

Moving effortlessly between the most basic puff pastry and such subtly contemporary creations as Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cassis Panna Cotta Topping and Meyer Lemon Tarts with Lemon–Verbena Whipped Cream, The Professional Pastry Chef puts a world of edible delights within reach. The Fourth Edition contains more than 650 recipes, which offer a new emphasis on American applications of European techniques with yields suitable for restaurant service or for entertaining at home.

Throughout, award–winning Executive Pastry Chef Bo Friberg explains not only how to perform procedures but also the principles behind them, helping to build a firm foundation based on understanding rather than memorized formulas. His clear explanations provide an easy–to–follow guide through ingredients and mise en place preparation as well as pastry equipment, techniques, and plated presentation. Chef Friberg′s step–by–step instructions are generously supplemented with illustrations that demystify even the most complex procedures, while ready–to–use templates are included to help save time and effort in the kitchen.

Finished dishes are brought to life with almost 100 vivid color photographs that add a sublime touch of visual inspiration, along with new Chef′s Tips and sidebars that offer instant access to key material where and when it′s needed.

Whether used to develop skills or refine techniques, to gain or simply broaden a repertoire, The Professional Pastry Chef is filled with information and ideas for creating mouthwatering baked goods and tantalizing desserts––today and for years to come.

From the Back Cover
"There′s something for everyone in this updated edition of Bo Friberg′s classic opus on pastry. A must for the professional, whether student or teacher, it also offers recipes for breads, cookies, tarts, and cakes that will appeal to all serious amateur bakers."
—Jacques Pépin, author, teacher, and host of his own public television series

"I often turn to my battered, well–used copy of Friberg′s classic for inspiration and education. Seasoned professional bakers and passionate amateurs alike will find his precise instructions to be infallible for success. I′m grateful for this updated edition with its easy–to–find information and spectacular new photos."
—Rick Rodgers, author of Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague

"Bo Friberg is a rare innovator, a pioneer in his field, and an inspiration for a whole generation of pastry chefs. He has put together a collection of recipes that express an intimate connection among flavors, presentation, technique, and creativity. The Professional Pastry Chef is a guide that will be a classic for the 21st century."
—Hubert Keller, chef/owner of Fleur de Lys restaurant, San Francisco

About the Author
BO FRIBERG, Certified Master Pastry Chef, is Executive Pastry Chef at the San Diego Culinary Institute in La Mesa, California. With more than forty years of experience in the industry, he has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including two gold medals at the Culinary Arts Exhibit of the Pacific Coast. He has also demonstrated the art of pastry making on television shows, including the highly acclaimed public television series Cooking Secrets of the CIA; Cooking at the Academy; and NBC′s Today show.

Customer Reviews

An excellent reference work for the professional.
This book is worth its considerable weight in vanilla pods.

Pitched squarely at the catering professional, but written in an accessible style that makes it equally useful for the serious (and motivated) amateur, The Professional Pastry Chef is a comprehensive reference work that will enable you to get the best out of your existing skills and will lead you to acquire new ones.

I bought this book because I'm a professional chef; I also have a love of good food writing, and this book has elements that appeal to both parts of me.

Professional cooking is all about reaching a certain standard of competency - when that standard has been reached, then most instructions in print will be understandable and useful. This book keeps that threshold low without being patronising or losing its usefulness to the professional, and is definitely of use to the amateur as well as we galley-rats.

Quite, quite wonderful
This is a substantial book, a full 1000 A4 pages of probably a good 900 recipes - it's more like a dessert bible rather than a Jamie/ Gordon/ Hugo cookbook. I am a not particularly able amateur and so far I have tried around 5 recipes and each has been wonderful (flourless spice cake, danish pastries, shoehorn pastries, almond macaroons and chocolate gugelhupfs). The instructions are clear and easy to follow, there are plenty of photographs littered through so you can compare your efforts to Bo's and (what was my favourite bit) a marvellous little introductory to each recipe, detailing some of the history of the cake, some personal anecdotes, descriptions of the end result, etc. I have frequently sat down and just skimmed through the book reading these.

Obviously this has been written primarily with the professional in mind and so each recipe is generally for 90 pastries or some other such huge number but all it takes is a calculator and digital scales and this is easily overcome. Another thing to bear in mind is that some recipes can take a while, especially yeast based ones as (no shortcuts) Bo will have you leavig them to prove three times for around an hour each. This isn't true for all of them, the macaroons in fact being turned out in less than half an hour, cooking time included.

Overall, this is a brilliant book and one of my most treasured cookery reference books. I only wish it came on Sony Ebook reader.

VERYGOOD
I own this book, and I have to say that this is the best. The puff pastry recipe is remarkable, and many of the recipes turn out well. If you want to have professional recipes, this is the one.