I have moved this thread from who is WBDebord.

By Morgane on Tuesday, August 17, 1999 - 03:53 pm: Edit

W deBore I will take you on your offer on a discussion on cookbooks. I have many favorites, mostly in french, What are your favorites?


Morgane

By W.DeBord on Wednesday, August 18, 1999 - 08:33 am: Edit

Great! I don't think I have more then 1 or 2 french books maybe you can guide me the the good ones. You have to remember the type of work I do in a country club. Selection, selection, selection. I don't bake in quanity. Its' quality, without a budget. I haven't found alot in the professional books that have wowed me. I mainly use books for housewifes. I keep my favorites at work so I may write their titles wrong from memory. Who can I count on from cover to cover: Martha Stewarts latest work. She has a collection stemming from her magazine that all work and taste very good. Do you want specfic recipes mentioned? Marlene Sorosky also has some very respectable recipes in her book. Death by chocolate has so great ideas and frostings but I'm not crazy about his baking. Your turn.

By Morgane on Wednesday, August 18, 1999 - 12:34 pm: Edit

For chocolate my favourite is definitly a German book, translated into english The Chocolate Bible. It not only has some uncommon cakes but also some nice individual pastry, that you do not see everywhere. The petits fours and confiserie section are also wonderful.

Of course there are the inidispensable in pastry such a Lenotre and Roux brothers.

The Larousse Gastronomique is great for everthing from salty food to sweets.

One of my favourite "salty" cookbook is Georges Blanc La nature dans l'assiette. It is divided by season rather then by chapters and use only seasonal products. The zucchini flan in a smoked salmon creme is absolutly wonderful.


Enough for today. I am sorry I mispelled your name yesterday.


Morgane

By the sugar guy on Wednesday, August 18, 1999 - 04:09 pm: Edit

for anyone how wants to get involved seriously in french baking/pastry/bread production , the professional french pastry chef set+the decorated and specialty bread set,are the best ever put together on paper.if you start at volume 1 page 1 and follow it to the last page of volume 4 you have seen the entire "ecole ferrandi"
program (the one i took 17 years ago).i always look in it to remember the old class room .it is the very same one that they pictured in the book and it always bring me good memories...

By the sugar guy on Wednesday, August 18, 1999 - 04:16 pm: Edit

another great book was written by pierre herme (formaly of fouchon , today at laduree`).it is very inovative and creative and can inspire you to create modern ,delicate, wonderful creation.
i also have the 4 volumes of ecole lenotre.
very accurate recipies and production methods. i now this cause i have all the original texts from all the courses i took at "ecole lenotre" in the early 90`s. and they have printed in the books exactly what they gave us at school . for that i respect them.no nonsence.however the one that deals with decorations in a little bit on the down side. it`s just not interesting enogh.

By the sugar guy on Wednesday, August 18, 1999 - 04:35 pm: Edit

for chocolate work(decorations and center pieces) i would defenetly get "simply chocolate" by robert oppeneder.one of the best books on the subject , and he ,also, is a former student of "ecole lenotre". another former "lenotre" teacher is joel
bellouet ,i have his "apprenez l`art du chocolat"
,"pastry -tradition and evolution" ,and "apprenez l`art du decor et des pieces montees", all wonderful and extremly professional and inspiring. i could go on forever on baking books since i have over 400 of them but let me just add that if any of you ever visit paris, take the train to the town of plaisir where the "lenotre" empire is located (in the industrial zone of town)
.its just 25 minutes from the montparnas station .
in this town there is a very nice old belgium retired pastry chef who collected the worlds bigest collection of baking books .incredible collection in many languages (over 25,000 books),and he also have a copy machine there!

By jeee2 on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 02:51 am: Edit

Have any of you ever seen Franciolo ?, not for recipes but for the artistic sugar work.

Regards, Gerard

By W.DeBord on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 08:13 am: Edit

Morgane can you give me the authors name or publisher of The Chocolate Bible please? When a book is a classic as many were that were mentioned, you probably don't nave to single out any recipes. I would find it very helpful though, kind of as a starting point if you would mention some specific recipes that you found to be exceptional when a book is mentioned. Gerard I'm sure the sugar guy knows Franciolo but could you give more info. for the rest of us?
P.S. I'm not sure, but I fear that some of the titles mentioned may not be so easy to find. If it's a book like was mentioned by Joel Bellouet I would guess alot a people aren't familar with this.Is it published in English?

By jeee2 on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 10:36 am: Edit

W.Debord,

Franciolo worked in Paris, he's dead now .
Its in French , M.O.R.A in Paris used to carry it and I got mine there yrs ago, I've never seen an English version. His work is monumental and I don't think anyone has touched it yet.

Lambeth is an OK book, out of print and dated but nice to have on hand if you want to learn techniques for flowers and decoration.

The 4 book French pastry series mentioned by Sugar dude is a good place to start, very complete.
If you want to have some fun try the inverse' puff dough (butter on the outside).

The Franciolo won't teach you anything like the French series, its not supposed to.

What I noticed between Bo Fribergs book and the French series is Fribergs pastry cream tastes like store bought pudding, too much sugar and not practical for making napoleons or anything where you'd need a bit of body such as paris brest.

By jeee2 on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 10:48 am: Edit

...
I would think you'd like the Charlie Trotter book on desserts and Jacques Torres circus.
Not much use to me but I'm not doing sit down.

"The modern pastry chef" by Domenic Dermo, very practical pastry book but very hard to find now.

"Choice confection" by walter Richmond, a pro mfgers confectionary book, no pictures. A good section on chocolate, shows how little we know as pastry chefs about choc.
"Time Life CANDY" book is interesting.

"The International Confectioner", massive volume on just about everything, expensive and maybe outta print. I look in all the other books first because it takes so long to locate anything in this one.

Cheers, Gerard

By jeee2 on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 11:05 am: Edit

...
I would think you'd like the Charlie Trotter book on desserts and Jacques Torres circus.
Not much use to me but I'm not doing sit down.

"The modern pastry chef" by Domenic Dermo, very practical pastry book but very hard to find now.

"Choice confection" by walter Richmond, a pro mfgers confectionary book, no pictures. A good section on chocolate, shows how little we know as pastry chefs about choc.
"Time Life CANDY" book is interesting.

"The International Confectioner", massive volume on just about everything, expensive and maybe outta print. I look in all the other books first because it takes so long to locate anything in this one.

Cheers, Gerard

By Morgane on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 11:52 am: Edit

W


The Chocolate Bible is edited by Christian Teubner. There are so many good recipes in this book it would be hard for me to name them all. But if I have to I'll say the almond torte and the truffle torte and let's not forget the chocolate strudel. The petits fours are also wonderful.


As for the Georges Blanc book I don't think it is available in english anymore. Do you read French? It is truly a wonderful book of fruits and veggies recipes.


Morgane

By Morgane on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 12:03 pm: Edit

Gerard,


I do not find Jacques Torres books to very imaginative specially not his second one. I was given his first one as a present and I have no real use for it. As for Charlie Trotter I am not sure I share his passion for "reintroducing flavour". I find too many flavours in a dish will kill it he seems to be of the opposite school.


I hav the Time Life book on candy, and for lack of a better one I will use it. I have been desperate to find a good candy book and haven't been succesful yet. I started doing hard candy a few years ago just for fun and truly enjoyed it. I find it is getting to be a lost art and good books on the subject are hard to find.


I try a search on the different titles you gave but found nothing. I am specially interested on the last one The International Confectioner. Could you please give me more information about it. Mainly is it still available what does it cover.


Thanks!


Morgane

By jeee2 on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 12:21 pm: Edit

Morgane,

Trotters book is definately for the US market, for the French palate he doesn't have a clue as to what works tastewise but for people who have to cater to the US trends in desserts its a good idea book (or source of laughter).
La cuisine d'existentialism.!(no tomorrow cookin).

Torres is a victim of the publicity merry go round, hard to get off once you jump on.
The photo of his fruit tart on page 184 makes me wonder what he was thinking (or smoking).

Try a search at amazon.com for intl confectioner, I doubt its still in print, I paid $127 over 20 yrs ago.

Cheers, Gerard

By jeee2 on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 12:32 pm: Edit

Morgane,

Choice confections by Walter Richmond is the book for candy, very professional.
I also make a bit of candy and have a tempering machine for truffles so I use the book often.
One problem is finding substitutes for the special ingredients used in candy manufacturing.
For instance hard candy makers butter, milk paste,
bakers special sugar, egg frappe' #2, powdered cream etc. Its a small red book and costs about $60.

Regards, Gerard

By the sugar guy on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 03:07 pm: Edit

try gabriel paillasson.a master of sugar art with an approach unlike any other chef. a true revolutionary with incredible work in his book "feu sucre" . trully an inspiring set of center pieces with his extreemly unique touch...
in general, to my taste , german books on pastries
v.s. french books on same subjects , really reveal the true differance in styles between the two, germans would are old fassion with cakes that always have 2 or 3 layers of the same batters(cake or meringue) and are always round and always decorated in the same boring ways(rosets of cream ,chocolate shavings , some piping ,marzipan figures) never something inovative.. as for french chefs its always about new provoking ideas that make things more interesting , as far as textures , designs , flavors , etc. you will never see german chefs even think about that.i mean ,just one look at piere herme`s book makes the point to me.what do you think?

By the sugar guy on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 03:14 pm: Edit

not that the german recipies are not excelent! they are wonderful and i have used the ones at the chocolate bible many times, its just that it somehow lacks the imagination and sparks that i look for in pastry...a matter of taste i guess...
in confectionary work , do you refer to the swiss confiseur book by the richemont craft school? it is superb! very detailed . and worth the price(about $90).you can get it from swiss chalet fine foods (1-800-34-swiss).

By W.DeBord on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 10:52 pm: Edit

Piere Herme's book was a waste of my money, don't know what I was thinking. I would not be able to sell one thing from that book or Trotters' that my customer would buy. As for Mr. Torres books I wasted my money on them also. I've watched his "circus" he moves well. I'd rather eat cardboard then eat anyone of his recipes! Their worse then you can believe. Tell me who he's writing to? Three pages on how to mix a simple batter, please.
I've wanted the french pastry series but have been scared they would be a dissapointment. The other "Pro" books I've bought are real hit or miss on taste. For instance Bo Fribergs' book, some items I was pleased with and some I couldn't believe how poor they were.

By jeee2 on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 07:08 am: Edit

W.DeBord,

Try one of the 4 French Series, after that you'll want them all.
Trotter's menu suffers from creativity without foundation, no restraint to prevent it from silliness, but like most books you just take what you like and leave the rest.
If I was still running a restaurant I'd keep it on hand to extract ideas, if you remove the poor judgement from some of the dishes they can made workable. \
Regards, Gerard

By Morgane on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 11:45 am: Edit

Gerard,

For me the worse of Torres book is the fraiser. I have rarely seen such a ugly cake specially when considering the real thing is such a beautiful cake with clean lines.


W.

I have looked at Bo Friberg book and wasn't really impress by it. Yes he covers all the french classic but his recipes are so different from the way I do thing I am not sure I would really cook from it.

I do think it is nice to use books to get some new ideas but we should also rely on our own imagination to invent flavour combinaison and presentation. After all we know our clientele taste and know what they would like.


Morgane

By the sugar guy on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 03:55 pm: Edit

w.debord.."piere herme`s book was a waste of my money"...?
oh , boy , man , you have just lost all the credit i gave you as a pastry chef.you must be confused with the english book he published for american house wifes , or somthing like that.i am talking about the "la patisserie de pierre herme "-a black book in french or spanish only that cost about $200. the man is incredible,his shop in champs-elisee in paris is incredible(laduree),his work is incredible ,you just dont know what you are talking about...(oh yeh , he is also last years world champion gold medal winner as team captain with the french team at the coup de mond de la patisserie).come on now...

By the sugar guy on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 03:56 pm: Edit

w.debord.."piere herme`s book was a waste of my money"...?
oh , boy , man , you have just lost all the credit i gave you as a pastry chef.you must be confused with the english book he published for american house wifes , or somthing like that.i am talking about the "la patisserie de pierre herme "-a black book in french or spanish only that cost about $200. the man is incredible,his shop in champs-elisee in paris is incredible(laduree),his work is incredible ,you just dont know what you are talking about...(oh yeh , he is also last years world champion gold medal winner)

By the sugar guy on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 04:04 pm: Edit

come on now w.debord....pierre herme published the best book in the last 5 years, no one , and i mean no one or any other book in patisserie come even remotly close to herme`s work.show me one book that was published in that time frame that is better , more inspiring ,and more inovative than this one...i took a course with him at D.G.F IN france back in 1994 , you people dont know how this man works in the kitchen , a true phenomenon ,and a true revolutionary ,he has my greatest respect and admiration ,i was truly humbled by this experience , and i dare any one to show me any one who does it better...

By the sugar guy on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 04:07 pm: Edit

plus , you must think of what you get from learning from books or chef , not what your customers got out of it , if you think you wasted you money on books because your customers didnt like a recipe from it YOU MISSED THE WHOLE POINT OF LEARNING from the experiance and knowledge of a fellow chef.

By the sugar guy on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 04:15 pm: Edit

in my mind , every single chef in the US must inpire to be able to produce pastries in the level of Herme`s work,and not be scared by dificulty levels or any thing like that .i am sure w.debord ,that your first attempts to get your cakes to look like hermes or to taste like them will not be very pleasing to you, but never give up on trying and learning! god knows i made my share of disapointing cakes ...

By jeee2 on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 05:07 pm: Edit

I've seen the Herme' home pastry book, its a waste of paper, even the photography was poor.
I keep meaning to get to NYC to snag some books.

Regards, Gerard

By the sugar guy on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 08:25 pm: Edit

true , i dont know where it came from , but i am talking about his professional publication in french that is absolutly the best.period.
i wish most pastry chefs in the US would be just 1/2 as good as herme is , we would see less and less customers coming in to french pastry shops looking for cup-cakes and muffins,and actualy trying something realy good and different for a change.....

By jeee2 on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 10:58 pm: Edit

How many times do you hear this....

"do you have anything non fattening".

My answer is "quality isn't fattening, greed is".

Cheers, Gerard

By W.DeBord on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 06:48 am: Edit

Sugar guy I bought the housewifes' book. I've not seen any other. Remember I'm a beginner standing next to you. I don't read any other language then English. Heck sometimes thats hard for me...

By makubo on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 05:39 pm: Edit

sorry lads, I have a thing or two to add,
w.debord, go on and try a recipe or two from P. Herme's book and then tell me that you value one of the timelife series better... what a plonker.
To be truly innovative in this business and to come up with not only a recipe or two over a professional lifetime, that's what separates the men from the boys. He is, and his books are testimony for it, a prince among men. I've been in this line of work for 20 years on 5 continents and there are precious few things that are able to make me raise an eyebrow after what I've done and seen. Pierre Herme's book was one of them, w.deborg's ignorant comments another.

By the sugar guy on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 07:37 pm: Edit

well ,i stongly recomend investing the $180 or so for his book that is now , i believe ,is available in english at J.B.PRICE in n.y. . DONT BE CHEAP AND JUST BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
then we`ll discuss it some more ....

By the sugar guy on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 07:45 pm: Edit

makubo , i would like to shake your hand ...
being inovative in this profession is hard as
hell! most clasic recipies canot be change because the proportions of ingrediants are so balanced ,plus coming up with new ideas is a true chalange , just like , in my opinion , modern music composers have very little to add to the world of calssic and symphonic music because every thing has been written already .... how can you surpass bach`s or mozart`s work? you need to be a true pioneer or a revolutionary and have a very strong desire to invent...just like pierre herme..

By the sugar guy on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 08:15 pm: Edit

any way ... to any one out there who owns pierre`s book (the professional one) ,i hope you keep it for your grandchildren ....it will go down in history as one of the finest ....

By jeee2 on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 08:26 pm: Edit

Steve,

I'm going to drop the bucks and get them all, I've thrown out hundreds of books (literally) that I inherited but keep the professional ones, besides the business will pay for them, tax deductible and all that jazz.

Makudo,

take it ez on W.Debord, she thot we wuz chatting about the Herme' book that we've all seen for the home foodie set.
I was just as ignorant, t'aint no crime.

Cheers, El Gerardo.

By the usgar guy on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 08:37 pm: Edit

if time permits ,maybe i will post my version of the best 20 or 30 baking books ever,that i cannot live without...what do you think?
by the way ,another great publication is the magazin called "thuries " .it is edited and published by yves thuries , the grand master of french baking and cooking. it is published once a month and covers the most up to date info from the professional cooking and baking world in france.it features a different set of chefs every time and it is just great...

By neil sheldon cpc on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 11:21 pm: Edit

i have notters sugar book will get pierre hermes.been putting out mango and raspberry mousse cakes like in thuries book sponge fingers in french cake ring.

By neil sheldon cpc on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 11:27 pm: Edit

i have notters sugar book will get pierre hermes.been putting out mango and raspberry mousse cakes like in thuries book sponge fingers in french cake ring. customers slowly starting to buy a few,sell some to barnes & noble.but you know this is iowa,neil sheldon cpc cottage bakery iowa city ,ia.

By jeee2 on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 04:21 am: Edit

Hey Neil,
Not still in the windy city?


I saw Susan Notters choc art for the coupe de monde, how did she get on that team, I mean choc spagetti, multi colored choc spagetti??

Cheers, Gerard

By makubo on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 10:59 am: Edit

I think the idea of listing your favorites is a good one, so here I go:
The Swiss Richmond series of mastercraft books-
the basics are all there, presentations are somewhat oldfashioned but this is where we can apply our touches.
Wiener Suesspeisen-
one of the few publications that encompass the entire craft very diligently
The books by Pierre Herme (all of them)
Having seen him do his magic and realize that you cannot put in letters and pictures what makes a truly great professional, his books are a very good attempt at the very least to capture "the magic"
Most other books I warrant a glance, too much "been there, done that, bought a t-shirt" for my taste.

By makubo on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 12:03 pm: Edit

Just found a reasonable(albeight) expensive source:booksforcooks.com
Browse their listings, write down the ISBN nr. then get a second price from Amazon.com
You may be able to save a buck or two...

By W.DeBord on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 07:09 pm: Edit

Morgane I do own The Chocolate Bible. I've haven't tried but a few. I do agree that his petite fours seem quite nice, although I haven't gotten to any of them. I have made his Raspberry cream Torte. It was good, tastes best with rasp. sauce on plate.I had to double his rasp. layer to work well. I also think there was a miss measurement on the amount of milk in the cream layer, I add 1/2c. more. But good enough to make it more than once.Also made his Coconut Torte I had to use a different mousse recipe his had uncooked egg in it (why take a risk). Anyway I'll definately make the ones you mentioned. Did you have to make any changes?

By the sugar guy on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 08:05 pm: Edit

richemont craft school set(3 books),the french prof.pastry chef set+the bread books(6 books),yves thuries books 1-3 , pierre herme (la patisserie de pierre herme),ewald notter text book of sugar+that is sugar,gabriel paillasson "feu sucre",joel bellouett(all books -7 total),fabilo sugar artistik 1-2,ecole lenotre buffets sucre+pains et viennoiseries ,french cookie book (paul bugat),plaisir de petit four(pascal brunstein),all books by lesley herbert on gum paste and sugar work(6 books),all books by nicholas lodge on sugar and gum paste(7 books)....thats it .. i cant live without those ....especialy the one by pierre herme ...it is permenently bolted to my night stand so i can look at it every night and say ....god bless....

By W.DeBord on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 10:26 pm: Edit

Unless you've worked the exact recipe I mentioned earlier please don't comment on raw egg in mousse. Could some of the measurement translations be off in my english published book?
Sugar guy would you mind helping those of us who aren't familiar with your selections. The richemont craft school set can you tell me who published this, aprox. when? Do you know if paillason, bellouett and brustein are in english versions? I don't mean to be lazy, I'm just trying to get the best info. so I can search for these. Thank-you for sharing! Personally not having gone thru a classic apprentiseship I've had no one to tell me of these books.

By W.DeBord on Sunday, August 22, 1999 - 10:49 pm: Edit

Sugar guy I'm also interested in the publication Thuries you mentioned. Is there any chance it can be found in English?
It seems that you all speak of how backward (or tasteless)we Americans are. If more publishers could or would publish in many languages works that are masters in their fields maybe we could share a more common ground.

By W.DeBord on Monday, August 23, 1999 - 08:30 am: Edit

Jennifer Akins (hope sp? correct) I saw your note under choc. in bread. Have you worked the Nick Malgereti book (Can't remember sp. on his last name)? I bought it a while ago. Then I read a review on it that gave me cold feet. It said it was real hit and miss. I've made his Raspberry Bavarian with the choc. cake layers several times so I know that one works and tastes good. I don't have the time right now to work on stinkers. Do you have any opinions on any of his other recipes?

By Morgane on Monday, August 23, 1999 - 12:45 pm: Edit

W.


For chocolate mousse I always prefer the Lenotre recipe which also contains raw eggs. I have yet to find a great chocolate mousse where the eggs are "cooked". People here aren't as worried about the risk of salmonella as they are in the US. None the less when someone ask for chocolate mousse I explain that it is made with raw eggs if they worry about that I suggest another chocolate dessert.


Morgane

By the sugar guy on Monday, August 23, 1999 - 04:18 pm: Edit

i always use raw eggs in my mousse.whats the problem?salmonela?its the 21 century...
about the books, thuries is available in english ,bellouett is available in english(pastry tradition and evolution ,the art of center pieces,i dont think the rest are..),paillason is not in english and if you are not involved seriously in pulled and blown sugar work it will do you little good except for admiring his work...
the richemont craft school is a good publication,acurate and dependeble ,its a school in lucerne it has a good book on bread, one on confectionary and pastry,and one on chocolate and ice cream .all are very good and professional.i bought my books from albert uster but i think you can find them cheaper(about $90 each).they were published by th richemont craft school at 1987.

By the sugar guy on Monday, August 23, 1999 - 04:22 pm: Edit

but before you buy any of the above..order the 4 books of the french professional pastry chef.its $240 if you buy all 4 and they are all interconected.there is no point in buying just one.believe me you will be very happy with them thrugh out your career...they are one of the best ever ...

By makubo on Monday, August 23, 1999 - 06:38 pm: Edit

to George:
maybe you can start a new thread, I think a dicussion over the benefits of pasteurization of egg products is what we ought to start, can't say that I agree with what I read in regards to laws, regulations versus necessities.
What do you think?

By W.DeBord on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 07:09 am: Edit

I believe you should first read what the person said before you jump on the comment rollercoaster!

Jeez !!!!

I also use raw eggs in my mousse.Welcome to mousse 101!

As I noted:"UNLESS YOU'VE WORKED THE EXACT RECIPE I'VE MENTIONED PLEASE DON'T COMMENT ON RAW EGGS IN MOUSSE"!

That Exact recipe is ALL I was referring to!

By W.DeBord on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 07:21 am: Edit

Hey sugar guy how come when I asked you if I could 1/2 or 1/4 your recipes in one area you lecture me that you can always do that. Then above you say a classic recipe can't be changed because the proportions of ingredients are so balanced. I do read what you say. You are wiser than I.

You don't need to respond because I understand what you mean.

Maybe now you understand what I meant also. I didn't want to change a recipe if it didn't reduce well.

I do respect and appreciate all the advise you have given.

By Pierre on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 10:19 am: Edit

For a really good reference book purchase "Larousse des Desserts" by Pierre Herme. Unfortunately it is only available in french and hard to find....try kitchen arts and letters in NY.

By the sugar guy on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 02:58 pm: Edit

W.deboring the hell out of me...
i red EXACTLY what you said,"unless you worked the exact recipe...".
i am 25,687 steps ahead of you.i own the stupid chocolate bible and you are refering to the recipe on page 100.the ONLY coconut cake in this book.i have comented on the eggs because i made this recipe before ,plus another 2 million other recipies with raw eggs in my life....so i would appreciate some professional courtesy...
you sound like you need a vacation....
i am getting tired of this forum...
nothing more to add .....

By Matt (Matt) on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 06:04 pm: Edit

W.DeBord-

I have to thrid the recommandation for getting the French Pastry Series. I am a few steps below you in Pastry ability (I'm the bread baker), and that set of books has been a great help in expanding my knowlege. Even the simpler items I make are better because of those books. Right now I'm happy just learning from them. As far as Pierre Herme book goes, I'll wait. Buying these books comes directly out of my pocket and at my salery I'll have to save. Gerard is getting Pierre Herme set and he gives pretty good reviews. He has always pointed me in the right direction.

Matt

By jeee2 on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 06:47 pm: Edit

Matt,

I'll drive up to upstate NY some day before winter and show you some of my best outta print books, they are trying to bring back intl confectioner but the publisher is reticent.
These books should be tax deductible for you, save the reciepts and just give them to your tax preparer along with everything else.

Cheers, Gerard

By W.DeBord on Wednesday, August 25, 1999 - 08:11 am: Edit

Sugar guy my sincere apoligie!!!!! I jumped.
I'm trying to understand, must be failing badly.Yes, indeed you are so many steps ahead of me I will never reach you. I'm just trying my hardest to understand you.

As I recall the recipe just dumped yolks in at the end. I didn't see the reason why they used it here. Just don't understand what it added to the recipe.
I can't read another language.It never accured to me that translation errors happen.I thought recipes get checked and rechecked.I like the chocolate bible its shown me some new ways of layering that I hadn't seen before. The english version I own seems to have mistakes in it. I can follow a recipe. It's frustrating when they don't make sense or their measurments don't add up correctly.

By W.DeBord on Wednesday, August 25, 1999 - 08:33 am: Edit

Matt I don't own a business and I too can write off my books. That's how justify to my spouse my lavish spending in this area. Can I also give you a piece of advise? Always buy your own books and equipment!

I breifly worked at another country club years ago as their pastry chef. I was their first pastry chef and set-up their department. After spending countless hours finding some really nice small equipment it all stayed behind when I left.
Where I'm at now they will buy any books, subscriptions or small equipment I want. But I learned the hard way some items I couldn't replace. Even if I couldn't write this stuff off I'd still buy it myself.

I remember the days, they weren't that long ago when this all would have been a joke. I understand you can't buy things with-out the money. A write-off doesn't work well if you don't make enough to need a write off.

Be patient it will come and be smarter then I was.

By jeee2 on Wednesday, August 25, 1999 - 09:33 am: Edit

W.

>Always buy your own books and equipment! >>

Thats happened to me too, and then books go out of print and its hard to find another copy.
Ditto on specialized molds or cutters.
Live and learn.

Cheers, Gerard

By Matt (Matt) on Friday, August 27, 1999 - 02:14 pm: Edit

Guys-

Thanks for the adivce. Yeah, I want the good books to go with me so, I guess I'll have to buy. Nice to know that I can deduct them. Wife will be happy. Regarding equipment. I don't have a lot, but the good stuff I take home with me every night.

Thanks,
Matt