Introduction

During my years as a pastry cook and eventually a pastry chef, I have focused mainly on plated desserts, many of which have a frozen component included in one way or another, either as the main item or as part of the whole. Frozen desserts play an important role in any highly regarded establishment because they represent a significant percentage of the actual food that the pastry kitchen puts out for paying customers. Knowing how to produce the highest-quality product is crucial to any aspiring or established pastry chef. Many things can go wrong, but having an intimate understanding of the entire production process will result in a flawless product. Competition these days is fierce. There are many pastry chefs who understand the importance of every single item on their menu, and these are the pastry chefs who are successful. They are the ones who realize that every day there are more and more sophisticated diners with very high expectations and a low threshold for incompetence. “Good” is just not good enough.