Preface

The decision to become a pastry chef may be a one-time occurrence, but the realization of that goal continues throughout one’s career. A good chef is constantly evolving — trying new things, learning different techniques, and improving his or her skills. The old saying “it’s best to leave well enough alone” does not apply in our field. Rather than being content with something that is just good enough, we must always strive for improvement to stay competitive. We learn from our failures as well as our successes, and many of us share both with others in our profession. I have always offered all of my knowledge to my colleagues and my students while continuing to learn, experiment, and work on new projects. The idea of continually looking for an original way to prepare a recipe or trying a fresh approach with a classic dessert presentation, for example, was the impetus behind the three revisions of The Professional Pastry Chef over the last 18 years, and now the creation of this new volume.