Everyone’s idea of a good pastry is different. For you, it may be something glazed in sugar and butter and then served hot from the oven. For some people, however, it’s a lot more. It may be a perfectly iced cupcake, a chocolate mousse cake, or a blueberry cheesecake.
Behind these delicious pastries are chefs who work painstakingly to achieve the desired taste and texture of their clients. A pastry chef has a specialty in desserts and breads, and works in a catering company, bakery, or restaurant.
Here are the qualities of a greatPastry Chef.
- Baking a cake is not as simple as putting it in the oven and waiting for it to be cooked. It requires a great deal of patience to bake pastries because rushing the process might compromise the integrity of the food. Being patient and calm are some of the important qualities of a good pastry chef.
- Keen Attention to Detail. A good pastry chef pays close attention to details. Tasks as intricate as designing a wedding cake requires precision in order to avoid flaws and achieve perfectly designed masterpieces.
- Creativity. The food industry constantly evolves and pastry chefs need to be able to come up with new flavors combinations and designs every now and then. Only those who are creative enough to discover exciting pastries gain the respect and admiration of food enthusiasts in the culinary industry.
- A good pastry chef who has earned a reputation in the field will have spent an average of three years before earning a name or building his own pastry business. The experience includes prepping food, cleaning up the kitchen late at night, or preparing kitchen utensils early in the morning. In addition, pastry chefs spend two to four years in a culinary school before finally making it to their first job as a chef.
- Quick Thinking. Baking pastries requires several tasks that need to be done simultaneously. It is important to be able to multitask and maintain the quality of the food at the same time. A good pastry chef is also able to make quick decisions whenever problems arise to keep the flow of operations and maintain the quality of the food being served.
- A pastry chef must have a commitment to cooking quality meals. They use only the best and freshest quality ingredients to come up with the best tasting pastries possible.
- A good pastry check must be able to handle criticisms well. He should know that poor reviews must not be taken personally and understand that people have different tastes and preferences. After all, you can never please everyone.
Above all, a pastry chef must have passion for what he does just like Adriano Zumbo,an Australian Chef who gained his global fame by introducing challenging pastry and dessert recipes to MasterChef contestants.
Competition among chefs today can be fierce, but the qualities above will separate the good ones from the rest.
