Booklist Review
Although pastry chef is rarely expressed as an intended occupation by young people, today it has evolved into an exciting, glamorous career. MacLauchlan, sweets master at Santa Fe's Coyote Cafe, bursts any bubble of superficiality left, addressing any questions someone interested in the career of chef might pose. What skills are necessary? Where are the best places to learn? What is a typical day like? In addition to those topics, supported by thoughtful comments from 30 well-known American pastry chefs (Roland Mesnier from the White House and Maury Rubin of City Bakery, among them), MacLauchlan includes details about the history of the profession, sources of inspiration, skills and competencies for success, and trends. Some of the special features include a multipage ingredient flavor-combination chart, showing essentially what flavors marry well; 50 recipes; and interviews that enhance the text. --Barbara Jacobs
Library Journal Review
As the title indicates, MacLauchlan, pastry chef at Santa Fe's Coyote Caf, looks at the training, skills, and passion necessary in pursuing a career as a pastry chef. He organizes his book according to various aspects of this career, including its history, inspirations behind choosing this way of life, education and training, as well as traditions and trends. Unfortunately, the personal anecdotes of well-known pastry chefs that make this work interesting also tend to bog it down. Where one or two stories might make for an enjoyable and valuable reading experience, more than that results in a tedious repetition of advice. Interspersed among these oral histories are recipes that vary in level of difficulty. Still, this book is recommended for larger cooking and career guidance collections.ÄDebra Mitts, Burlington Area Lib., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
