Robert Wemischner: The Fundamentals of Pastry Techniques

Food writer, pastry chef and culinary educator, Robert Wemischner has always been intrigued by the flavor potential of ingredients, from turmeric to tea and from cumin to coffee. The author of four books, including The Dessert Architect (a book for professionals and serious amateurs alike about how to craft sensational multicomponent desserts), Wemischner began his career to great media acclaim in the food business in the early 70's as the owner of a pioneering gourmet-to-go shop in Beverly Hills. He then went on to open a similar operation in Baltimore, and in the early 90's, returned to LA and began teaching pastry and culinary arts in earnest. Drawing upon his exposure to classical cooking at a young age through informal apprenticeships to chefs in France, he has been imparting his knowledge to a diverse audience of students as a teacher of baking and pastry for the past 30 years at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. He also does presentations on cooking with tea, baking, pastry and other food-related topics to professional organizations, and at tea festivals and conferences including the World Tea Expo and the LA International Tea Festival, among others. He has been a regular contributor to Pastry Arts Magazine, Pastry Chef and National Culinary Review magazines. He also writes a regular column for a preeminent tea blog Tching (tching.com), about the culinary uses of tea. In this episode: How the young Robert got into some of the best kitchens in France to learn cooking His time owning and operating a gourmet to-go shop in Beverly Hills and Baltimore How he transitioned into teaching and food writing How to develop a balanced restaurant dessert menu that makes sense The importance of using baker's math in recipes Robert's tip for making perfect Italian meringue Robert's tips on making and piping pate a choux And lots more tips on techniques, including lamination, macarons and cakes!