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| October 11, 2008 03:37 PM | |||||
SPRING 2008 CONFERENCE |
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Dominique Ansel |
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Growing up north of Paris, Dominique Ansel began his culinary education at 16, apprenticing in a restaurant kitchen before completing his compulsory military service. In Paris, he worked at Pātisserie Peltier then joined legendary pātisserie Fauchon where he spent seven years under master pastry chef Christophe Adam. Daniel Boulud invited Dominique to New York, naming him chef pātissier in the summer of 2006. At Daniel, Dominique's chocolate and fruit dessert menus evolve with the seasons, offering classics with a twist. Characterized by elegant lines and cleanly focused flavors, his desserts draw on an array of international ingredients and are as stunning to the eye as they are dazzling on the palate. |
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| Dave Arnold | |||||
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Dave Arnold grew up in the New York area and began tinkering with restaurant equipment after graduating from art school. Initially, he customized equipment for use in art projects, but after meeting chef Wylie Dufresne of wd~50 in 2004, he focused his equipment skills on the high-tech cooking movement. In 2004, Dave founded the Museum of Food and Drink, an institution based on learning about the history and culture of food through eating. In 2005, he joined The French Culinary Institute as the director of culinary technology, where he is dedicated to helping chefs achieve their goals using new technologies, techniques, and ingredients. Arnold is also the contributing editor of Equipment and Food Technology for Food Arts. |
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Ron Ben-Israel |
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Ron Ben-Israel started his confectionery adventure towards the end of a successful fifteen-year career as a professional ballet/modern dancer, during which he performed with dance companies on three continents. Studies and work in Canada and France led him to establish his specialty cake business in New York City. Ron has been featured in many publications, including the New York Times, InStyle, Town and Country, and countless bridal magazines. His television credits include "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Good Morning America," and "Martha Stewart Living." He is also visiting master pastry chef-instructor at The French Culinary Institute, specializing in wedding cake decorating and sugar flowers. |
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Wayne Harley Brachman |
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Wayne Harley Brachman has traveled an off-beat path (junior high orchestra teacher, classical record producer, and punk rock musician) on his way to becoming executive pastry chef at some of New York's most popular restaurants. Completely self taught, he landed stints at The Odeon and Arizona 206 before collaborating with Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill and Bolo for nine years. He also worked as executive pastry chef at Tapika, Michael Jordan's, and Strip House. Wayne's passion for the flavor and nostalgia of American desserts—and his fun and inventive style—have earned him rave reviews. With his quirky sense of humor and multi-media training, he is a popular TV personality, frequently appearing on national and local news and morning shows. His feature role on Food Network's "Sweet Dreams" and as co-host of "Melting Pot" endeared him to millions of cooking fans across the country. His professional training as both a teacher and a performer, combined with an inherent sense of comic timing, make his live demonstrations and cooking classes irresistible. |
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Jansen Chan |
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Jansen Chan combines his love for classic baking techniques with his background in architecture to develop desserts that are meticulously crafted and beautifully presented. His passion for baking, which was sparked at an early age by his father, remained an enjoyable pastime until he completed his studies in architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. After graduation, he shifted his hobby into a career and went on to receive a degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Jansen worked in many of the top restaurants in San Francisco, before finding himself under the tutelage of Alain Ducasse and his corporate pastry chef Nicolas Berger. After stints at New York City's Alain Ducasse at the Essex House and Las Vegas' Mix, Jansen became the pastry chef of Oceana, where he creates intense, full-flavored desserts that utilize simple and fresh seasonal ingredients. |
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Karen DeMasco |
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Passionate for cooking and looking to change careers, Karen DeMasco earned her culinary degree from the New York Restaurant School in 1994. She worked in many top restaurants including Alison on Dominick; One If By Land, Two If By Sea; Chanterelle; and Gramercy Tavern before moving to Maine to become pastry chef at Fore Street Restaurant. She returned to New York to head up the pastry kitchen of Della Femina. In 2001, Karen became the opening pastry chef at Tom Colicchio's Craft and, later, Craftbar. She has been featured in numerous publications including the New York Times, Chocolatier, Pastry Art & Design, and Time Out New York. She was the only pastry chef to be included in New York's Best Chefs 2003, and in 2005, she received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Karen is currently at work on her first cookbook. |
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Dorie Greenspan |
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Called "a culinary guru" by the New York Times, Dorie Greenspan is the author of nine cookbooks and a special correspondent for Bon Appétit. Her books include the bestseller Baking with Julia, the book that accompanied Julia Child's critically-acclaimed television series; Desserts by Pierre Hermé, for which she introduced, translated, and adapted the recipes of the celebrated French pastry chef for Americans; The Café Boulud Cookbook, a collection of reminiscences and French-American recipes from the renowned New York City chef Daniel Boulud; Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme; Paris Sweets; and, most recently, Baking From My Home to Yours, which was named one of the top 50 books by Amazon.com. She has won numerous honors, including IACP Cookbook of the Year, Gourmand World Cookbook Award, Mazille Prize for International Cookbook of the Year, and two James Beard Foundation Awards. Dorie lives in New York City, Westbrook, Connecticut, and Paris. |
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Joshua Gripper |
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A native New Yorker, Joshua grew up surrounded by food, often sharing cooking duties with his mother and baking cakes and pies for holiday gatherings. After earning a degree from the Art Institute of New York City, he joined the opening team at Butter Restaurant. His talents in the pastry kitchen were quickly noted, and in less than a year, he moved to Café Boulud to work with pastry chef Eric Bertoia and then chef de cuisine Andrew Carmellini. After a stage in a Michelin two-star restaurant in France, he was promoted to pastry chef of db bistro moderne, Daniel Boulud's up-tempo modern French bistro. Now at A Voce, again working alongside Andrew Carmellini, Gripper uses his training in classic and refined techniques to create desserts rooted in the Italian tradition with his own unique modern twists and elegant presentation. |
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Ellen Mirsky |
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Ellen Mirsky is an accomplished pastry chef, confectioner, and owner of emChocolatier. She earned a bachelors degree from Syracuse University, spent a postgraduate year in London at St Martin's School of Art, and received professional training at New York's Institute of Culinary Education, graduating with a degree in pastry arts. For over 10 years, she has worked in some of New York City's finest restaurants, where in addition to creating imaginative dessert menus and dazzling pastries, ice creams, and sorbets, she also developed an exclusive line of chocolates. Ellen has received rave critical reviews and built a well-deserved reputation working alongside celebrated chefs like Charlie Palmer, Todd English, Pichet Ong, and Brad Farmerie. Ellen's line at emChocolatier is made from premium chocolate and only the finest ingredients. She uses out-of-the-ordinary pairings of sweet, salty, savory, and crunchy to transform traditional chocolate into complex nuances of flavor. |
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Joe Murphy |
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As his 14th year in the restaurant business approaches, Murphy has taken his passion for all things sweet to the kitchen of BLT Market. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Murphy refined his techniques in the kitchens of La Côte Basque and Park Avenue Café. It was at the revered Gotham Bar and Grill, where Joe was executive pastry chef, that diners began to take notice of his desserts, which mirrored chef Alfred Portale's signature approach to epicurean juxtapositions. Joe went on to lead the pastry department at the W Times Square Hotel's Bluefin; with partners, opened Tribeca's two-star seafood restaurant Fresh; and was corporate pastry chef of Jean-Georges Management, overseeing desserts at Vong, Mercer Kitchen, JoJo, and various international locations. At The Ritz-Carlton, Murphy oversees the pastry stations at both BLT Market and the hotel's Star Lounge, executing Laurent Tourondel's sumptuous desserts and pastry items for all meals, including afternoon tea. |
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Nils Norén |
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Nils Norén is the embodiment of the new international chef: disciplined in the classic sensibilities and driven by immense creativity. Appointed in 2006 after an extensive search, Nils was chosen to lead The FCI's culinary, pastry, bread, and Italian programs. For the previous 10 years, he had been at Aquavit, where Marcus Samuelsson appointed Nils to be executive chef in 2003. There, he strove to solidify the restaurant's place on the culinary map and to show the world what Swedish food and cooking techniques are all about. Prior to joining Aquavit, Chef Nils worked in Stockholm as executive chef at Restaurant Riche, which features a fine dining room, tapas bar, and bistro, and as chef de cuisine at Restaurant KB, one of the country's classic Swedish restaurants in the center of town. He also coordinated cooking classes for Restaurant Akademin. |
Elisa Strauss |
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Elisa is a graduate of Vassar College and the Institute of Culinary Education, where she received a degree in pastry and baking arts. Prior to culinary school, she worked as a designer for Ralph Lauren. In fact, it was a cake she made for Ralph (in the shape of a Bugatti, his favorite sports car)—and the heaps of praise it received from fashion industry notables—that inspired her to bring her design talents to the kitchen full-time. Since founding Confetti Cakes in 2000, her creations have appeared on the "Today Show" (as the winner of "Today Throws a Wedding"), "Sex and the City" (Charlotte and Harry's wedding cake on season six), "The View," and the "Martha Stewart Show." Confetti Cakes has also been featured in InStyle, Vogue, and Modern Bride, among countless other publications. Elisa released her first book, Confetti Cakes, last spring; her second book, Confetti Cakes for Kids, is due out this fall. |
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Zac Young |
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While employed in the wig department of the Radio City Rockettes, Zac had an epiphany: He would rather be baking cookies than fluffing Santa beards. After graduating with honors from the baking and pastry arts program at the Institute of Culinary Education, Zac went straight to the top, working under Sébastien Rouxel, executive pastry chef of Per Se, and Richard Capizzi at Bouchon Bakery. At Butter Restaurant, Zac uses classic French technique, flavor, and fun to put a creative twist on American desserts. He relies on local and sustainable ingredients to add extra spark to his creations. |
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