PASTRYSCOOP.COM'S FALL 2006 CONFERENCE
CHEF BIOS

• Dave Arnold
• Eric Bedoucha
• Joan Coukos
• Dave Crofton
• Johnny Iuzzini
• Tom Jones
• Kristine Moberg
• Regis Monges
• Susan Reid
• Kir Rodriguez
• Daniel Skurnick
• Alex Stupak
• Blair Van Sant
• Kate Zuckerman

Dave Arnold
Director of Culinary Technology, The French Culinary Institute
 

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, Arnold 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 the Contributing Editor for Equipment and Food Technology for Food Arts.

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As the executive pastry chef and owner of Financier Pâtisserie, Eric Bedoucha creates delicacies that fill a gastronomic void in lower Manhattan. He features a tempting array of beautifully presented French and American pastries and cakes at three Financier locations and his mouthwatering desserts can also be found on the menus of Harry's Steak, Harry's Café, and Bayard's Restaurant where he uses fresh Greenmarket ingredients, herbs, and spices to create refreshing, dazzling desserts. Though raised in Paris, Bedoucha's childhood was filled with the couscous, almond pastries, dates, pine nuts, and rose and orange blossom waters of his native country Algeria. After a short stint in a fashion design school, Bedoucha discovered his passion for pastry at the age of 14 as an apprentice for a Parisian pastry shop and bakery under the tutelage of his first mentor, J.P. Weiss. Later, Bedoucha moved on to the celebrated Dalloyau in Paris and then to the United States where he worked with Gray Kunz at the Peninsula Hotel, Maxim's, and La Grenouille before joining Eberhard Müller at Lutèce, whom he accompanied to Bayard's in November of 2000. In 2002, he partnered with the owners of Bayard's to open Financier Pâtisserie.

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Joan Coukos
Chocolatier and CEO, Chocolat Moderne
 

Joan Coukos, founder of Chocolat Moderne, picked up antique chocolate molds during a casual stroll through a Brussels antique market in late 2000. This epiphany led her to cast off a successful career in international banking and devote herself to learning European confectionary technique. From a loft in the heart of New York's Chelsea/Flatiron neighborhoods, she launched Chocolat Moderne in 2003, creating a line of visually stunning confections where the emphasis is on dark chocolate and a modern flavor palate. Within months, Joan was distinguished in a national competition as one of the country's finest emerging chocolatiers, winning awards for the most creative flavors and beautiful packaging. In 2005, her Pursuit of Happiness Assortment was chosen as a finalist in the NASFT Annual Product Awards Competition for Outstanding Packaging and Design. Joan was recognized as one of "America's most exciting chocolate innovators" in the December 2005 issue of Food & Wine.

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Dave Crofton
Baker/Co-Owner, One Girl Cookies
 

Dave Crofton, co-owner of One Girl Cookies, began his career baking artisanal bread at Montana Gold Bread Company in Richmond, Virginia. After graduating from the University of Richmond, he began to work in the bakery as a hand kneader and worked his way up to become head baker. Dave moved to New York City to attend the Institute of Culinary Education, and graduated with a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. While in school, he took a part-time job with One Girl Cookies to help develop and expand their line of handmade tea cookies. Upon graduation, he became a partner with Dawn Casale, founder of One Girl Cookies. Two years later, Dawn and Dave opened their cookie boutique and café in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. To cement the partnership, they were married in June of 2005.

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Johnny Iuzzini
Executive Pastry Chef, Jean Georges and Nougatine
 

Johnny Iuzzini's signature dessert tastings have garnered rave reviews for Jean-Georges Vongerichten's acclaimed New York City restaurant Jean Georges, which was awarded four stars by the New York Times and the highest rating of three stars by the Michelin Guide New York City 2006. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America and apprenticing at the famed Ladurée in Paris, Johnny worked in the some of the city's finest establishments including Payard Pâtisserie, Café Boulud, the original Daniel, and the revamped Daniel, where he was the executive pastry chef. In addition to his many television and print appearances, Johnny's numerous accolades include: Best New Pastry Chef 2002 by New York and 10 Best Pastry Chefs of 2003 and 2004 by Pastry Art & Design. In 2006, he was named Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation Awards. He is currently working on his first cookbook to be release in the fall of 2007.

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Tom Jones
Pastry Chef-Instructor, The French Culinary Institute
 

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Kristine Moberg
Pastry Chef, Baked
 

Kristine Moberg, originally a science major, toiled in many kitchens in her home state of South Dakota before moving to New York City. Kristine worked at Polka Dot Cake Studio in the West Village before coming to Baked as the head finisher. Kristine is a buttercream and fondant artist, and she has made many beautiful wedding and specialty occasion cakes for the people of Brooklyn and beyond.

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Regis Monges
Executive Pastry Chef, Le Cirque
 

Regis Monges, one of the most talented and creative pastry chefs in Mexico, has brought his exquisite technique to the United States in developing the new pastry collection at Le Cirque. With a dessert menu divided into Classics and New Signature Desserts, diners at Le Cirque can experience Regis' innovative work. His uncanny ability to please and delight the palate comes as the result of renowned culinary schooling and experience. After training at the College Louis Le Prince Ringuet in France and the CFA Salon in Provence, Regis brought his talents to some of the finest restaurants in the world. Most notably, Regis served as sous chef junior at The Ritz Paris and as pastry chef at Club de Industriales A.C. in Mexico. Most recently, he held the position of executive pastry chef at Restaurante Le Cirque in Mexico City.

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Susan Reid
Editor, King Arthur Flour Baking Sheet
 

Susan Reid is co-author of the new Whole Grain Baking cookbook and is editor of King Arthur Flour's newsletter, The Baking Sheet. Reid is a graduate of Bates College. After working as a copywriter for Leo Burnett, Chicago, she attended the Culinary Institute of America, graduating with the Roth Award for Outstanding Student. Reid worked in high end restaurants in Boston and New Hampshire before moving to the New England Culinary Institute's Montpelier campus as a Chef-Instructor. While employed at NECI she spent the 2001 season as Executive Chef of the Inn at Asticou, on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Susan came to King Arthur Flour in 2002, where her responsibilities have included work on the James Beard Award-winning cookbook The Baker's Companion and the more recent Cookie Companion.

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Kir Rodriguez
Pastry Chef-Instructor, The French Culinary Institute
 

A graduate of The French Culinary Institute, Kir Rodriguez was awarded the Grande Diplome of Culinary Arts in 1998. Before attending The FCI, he was a Franciscan monk for twenty years, during which time he taught Spanish literature and music in high school for ten years, as well as planned and prepared the menu for the clergy of a monastery. He holds a B.A. MCL from UPR and a B.Ph. and a B.S.T. from the Schola Philosophiae Sacraeque Thelogiae. His previous work experience includes acclaimed New York City restaurants Café Boulud, Le Cirque, and Union Square Café. Chef Kir joined The FCI in 2004 where he currently teaches pastry arts. He is also the executive pastry chef at Orso. He has participated in numerous baking competitions and exhibitions. In his spare time, he sings tenor with the New York Choral Society, which performs regularly at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

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Daniel Skurnick
Pastry Chef, Buddakan New York
 

Daniel Skurnick began cooking at an early age, working his way through every station in the kitchen, eventually becoming chef de cuisine before making the leap into the pastry world eight years ago. During this time, Skurnick attended college where he majored in sculpture and anthropology. His studies took him to Thailand, where he lived for several years, working with the indigenous hill tribes and learned in depth about the local culture, ingredients, and cooking techniques. Upon his return to the states, Skurnick worked in the pastry departments of several prestigious restaurants with some of the New York City's finest talents including Claudia Fleming of Gramercy Tavern, as David Bouley's assistant pastry chef at Bouley, and with Johnny Iuzzini at Jean Georges. As executive pastry chef of Buddakan New York, Skurnick has brought his knowledge of Asian cooking and combined it with his love of the farmers' market and his skill of modern pastry techniques to create desserts that have garnered wide public praise.

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Alex Stupak
Pastry Chef, wd~50
 

Alex Stupak's desserts have been recognized as some of the most provocative in the country. He has garnered much praise for his work which display a bold yet perfectly considered approach to flavor while utilizing some of the most cutting edge techniques in the industry. Most recently, he was the pastry chef at Chicago's famed Alinea working with executive chef Grant Achatz. Stupak is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has worked in Chicago's four-star restaurant Tru and the Federalist and Clio in Boston where he was named Best Pastry Chef by Boston magazine in 2003. In August of 2006, Stupak joined wd~50 in New York City as pastry chef.

Blair Van Sant
Head Baker, Baked
 

Blair Van Sant has been perfecting his baking skills for the past ten years. Hailing from the South, Blair spent many years baking cakes and breads at Provence Breads in Nashville, Tennessee and Big City Breads in Athens, Georgia. Before becoming the head baker for Baked, Blair worked for Le Pain Quotidien in New York City. Blair is a graduate of the Pastry Baking Arts and Management programs at the Institute of Culinary Education.

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Kate Zuckerman
Pastry Chef, Chanterelle
 

Kate Zuckerman, pastry chef at New York City's Chanterelle since 1999, is guided by an overriding belief in the centrality of simple, pure, complementary flavors. Her creations have made her one of the most acclaimed pastry chefs of her generation. She began her culinary apprenticeship in Boston at Biba and The Bentonwood Bakery and subsequently worked in Paris, and top kitchens such as Firefly in San Francisco and Picholine in New York City. In 2005, Zuckerman was named one of the ten best pastry chefs in America by Pastry Art & Design and Chocolatier and her desserts were described by the New York Times as a "life-changing experience." She holds a degree in cultural anthropology from Princeton. Her first cookbook, The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle, will debut this fall 2006.

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