Chocolate bûche de Noel.

New York, NY. December 2007—Even avid home bakers might be tempted to serve store-bought treats during the busy holiday season, but, as the bakers of Whole Foods Market know, the most expertly crafted treats can never replace homemade desserts baked with love and care. At PastryScoop.com's Handcrafted Holiday Desserts on December 1st, the Whole Foods team proved that it only takes a few simple recipes and a little advance planning to put freshly baked-from-scratch treats on the holiday table.

Before a packed house at The French Culinary Institute, Shimme (Northeast Regional Senior Bakery Coordinator), Beth Litt (Northeast Regional Bakery Coordinator), and Antonio Huyhua (Regional Production Trainer) gave step-by-step instructions for preparing three of the store's bestselling holiday items: the classic bûche de Noël, nutty almond horn cookies, and delicate Russian tea cakes. As they whipped egg whites, folded batters, and shaped cookie dough, the experts fielded baking questions from the audience and dispensed valuable professional tips and techniques that could be adapted for use in home kitchens.

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A festive selection of holiday hors d'oeuvres created by The FCI's executive chef Lee Anne Wong.		Crab fritter with lemon-chili aïoli.
Smoked duck breast, fig, and red onion jam.		Sparkling pomegranate-prosecco punch.
Whole Foods Market crew: Therese Nadler, Shimme, and Hilary Maler.		Antonio Huyhua kicks things off with the classic chocolate genoise that will form the base of the bûche de Noël.
Beth Litt whips egg whites to perfect soft peaks.		A thin layer of chocolate buttercream fills the genoise.
The cake begins to take on log-like proportions!		The finishing touch—a dusting of snowy confectioners' sugar.
A slice of the finished cake.		The bakers discuss the importance of using high-quality natural ingredients.
Almond horn cookies, another signature item from the Whole Foods Market holiday bakeshop.		Lucky door prize winners.
Raina Bien, Lee Anne Wong, Beth Litt, Shimme, Hilary Maler, Therese Nadler, Antonio Huyhua, Judiaann Woo, and Sampurna Satpathy.

About Whole Foods Market

Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market® is now the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with more than 265 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. To date Whole Foods Market remains uniquely mission driven: We're highly selective about what we sell, dedicated to stringent Quality Standards, and committed to sustainable agriculture.We believe in a virtuous circle entwining the food chain, human beings, and Mother Earth: each is reliant upon the others through a beautiful and delicate symbiosis.

About PastryScoop.com

PastryScoop.com is an online resource designed to inspire and educate both pastry professionals and serious amateur bakers. It provides free content on such topics as dessert trends, baking tips, and food events in order to increase overall awareness of the pastry arts and to promote creativity within the field.

Press Contacts
Judiaann Woo, 646-254-8543, jwoo@pastryscoop.com