# Entremet.



## aflores (Aug 23, 2015)

Hello, i am a new pastry cook i been talking to my chef trying to get him to work on some entremet. He is up for the idea and im very excited. But i got a big problem i have never made a recipe before and i dont even now what are the basic building blocks to making entremes. I really want to learn to develop my own flavors and combinations so if anyone could just give me some pointers on what direction i should go it would really help a lot.


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

For inspiration........books and more books. I don't know about you, but I have a large collection of both professional and mainstream pastry books to give me ideas. There's a lot of tutorials and videos on YouTube about different aspects of dessert making, and there are zillions of food/pastry blogs on the internet. All you need to do is start with a simple Google search and it'll take you where you need to go. 

Personally I love my book collection. If you're new to pastry and have no formal education or relevant experience, you might want to purchase pastry textbooks that give more information on how to accomplish the basics, like "Baking and Pastry, Mastering the Art and Craft" from the Culinary Institute of America. Or Bo Friberg's "The Professional Pastry Chef" to name a couple.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Just to add onto CP's suggestions.....

I know it sounds like cheating but in the beginning I would find a product that IMO was a good idea but did not hit my palette exactly right and then recreate with my own twists and tweaks.

Kinda the same way I learned to plate.

As long as you cite the original author as your inspiration it is even ok to publish.

After doing this for awhile my confidence increased to the point where I could imagine a dish then go from there.

mimi


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

* palate

Darn auto correct wants me to eat paint lol.

mimi


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## thesoupbuddhist (Apr 16, 2016)

flipflopgirl said:


> Just to add onto CP's suggestions.....
> 
> I know it sounds like cheating but in the beginning I would find a product that IMO was a good idea but did not hit my palette exactly right and then recreate with my own twists and tweaks.
> 
> ...


As the saying goes, "cooks borrow, chefs steal" lol


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## pastrymd23 (Feb 14, 2015)

TURN AROUND and don't even try. If you've not been trained by someone who's done them for years, I wish you the very best. If you were hired to actually do all the desserts and told them you knew how to do entremets or even brought it to your chef's attention, please know how to do it first.


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

pastrymd23 said:


> TURN AROUND and don't even try. If you've not been trained by someone who's done them for years, I wish you the very best. If you were hired to actually do all the desserts and told them you knew how to do entremets or even brought it to your chef's attention, please know how to do it first.


Hey, I'm not about to throw a bucket of water on OP's enthusiasm. Give up? Don't try? Heck no. I say go for it. We need a balance excitement and willingness in our field

to offset the cynicism that occurs with chefs that have been doing it for so long. I'm one of them. You don't have to be trained by someone to do entremet, but it helps. It's

totally do-able with self-education. The OP is reaching out for guidance on how to achieve a goal. I'm not going to tell them to turn around.


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## pastrymd23 (Feb 14, 2015)

I think if you're going to bring anything up to your boss or the executive chef in a professional venue, that you should know how to do it. I find it disappointing when you go to a bakery or a restaurant that serves an 'entremet' and it's actually a cake with glaze. I don't find it professional, whatsoever, to get a job upon a lie that you know how to do a specific task when you actually have no idea what you're doing. The art of French Pastry is a skill that is taught and learned upon years of experience. The people who get jobs from boasting about skills they don't have is what frustrates me most.


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

pastrymd23 said:


> I think if you're going to bring anything up to your boss or the executive chef in a professional venue, that you should know how to do it. I find it disappointing when you go to a bakery or a restaurant that serves an 'entremet' and it's actually a cake with glaze. I don't find it professional, whatsoever, to get a job upon a lie that you know how to do a specific task when you actually have no idea what you're doing. The art of French Pastry is a skill that is taught and learned upon years of experience. The people who get jobs from boasting about skills they don't have is what frustrates me most.


I totally get what you're saying and I agree. Perhaps I read the OP differently than you did. It was my impression that this person was hired on to do whatever it is he needed to do, but then brought up the topic of entremet to the exec after they were hired. Now that I re-read it, it's also possible to assume they made a promise to do something they had no idea about, which, yes, would be frustrating. Bottom line, is, we don't know.

I also agree that calling a cake with glaze an entremet is misrepresentation, but your average customer really doesn't know that. Not to excuse it at all. I think one of my greatest frustrations is misuse of terminology because it leads to misunderstandings and frustrated chefs/customers. Take for example, "macarons" vs. "macaroons". One little letter. Big big difference........./img/vbsmilies/smilies/crazy.gif


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## aflores (Aug 23, 2015)

Thank you no i didnt lie Bout my skills, i had talk to my executive about wanting to learn and expand my skills i was tested before getting my job and i have shown my abilities but i just wanted to gets someones advice who has the experience that i am starting to obtain I've only had a year-and-a-half experience in this industry. Im very new and still have a lot to learn. Just wanted to look for some guidance before we start this project


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

aflores said:


> Thank you no i didnt lie Bout my skills, i had talk to my executive about wanting to learn and expand my skills i was tested before getting my job and i have shown my abilities but i just wanted to gets someones advice who has the experience that i am starting to obtain I've only had a year-and-a-half experience in this industry. Im very new and still have a lot to learn. Just wanted to look for some guidance before we start this project


Since you've only been doing pastry a year and a half, I would be careful about biting off more than you can chew. Entremets usually consist of many components, each done in advance of the final construction of your dessert. You have to consider time involved, and also what kind of space you have in your kitchen freezer and refrigerator(s). If you do large volume, will you be able to keep up? Lots of things to consider besides just being able to do a fancy dessert. Even experienced pastry chefs know that getting overly complicated with things can make your life a living hell. It's good to have lofty goals, but you have to master the basics first.


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## pastrymd23 (Feb 14, 2015)

chefpeon said:


> I totally get what you're saying and I agree. Perhaps I read the OP differently than you did. It was my impression that this person was hired on to do whatever it is he needed to do, but then brought up the topic of entremet to the exec after they were hired. Now that I re-read it, it's also possible to assume they made a promise to do something they had no idea about, which, yes, would be frustrating. Bottom line, is, we don't know.
> 
> I also agree that calling a cake with glaze an entremet is misrepresentation, but your average customer really doesn't know that. Not to excuse it at all. I think one of my greatest frustrations is misuse of terminology because it leads to misunderstandings and frustrated chefs/customers. Take for example, "macarons" vs. "macaroons". One little letter. Big big difference........./img/vbsmilies/smilies/crazy.gif


I completely agree chefpeon. That's the point I was trying to make.


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