# what to buy a recent graduate of a pastry chef course for christmas?



## ssjchar (Dec 1, 2012)

Hey all.  So my brother is graduating in december from a pastry course and i'm wondering what i should buy him for christmas.  I originally was thinking a nice 6" or 8" chefs knife, but i dont know if pastry chefs use those much.  I dont really know what he has in terms of equipment and all that, and i dont know if there are specific fields of pastry chefs so i dont know that many specifics of what he needs, but any ideas would be welcome.  He already has a stand mixer.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Rolling pins and silicone mats (to either roll fondant/pastry out on or the ones used to line baking sheets) are always appreciated.

If you want to surprise him stick to the mats as pins are kind of personal (like underwear, everybody has their fave fit and style).

I pretty much stick to the Ateco brand as they have never let me down, but someone else may have another one to suggest.

Your brother is a lucky guy.

mimi


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Silpats.  They are expensive but so nice.  Make sure you get the correct size though.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

*Here Here on the silpats !*

Depending the budget , there are just so many things you can get.

electronic scale, thermometer, timer

pastry bags (so many sizes)

pastry & cookie cutters

dough & bench scraper

decorating tips and accessories

spatulas

pastry brushes

size marked pastry board

2 in 1 pastry blender and pie crimper

biscuit cutters

various rolling pins.....handled rolling pin, a French or

http://www.exoticsavannahwoodworks.com/wooden/rolling-pins/cherry/maple/wood & get his initials on it.

chocolate ganach molds

chocolate dipping fork set pro

enrobing bowl

chocolate shaver

transparent cutting grid

pastry press

cutters (all sizes & shapes)

thats all for now.


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## laurenlulu (Sep 9, 2012)

All of the above, adding an assortment of flavoring oils/extracts and good, plump vanilla beans.


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## chefajax (Nov 30, 2012)

All Good suggestions above. Love the flavors one. Stocking stuffer....... Bowl Scrappers...... they love to disappear so you always seem to keep buying or begging your sales rep for them.


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## jcakes (Feb 18, 2007)

Or a gift certificate to a place like Chef Rubber, Pastry Chef Central, PCB Creations (they're in France, though; their stuff is amazing but you have to know what you want), JB Prince, NYCake, Global Sugar Art, Kitchen Arts and Letters, or even Amazon (because they have a good selection of pastry books). The school may have provided a limited tool kit to which he'd like to add once he has a job (and the job could be in a hotel, a country club, pastry shop or a chocolate shop so anything is possible there) and a gift certificate can help him buy what he most wants!


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## ssjchar (Dec 1, 2012)

thanks for all the replies guys, I'll definitely look into all of these options. It probably been a good idea to actually have known what he has to begin with, but he lives many many miles away.
those silpats and roulpats seem pretty neat. You guys mentioned sizing, biggest isn't always best probably?


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## scarletbegonia (Dec 17, 2012)

Buy an inexpensive, durable plastic tool box. I got one from Home Depot. Easy to clean and it won't rust.

Fill it with utensils, that he will need in his every day work.

Some things I have in mine:

Cake icing spatulas- offset and straight

Cake combs

Bench scraper/Bowl scraper

Serrated knife

Measuring spoons

Paring knife

Pastry bags-canvas and disposable

Pastry tips-stored nicely in sectioned lid of toolbox

Scissors

Cookie cutters

Thermometer

Pastry wheel cutter

Whisks

Vegetable peeler

Rubber "spoonula" (cool spatula with a spoon-like feature. Heat resistant to 500 degrees F)

This has been a life-saver for me, as I sometimes go to different restaurants to bake~

Happy shopping!


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## wizarddrummer (Dec 26, 2012)

All of the above suggestions are great.

Things I like are Silpats, spatulas (silicone are my favorite), instant read thermometers (Thermapen is a good choice) / durable easy to position Candy/Jelly/Deep Fry Thermometers and an infrared thermometer is pretty handy as well.

Pastry brushes, I have some that are silicone that work great.

Depends on your budget. A Viking Professional Series Hand Blender / Chopper Set is a handy useful item as well.

Every baking position is different. The equipment that is necessary will vary as to what's necessary to create what's being produced.

Cooking / Baking is an art, much like playing music and from my experience in both fields, sometimes it's best to say "I would really like to get you something for your graduation, but I don't know what you need exactly. Can you help me out by giving me a list of things you could use?

A musical example. There's nothing worse than giving a drummer a pair of sticks for a present (no matter how well meaning the intentions are) if they are NOT the size that is normally used and this is especially true if the drummer routinely does tone matching of the density of the wood of the sticks to get the closest tonal pair match along with straightness. Cymbals are also a personal kind of thing because of the marriage of overtones. Heads are always welcome.

Good luck!


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## wizarddrummer (Dec 26, 2012)

ssjchar said:


> thanks for all the replies guys, I'll definitely look into all of these options. It probably been a good idea to actually have known what he has to begin with, but he lives many many miles away.
> those silpats and roulpats seem pretty neat. You guys mentioned sizing, biggest isn't always best probably?


You can't put a Silpat sized for a full sheet pan and use it in a half sheet pan. I have used two half sized in a full sheet pan (slight overlap) before.

Also, I have some round Silpats that I can use in my springform pans as well.


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