Roland Mesnier's Dessert University

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Do you think of the White House as a home where guests are invited chez vous for a little meal followed by homemade cookies? Yes, says Roland Mesnier, former White House Pastry Chef, hired by First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1979. His new cookbook, Dessert University: More Than 300 Spectacular Recipes and Essential Lessons from White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (Simon & Schuster, 2004) is all about home cooking of a sophisticated sort. "Even when the President and First Family were entertaining hundreds of people, they were still doing so in their house. And a large part of my job was to make the First Family and their guests feel at home." The emphasis for Mesnier is definitely on the lessons, since he helped set up a professional pastry program at L'Academie de Cuisine in nearby Bethesda, Maryland, where he has taught both weekend and professional chefs. Mesnier's recipes resembles Julia Child's in technical clarity and thoroughness. This is an excellent book to cook cover-to-cover, to learn all the basics for making desserts at home from very simple custards like Honey Custard (p. 82) to Brioche Butter Pudding with Dried Blueberries and Lemon Sauce (pp. 89-90), which requires two other recipes in different parts of the book. Mesnier takes the time to go into detail, for instance on flour and temperature in the introduction to Breakfast Pastries (p. 247). You won't find any gossip on the preferences of different Presidents or the peccadilloes of First Ladies. It is as if the book had been cleaned up by the powers that be before Simon & Schuster was allowed to publish it. That may be true, as my sources say that White House chefs are not allowed to discuss their work with the Press. That is too bad for those of us who want gossip but does not diminish (and perhaps elevates) the book. Mesnier is obviously a master at chocolate, marzipan, and pulled sugar, and I expect he has a second, more advanced book in mind for these more advanced techniques. He offers a complicated recipe for a Chocolate Fountain (pp.441-2) in four easy-to-understand steps. He trained in Hamburg at a pastry shop famous for marzipan and at the Savoy Hotel in London (pp. 2-3). His stories are fun to read especially for an aspiring chefs. With such training as an apprentice and long years as a chef, he writes sincerely about his dedication to learning -- a good lesson for us all. (Remember to " Vote For White House Woman Chef" -- click here to vote.) Previous cookbooks reviewed: Puerto Rico: Grand Cuisine of the Caribbean Don Pintabona: Shared Table Annabel Karmel: First Meals Nigella Lawson's Feast Cook Like a Kyrgyz Personal Favorites: The Chefs of Las Vegas Anne Willen: The Good Cook Gale Gand's short+sweet More Food from Alton Brown Manju Malhi's India With Passion SOS: Baking from the Heart Madhur Jaffrey: Our Lady of India, CBE Amazon UK's Steamy Xmas Chefs All Hail Alfred Portale Agassi's Star Palate: Celebrity Chefs Previous Profiles for White House Woman Chef: Profile: Traci Des Jardins for White House Chef Profile: Anita Lo for White House Chef Profile: Sara Moulton for White House Chef Profile: Nora Pouillon for White House Chef Profile: Scooter Kanfer for White House Chef Profile: Cat Cora for White House Chef Profile: Diane Forley for White House Chef Previous articles: Congratulations: James Beard Awards Nominees Ojai Valley News: Diane Forley for White House Chef Denver Supports Jennifer Jasinski for White House Chef James Beard Awards: Dearth of Top Women Chefs? Today Show Emulates Iron Chef America Wireless Flash: White House Woman Chef Fortune Smiles on superchefblog's White House Chef Poll Cat Cora Wins on Iron Chef America Anita Lo Defeats Mario Batali on Iron Chef America Atlantic Monthly: White House Chefs Cat Cora, Anita Lo: Sexing Up Iron Chef America Joe Guzzardi: If Not Governor, White House Chef Reminder 1: Vote for White House Woman Chef Vote For White House Woman Chef Superchefblog: Catalyst for White House Woman Chef? Book Links: Publisher Amazon.com Technorati Tags: chefs restaurants food cookbooks biography branding -> back to superchefblog