Kings of Pastry

Went and saw this movie earlier this evening. It's a documentary by D.A. Pennebaker on the three day contest to become a Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (or MOF), which basically designates the stratosphere of French pastry chefs. Most of the film is centered around a chef from Chicago who goes to Lyon to compete. The level of competition is extraordinary, with each chef required to put together a complex and extremely fragile spun sugar sculpture as well as a wedding cake and a wide variety of other pastry concoctions. All of them have to be absolutely perfect in every technical sense as well as showing a high level of originality. The stress level is also extraordinary. I won't give anything away except to say that there are some truly horrific moments and that I really can't imagine why these people put themselves through this kind of torture. And that out of 16 entrants, the number who get the prize is........less than 16. The film overall is good. It's dramatic and interesting and you get a real sense of how much the MOF means to these guys. I would have liked more on how the competition worked - exactly how they're judged, in particular. The film runs about an hour and a half, and I got the feeling they left a lot on the cutting room floor. Still well worth watching, though. Made my life feel very calm and comfy.

[Jenise]

Isn't this competition the one that enables a pastry chef to wear a red/white/blue banded collar, or is that something else? Anyway, I've heard about the movie and would love to see it, you're the first person I know who has actually done so. Thanks for the recco.

Jenise -

This is indeed the competition that allows those who pass to wear the collar.

I was talking to a friend of ours this morning who said that you can get MOF status in all kinds of fields, including corset-making. Now THAT would make for an interesting competition.....

This is an interesting read....especially about keeping a spotless apron and checking the trash cans...good grief, I can't make a meal without getting splatters on myself.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2010/09/kings_pastry

Thanks for that link, Karen. There's some good info in there. The dome wedding cake that Pennebaker mentioned did indeed look spectacular. It's a very complex design with something like eight or nine layers put together specifically to provide maximal complexity in flavor. While practicing for the competition, he makes one that looks perfect. He and his coaches taste it, make a few comments regarding what could be improved, and then they toss it in a trash can! Can't blame Pennebaker for wanting to dive in the trash can after it. And after spending months perfecting this recipe, Jacquy didn't have a chance to use it in the actual competition. That says a lot about what these guys go through trying to get that damn collar.