Kings of Pastry

Kings of Pastry is a film by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus that follows a group of worldclass French pastry chefs as they compete for Frances most prestigious craftsmen award Meilleur Ouvrier de France, awarded by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The competition, which takes place in Lyon, France, features a diverse range of creative trade professions, from carpentry to jewelry design to pastry making. The honor of wearing the blue, white and red striped collar given to the winners is considered to be the ultimate recognition of excellence in the pastry field. The film focuses primarily on Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, cofounder of Chicagos French Pastry School, and one of the sixteen finalist chefs competing the sixteen finalists were selected from eighty semifinalists during the semifinal rounds that took place in the months prior to the final competition.

Once his recipes and training regiment are established, Jacquy returns to his childhood home in Alsace where he adjusts his recipes to account for the nuances in Frenchquality baking ingredients. Jacquy is aware that the differences between French and American ingredients can affect the structure of his pastries as well as their taste. For example, French butter tends to have a higher fat and lower water content than American butter, and that slight variation can cause tremendous chemical complications in the baking process. While Jacquy is prepared to adjust his recipes, he does not foresee the timing challenges that will require him to rapidly revise his wedding cake and sugar sculpture in time for the fastapproaching competition.While in France, the film introduces two other competing chefs, Regis Lazard and Philippe Rigollot. Regis, who worked at Gerard Cayottes patisserie in Luxembourg, is coached by the pastry chef for French President Nicolas Sarkozy. This is his second time competing. Rigollot is the pastry chef at the renowned Valence restaurant, Maison Pic, which is the only threestar restaurant in France owned by a woman. This is Rigollots first time competing. Shortly after the 2007 competition, Rigollot opened his own pastry shop in Annecy, Ptisserie Philippe Rigollot. ........

Source: Wikipedia