The Elements of Dessert

Wow! What a book! I am just on the first dozens of pages and I am astonished with the information presented and the way it is presented. Is just, amazing. This is not a book for someone that is starting on the pastry business, as there's a lot of bases one should know before acquiring this book. I create desserts and not being native english, always struggled to find the proper names, explaining things to others and although I could have acquired this or other book long ago, never felt really motivated. Not to mention what's been happening lately, that is to say, my skills and knowledge were starting to go down. This is very memory refreshing not to say has wonderful ideas and dessert concepts. A shame I didn't get this years ago!! I already learned I was wrong about pastry cream definition and method... For example!! And others..! I am excited to dive in the not so basics of pastry again and get so inspiration and knowledge. This is a must for anyone in the pastry plated desserts industry!

This book did not disappoint. The desserts in this book are modern, exciting and stunningly executed. The photography is beautiful, and every element of the dessert you see pictured from the sauce to the décor is included in the recipes. You won't find traditional or hot plated desserts in this book, and some of the recipes and techniques may be just out of reach for the home cook or pastry chef in an average kitchen (e.g. use of dehydrator and molecular cooking ingredients) but still, this beautiful book and definitely a book that you will return to again and again for plating and recipe inspiration.

Great book, exquisite pictures and delicious recipes. Bought for my chef partner, lots of detailed explanations, has really helped bring out his inner master chef, as well as getting his imagination flowing, and you know how they get around new recipe books! This book is great for already skilled bakers and pastry chefs as it is very labour intensive but has a good amount of tutoring.

over a year I spend my money buying all michelin chefs book I could find until I bought this one .... this book is a "must " have in your library if you don't have it . it's clearly the most complete book of pastry I have ever buy , even better than the michelin books . I love the part where he is explaining wich combination of flavour work and why . You have few recipes . Explanation of the new molecular cooking etc etc ... very complete book . thanks to francisco migoya for this book

The content and the creativity of the chef have absolutely no points to lose, the recipes have a vast variety of styles including Japanese, Vietnamese, European, American, etc; ideas flooded my mind when I read it. The book focuses on combinations of ingredients and depth of taste; for basic techniques of baking, I recommend  Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft , it makes a good pairing and fundamental for this book.It is mainly targeted to pastry chefs working in high-end restaurants, which some recipes involves specific equipment to complete.In spite of that, there are still some normal ones that are approachable. The Basic Elements (chapter one) introduced dessert making methods and ingredients combination in a very systematic and scientific manner. Then it goes to the Pre-desserts, Plated desserts, dessert buffets, passed-around desserts, cakes and petit fours sections respectively.The dessert chapters start with the galleries of dessert items with explanations on choices of ingredients and method of ensembling. The galleries are followed by the building blocks of each dessert. I find this arrangement rather user unfriendly. One has to flip back and forth to connect the recipe and get the whole picture while the page reference is single way instead of in both ways. The ensembling is also only available in text, which I think it would be clearer if they had a cross-sectional image of the desserts.The cover is a sleeve instead of printed on the hardcover; it has a bit folded marks and scratch marks on it. The photographs in the book are defined and mouth watering.Finally, this book is really expensive (even on discount), but for those who are looking for new ideas in dessert making or enthusiastic in exploring taste and flavors, this is a book that is worth keeping.*Item delivered the next day of ordering (non-Prime).

I had been looking for a dessert book for sometime. There are many out there, but none come even close to this book. Francisco Migoya is a chef that has worked at all levels, including The French Laundry. You will not stop making the desserts he shows you in this book and you can also add your own take on some of the recipes. This is a book that all pastry chefs should have, along with his Frozen Dessert Book...

i buy this book at a discounted price and paid 5 times what it cost nowi buy a book every months or so and in the last 2 years i have to say that the most complete , easy to read and full of nice recipes evermigoya is a idol and his dessert are phenomenalthe recipes are easy to follow and well explainedone of the top 3 of my huge collection

First of all let me tell you something that I am a trained chef and working as a pastry/dessert chef since last 7 years. Throughout these years I have got many many books on desserts, pastry & baking from continental chefs, an aussie chef, singaporean chef and until an year ago an american chef called Nick Malgieri.The book from Nick Malgieri changed my whole opinion about not only american chefs but also it farther my horizons. But when I received this book it compeletely blew me away. I have owned about 16 books on pastries, baking and desserts and I consider my collection pretty comprehensive but this book rules them all. It is very simply THE BEST. There is no other word but it is just PERFECT.I THANK CHEF MIGOYA FROM BOTTOM OF MY HEART

Spiegazioni e approfondimenti sulle materie prime in pasticceria. Ogni capitolo tratta un tema preciso con diverse ricette moderne. Perfetto!

Sehr interessantes und geiles Buch.Nix für Anfänger 😉

The book is wonderful and pictures are really good. Anyone can easily understand the concept of the author and the chef is really thoughtful about how we should treat the products and how important is ser beyond the capacity of the basic to a Michelin dessert plating and where people learn techniques that can’t be forgotten in the gastronomy and pastry area.

llego muy rapido no tuve ningún problema. lo único es que el libro no tenia ningún plástico como si alguien ya lo hubiera abierto y luego lo mandaran.

I cant say enough great things about this book, it is a great inspiration in the kitchen as well as a source of education for furthering my career.