Everything about food, from matching food and wine to recipes, techniques and trends.

Pastry chef gifts

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Jon Peterson

Rank

The Court Winer

Posts

2981

Joined

Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:53 pm

Location

The Blue Crab State

Pastry chef gifts

by Jon Peterson » Mon Dec 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Just found out that last summer, my daughter borrowed utensils from the pastry chef she was assisting. That pastry chef is no longer at the restaurant so my daughter will be assisting someone else. What are some good things (chef tools) to buy the budding pastry chef?
no avatar
User

Mike Filigenzi

Rank

Known for his fashionable hair

Posts

8187

Joined

Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm

Location

Sacramento, CA

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Mike Filigenzi » Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:34 pm

That's a tough one. I know what my wife really likes for her baking but I'm not sure if her favorite items would translate well for a professional.
"People who love to eat are always the best people"

- Julia Child
no avatar
User

Jon Peterson

Rank

The Court Winer

Posts

2981

Joined

Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:53 pm

Location

The Blue Crab State

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Jon Peterson » Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:07 am

I know what you mean, Mike - it is tough especially not being a chef (of any type) myself. I did pick up a real nice flat whisk yesterday but I need something else...I just don't know what yet.
no avatar
User

Mike Filigenzi

Rank

Known for his fashionable hair

Posts

8187

Joined

Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm

Location

Sacramento, CA

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Mike Filigenzi » Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:37 am

Well, one thing that's been very handy for us is a "cake lifter" (that's proved useful for much more than lifting cakes). It's about 8" x 8", plus an angled back edge. It's the item pictured here.
"People who love to eat are always the best people"

- Julia Child
no avatar
User

Jon Peterson

Rank

The Court Winer

Posts

2981

Joined

Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:53 pm

Location

The Blue Crab State

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Jon Peterson » Wed Dec 19, 2012 7:54 am

Mike Filigenzi wrote:Well, one thing that's been very handy for us is a "cake lifter" (that's proved useful for much more than lifting cakes). It's about 8" x 8", plus an angled back edge. It's the item pictured here.


Nice price, too. Thanks, Mike.
no avatar
User

Mark Willstatter

Rank

Ultra geek

Posts

447

Joined

Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:20 pm

Location

Puget Sound

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Mark Willstatter » Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:20 pm

A couple more ideas. I would think a pastry bag would be pretty much mandatory equipment and while that's not much of a gift on its own, maybe in a kit with a comprehensive set of tips? Also, I don't know if icing (as in cakes) would come into play but I understand the preferred tool for many is an offset spatula.
no avatar
User

Mike Filigenzi

Rank

Known for his fashionable hair

Posts

8187

Joined

Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm

Location

Sacramento, CA

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Mike Filigenzi » Wed Dec 19, 2012 5:53 pm

Good ideas, Mark. We have a set of offset spatulas of various sizes that get a lot of use. On the pastry bags, we use the disposable ones. I don't know if that's what the pros use or not. Either way, a comprehensive set of tips would make a nice gift.

Something else I just thought of (if a lot of cakes are being made) would be a cake turntable. From what I've seen, they're very helpful when it comes to cake decorating. There's an example of a plastic one sold here.
"People who love to eat are always the best people"

- Julia Child
no avatar
User

Jon Peterson

Rank

The Court Winer

Posts

2981

Joined

Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:53 pm

Location

The Blue Crab State

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Jon Peterson » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:53 am

Mike and Mark - thank you both for the really good ideas! I never would have thought of these.
no avatar
User

Jenise

Rank

FLDG Dishwasher

Posts

42547

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm

Location

The Pacific Northest Westest

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Jenise » Sun Dec 23, 2012 8:38 pm

Jon, you've been given some good ideas. I was thinking about those cutters--they're like a pizza cutter times 6 or 8 or something. Allows very uniform cutting of multiple rows at the same time. You might want to take a look at a website like cheftools.com for those and other products:
[url]
http://www.cheftools.com/Pastry-Wheel-C ... ducts/741/[/url]
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
no avatar
User

Jon Peterson

Rank

The Court Winer

Posts

2981

Joined

Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:53 pm

Location

The Blue Crab State

Re: Pastry chef gifts

by Jon Peterson » Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:05 pm

We ended up getting a flat whisk, a set of All Clad measuring spoons and an offset spatula. Evy other item mentioned is on the list for the future.
Thanks, everyone!

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ClaudeBot and 2 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign