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Dessert FourPlay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef
by Johnny Iuzzini, Roy Finamore
ISBN-10: 0307351378
ISBN-13: 9780307351371
ISBN-13: 9780307351371
Region: USA
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Publication Date: December, 2008
Recipe Index
Publishers Information
About Dessert FourPlay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef
Publisher Web Link: http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/clarksonpotter/index.php
Consider the strawberry: its familiar flavor and texture; its fresh, sweet smell. Now imagine the same fruit distilled and carbonated for a refreshing soda, slow-roasted for a reinvented strawberry shortcake, made into a creamy strawberry ice cream and a chewy strawberry leather, and combined with coconut cream and crisp chocolate pastry. Alone, each dessert is a taste of paradise, but together this “fourplay,” or tasting, created by Johnny Iuzzini, superstar pastry chef of the celebrated four-star restaurant Jean Georges in New York, is a sophisticated explosion of a familiar flavor that begins with the taste of strawberry rich on your tongue and ends with an effervescent tingle in your nose.
Far from the conventional slice of cake at the end of a meal, Johnny’s seasonal creations—four mini desserts in a quartet of complementary flavors and textures—are a culinary adventure. In Dessert FourPlay, he shares his secrets and inspirations, delivering standout recipes for incredible desserts that can be served alone or combined into his signature fourplay groupings, creating the perfect sweet finale for any meal.
With the home cook in mind, Johnny offers tips on simplifying professional recipes and provides basic recipes for transcendent cakes, cookies, tuiles, ice creams, sorbets, granités, and more. These building blocks can be used to create magnificent multifaceted desserts, or they can be perfect desserts by themselves. Some recipes have surprising versatility: the shiny smooth chocolate glaze Johnny uses to ice cakes doubles as the ultimate hot fudge sauce; a lemony madeleine batter becomes a layer in a cake.
Iuzzini pairs cool with hot, crispy with creamy, sweet with spicy, and the expected—chocolate, strawberries, and cinnamon—with the unexpected—chiles, beets, and chocolatey puffs. The result: desserts that refresh, inspire, and satisfy beyond expectations. Dessert FourPlay invigorates all the senses and inspires home cooks to create innovative desserts of their own.
Author Information
About Johnny Iuzzini
Author Web Link: http://www.johnnyiuzzini.com/
Chef Johnny Iuzzini’s interest in the pastry arts began at age seventeen when he started working at The River Café in Brooklyn, New York. Although his primary responsibility at the restaurant was in garde-manger, Johnny frequently visited the pastry kitchen to marvel as Pastry Chef Eric Gouteyron piped chocolate butterflies. As Johnny’s fascination with pastry grew, he began assisting Chef Eric after completing his regular shifts in the kitchen. He learned the techniques of tempering chocolate from Eric, who went on to become the Executive Pastry Chef of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Johnny eventually moved to pastry full-time, cementing his desire to pursue a career as a pastry chef.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Johnny joined the pastry department of the original Daniel on Manhattan’s Upper Upper East Side. Over the next three and a half years, he mastered all of the dessert stations and became Pastry Chef François Payard’s right-hand man. When Chef Francois launched his eponymous pastry shop in the Summer of 1997, Johnny joined the opening team and was named Sous Chef, a position he held for six months.
As a student of his craft, Johnny traveled to Europe in 1998 where he apprenticed in some of France’s finest pâtisseries, including the famed Ladurée in Paris. He also completed an intensive two-week chocolate course at L’Ecole DGF du Chocolat et Patisserie.
In the Fall of 1998, Johnny returned to the US for the debut of Café Boulud and then moved to the 65th Street location of the new Daniel for its opening. Johnny was named Executive Sous Chef for the new restaurant and held that position for the next two years under Executive Pastry Chef Thomas Haas. During that time, Comité Colbert named Johnny one of its “Emerging Young Artists of 2000”.
In January of 2001, Chef Daniel Boulud promoted Johnny to Executive Pastry Chef. The combination of talent and enthusiasm, and a long-standing working relationship with Daniel made Johnny the perfect choice for this position. Shortly after his rise to top job, Where Magazine awarded Johnny’s desserts “Best in NY 2001”.
In May of 2002, Chef/Owner Jean Georges Vongerichten named Johnny the Executive Pastry Chef at his famed four star name-sake, Restaurant Jean Georges, as well as its café, Nougatine. With this move, Johnny achieved much success. In November 2002, Johnny was awarded the title of “Best New Pastry Chef” by New York Magazine’s Gael Green in its First Annual Chef Awards. In April 2003, Johnny was nominated for “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year” by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. In June of that year, Johnny was named one of the “10 Best Pastry Chefs in America” by Pastry Art and Design Magazine. He received the same honor in 2004, as well.
In June of 2005, Johnny joined Jean Georges in the opening of his newest restaurant, Perry Street. Johnny assumed the role of Executive Pastry Chef for this restaurant in addition to his responsibilities at Restaurant Jean Georges and Nougatine. Perry Street earned three stars from the New York Times.
In November 2005, Restaurant Jean Georges earned its most prestigious award to date, three Michelin stars. It was one of only four restaurants in New York City to receive this honor.
In May 2006, The James Beard Foundation awarded Johnny “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year”. In March 2007, Forbes.com identified Johnny as one of the 10 most influential chefs working in America today. Of the 12.8 million restaurant and food service outlet employees, these 10 were arguably doing the most to tease, surprise and gratify our national appetite.
Johnny has appeared in numerous TV segments for The Food Network, Martha Stewart, Top Chef, Today in NY, Paula’s Party and The Tony Danza Show. His talent and charisma make his personal appearances and pastry demonstrations a must-see by food fans across the country. Johnny’s first cookbook will be published in 2008. (http://johnnyiuzzini.com/)
Cookbooks by Johnny Iuzzini
About Roy Finamore
Author Web Link: http://www.tastycentral.com/
For more than 20 years, I’ve been an editor of cookbooks and lifestyle books. Among the award-winning and bestselling cookbook authors I’ve had the pleasure to publish are Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Diana Kennedy, Jean Anderson, Anne Willan, Lee Bailey, Carole Walter, Tom Colicchio, Bobby Flay, and Gale Gand.
My lifestyle books include the legendary International Style Library, from the team headed by Suzanne Slesin, the exquisite books of Tim Street-Porter, landmark books from Chris Madden, the iconoclastic work of Madderlake, and the small jewels of Abbie Zabar.
As a stylist, I’ve directed shoots for books as varied as Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way, Graceland’s Table, Anne Willan’s From My Chateau Kitchen, The Cheese Plate, Butter Sugar Flour Eggs, Gulf Coast Kitchens, andA Place for Everything. Click on the Gallery for images.
My first cookbook, One Potato Two Potato, was a main selection of The Good Cook, and it led to travels across the country teaching cooking classes and unlocking the secrets of the potato. Click on Books to find out more about the book that Publisher’s Weekly called “an impressive and wide-ranging potato bible.” My book Tasty was published by Houghton Mifflin in April 2006, and am currently working with Rick Moonen on Fish without a Doubt.
(http://www.tastycentral.com/)
