Boutique Style Entremets with Chef Amaury Guichon
In his third return to the 5-Star Pastry Series® at PreGel America, Chef Amaury Guichon, international pastry instructor, debuted his first ever entremets class for students from all around the world. During the seminar, seven different entremets were produced to completion from the glazes, to the chocolate garnishes.
The “Boutique Style Entremets” demonstration began by jumping directly into the heart of the desserts. The attendees watched closely as Chef Guichon moved quickly, making each layer for the entremets, starting with the inside and working his way out. He surprised the students with an additional entremet just to show how excited he was to be teaching entremets for the first time. Chef Guichon invited students to volunteer, beginning day one, by cutting fruit for the compotes and sheeting out the doughs.
Chef Guichon talked about the importance of using everything in multiple ways from incorporating vanilla bean pods in their entirety in his Old School Praline recipe, to thinking about day-to-day items to make into desserts. For example, he recreated the classic black forest cake into the shape of a drum.
On day three, Chef Guichon showed the students how to make his now infamous sugar dome for his Compass by controlling everything from the temperature of the sugar to the type of water used in the recipe.
The student chefs arrived from all over the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with some traveling from countries as far away as Denmark. Student chefs represented restaurants, universities, hotels, bakeries, golf clubs, and convention centers.
The 3-day class finished with a large buffet of all the unique and eye-catching entremets. The class ended with Chef Guichon signing copies of his new book The Art of Flavor, followed by everyone toasting a glass of champagne to a wonderful experience and indulging in all the delicious desserts that were created.
Overall, the attendees left the PreGel International Training Centers armed with the understanding and know-how of multiple new techniques introduced by Chef Guichon, and a connection to a newfound community of peers in the pastry community that will assist in their continued growth in the industry.
Student Testimonials
“Outstanding class taught by a chef with enormous talent.” – Hyunmi Lee, Instructor, CSN
“Amazing class and amazing instructor. I’ve taken professional classes before, but none were this interesting or advanced.” – Lymarie Jimenez, pastry chef, Palmira Golf Club
“This was a fantastic class. Chef Guichon is so talented and charismatic. I picked up so many new techniques and am leaving extremely inspired. Thank you for yet another awesome experience.” – Melissa Attanas, baking + pastry arts instructor, Wale Tech Community College
“Informative, inspirational, and Chef Guichon made all students feel like questions were welcome. The final products actually lived up to former visuals and tasted even better. I’m leaving class feeling as though I have gained an enormous amount of new knowledge and am eager to apply them.” – Christina Andrews, teacher/caterer, freelancer
“Great class, methods, and techniques. Really great information and tips.” Ana Bonilla, assistant pastry chef
“I loved the level of instruction and attention to detail.” Jocelyn Weatherford, chef/owner, Defy Explanation
“It was an amazing class with lots of techniques that were very well explained. Chef Guichon was wonderful; he showed every recipe to perfection. I love that we didnt waste time measuring ingredients. We used the time to learn and see every demonstration. Everyone at PreGel was so nice and welcoming.” Fernanda Dutra, executive pastry chef, BYU
“This was an amazing class. Great facility, great accomodations. I heard about it through work. My boss and sous chef came here for a class two years ago. I hope to come back in the future to see more and learn more.” Nickolas Aubin, pastry chef de partie, Edmonton Convention Centre
“Amaury was amazing. His attention to detail, creativity, and passion for his craft definitely shines through in his creations. I appreciated that accommodations were included and transportation to and from the hotel.” Ilyana Lam, pastry sous chef, Edmonton Convention Centre
“An amazing experience. Chef Amaury was incredibly attentive and went beyond to answer all questions. The PreGel staff went above the call of duty to ensure an outstanding, memorable experience. THANK YOU!!” Scott Valenti
“I loved it. It was really educational and exciting. Even though it was a long journey across the Atlantic, I would be happy to come again.” Maria Seremet, store employee, Circle K A/S Denmark
“Wonderful class with great new techniques. The skills are artfully taught. Culinary knowledge is explained well.” Elena Coghlan