Jacquy Pfeiffer

Jacquy Pfeiffer
Jacquy Pfeiffer
Born	1961 (age 59–60); Marlenheim, Alsace, France
Education	Jean Clauss Pâtisserie ; Baldung Grien College
	Culinary career
Cooking style	French
	show Previous restaurant(s)
	show Award(s) won

Jacquy Pfeiffer (born 1961)^[1] is a French master pastry chef and teacher. He co-founded the French Pastry School in Chicago, and co-authored The Art of French Pastry cookbook. He is the primary subject of the 2010 documentary Kings of Pastry.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and education[]

Pfeiffer was born and raised in the small village of Marlenheim in the Alsace region in France.^[1]^[2] He learned to bake in his father's bakery.^[2]^[3] At 15, Pfeiffer became an apprentice at Jean Clauss Pâtisserie in Strasbourg, France.^[1]^[4] He studied food technology at Baldung Grien College in France, where he was named Best Apprentice^[5] and received a degree in pastry science.^[6]

Career[]

Personal pastry chef, hotels and restaurants[]

Pfeiffer spent a year as a pastry chef on an oil tanker in the French Navy,^[3]^[7] and worked in several pastry shops in Alsace, including Chocolaterie Egli and Pâtisserie Naegel.^[5] He then served as executive pastry chef for the Sultan of Brunei, who was at the time the richest man in the world; for the Royal Family in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong.^[4]^[5]^[8] He moved to the United States in 1991 and became executive pastry chef at the Sheraton Hotel and then the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.^[4]^[9]

In 2010, Pfeiffer received the Bretzel d'Or from the Institute of Arts and Popular Traditions of Alsace, recognizing Alsatians who preserve the arts and traditions of Alsace.^[10] He was inducted into the Pastry Hall of Fame by Dessert Professional magazine in 2011.^[10] Pfeiffer is a co-owner of Pierre Zimmerman's French bakery La Fournette, which opened in 2012.^[11]^[12]

French Pastry School[]

The French Pastry School was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1995 by Pfeiffer and fellow master pastry chef Sébastien Canonne. The vocational secondary school was founded to teach traditional French pastry-making.^[13] It is the only school in the United States dedicated entirely to teaching pastry.^[6]^[8] Pfeiffer serves as dean of student affairs and is also a pastry instructor at the school.^[14]

Kings of Pastry[]

The 2010 documentary film Kings of Pastry focuses on Pfeiffer as he pursues the coveted Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, the highest artisanal accolade in France, in a competition held once every three or four years in Lyon, France. The film was directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker.^[15]^[16] In the San Francisco Chronicle review, Pfeiffer was singled out as "a wonderful lead character… understated, warm and intelligent."^[17]

The Art of French Pastry[]

Pfeiffer and New York Times food columnist Martha Rose Shulman co-authored the 2013 cookbook The Art of French Pastry, which presents recipes and a detailed look at classic French pastries. It includes anecdotes from Pfeiffer about growing up in a bakery family, and lessons learned in his years as an apprentice.^[3]^[14]

The book won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Best Cookbook in the Baking and Dessert category,^[18] and the 2014 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Best Cookbook in the Baking category.^[19]

Personal life[]

Pfeiffer lives in Chicago and has one daughter.^[20]

Bibliography[]

The Art of French Pastry - with Martha Rose Shulman (Alfred A. Knopf, 2013)

Honors and awards[]

First Place, National Chocolate Competition, Masters of Chocolate, 1995^[6]
Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America, Dessert Professionals magazine, 1996^[5]
Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America, Dessert Professionals magazine, 1997^[5]
Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, silver medal, 1997^[13]
Winner, National Pastry Championship, Beaver Creek, Colorado, 2000^[9]
Pastry Chef of the Year, World Pastry Forum, 2004^[21]
Jean Banchet Award for Culinary Excellence, Best Celebrity Pastry Chef, 2005^[22]
Bretzel d'Or, Institute of Arts and Popular Traditions of Alsace, 2010^[10]
Pastry Hall of Fame inductee, Dessert Professional magazine, 2011^[10]
Coached the winning team at the 2011 National Pastry Championship^[20]
Chicago Culinary Museum Chefs Hall of Fame inductee, 2012^[21]
International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Best Cookbook, Baking, for The Art of French Pastry, 2014^[14]^[19]
James Beard Foundation Book Award for Baking and Dessert, for The Art of French Pastry, 2014^[23]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Judy Hevrdejs, "Perfecting pastry," Chicago Tribune, December 11, 2013.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Todd A. Price, "Renowned pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer visits New Orleans," The Times-Picayune, January 28, 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Betty Hallock, "'The Art of French Pastry': Going deep in pastry making," Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2013.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Jacquy Pfeiffer with Martha Rose Shulman, The Art of French Pastry, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, p. xi.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Lori Fredrich, "A chat with world famous pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer," OnMilwaukee.com, November 27, 2013.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "An Interview with Pastry Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer," Archived 2016-05-13 at the Wayback Machine Cooking Schools. Accessed May 10, 2016.
^ "Jacquy Pfeiffer and The French Pastry School," Great Chefs. Accessed May 10, 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Linda Avery, "The Art of French Pastry," WITF-FM, April 30, 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer," frenchpastryschool.com, August 27, 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Kings of Pastry," PBS, June 21, 2011.
^ "La Fournette, a Bakery from a Fourth-Generation French Baker, to Open in July in Old Town," Chicago, June 13, 2012.
^ “La Fournette times two: second café coming to Lincoln Park,” Crain's Chicago Business, July 17, 2013.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Ben Goldberger, "New Chef Will Help Pastry Level to Rise," New York Times, February 6, 2010.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Joe Gray, "Jacquy Pfeiffer nominated for James Beard award," Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2014.
^ Ella Taylor, "'Top Chef' Meets 'Ratatouille' In 'Kings of Pastry'," NPR, September 16, 2010.
^ Kristin Hohenadel, "Rigor Required, Cream Puffs Need Not Apply," New York Times, September 1, 2010.
^ Peter Hartlaub, "'Kings of Pastry' review: No hell in this kitchen," San Francisco Chronicle, November 19, 2010.
^ Whitney Filloon, "Winners: 2014 James Beard Foundation Broadcast & Journalism Awards," Eater.com, May 3, 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Cookbook Awards - 2014," Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine IACP, 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Kristine M. Kierzek, "French chef Jacquy Pfeiffer teaches baking as fine art," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 3, 2013.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "2012 Chefs Hall of Fame Inductees," Chicago Culinary Museum. Accessed May 10, 2016.
^ Phil Vettel, "Top chefs, restaurants get Banchets," Chicago Tribune, February 9, 2005.
^ Russ Parsons, "James Beard Foundation picks 'Historic Heston' as cookbook of the year," Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2014.

External links[]

Biography at French Pastry School

[jhevrdejs-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Judy Hevrdejs, "Perfecting pastry," Chicago Tribune, December 11, 2013.

[tprice-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Todd A. Price, "Renowned pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer visits New Orleans," The Times-Picayune, January 28, 2014.

[bhallock-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Betty Hallock, "'The Art of French Pastry': Going deep in pastry making," Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2013.

[pfeiffershulman-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Jacquy Pfeiffer with Martha Rose Shulman, The Art of French Pastry, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, p. xi.

[lfredrich-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Lori Fredrich, "A chat with world famous pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer," OnMilwaukee.com, November 27, 2013.

[cookingschools-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "An Interview with Pastry Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer," Archived 2016-05-13 at the Wayback Machine Cooking Schools. Accessed May 10, 2016.

[7] "Jacquy Pfeiffer and The French Pastry School," Great Chefs. Accessed May 10, 2016.

[lavery-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b Linda Avery, "The Art of French Pastry," WITF-FM, April 30, 2014.

[fps-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer," frenchpastryschool.com, August 27, 2014.

[pbs2011-10] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Kings of Pastry," PBS, June 21, 2011.

[11] "La Fournette, a Bakery from a Fourth-Generation French Baker, to Open in July in Old Town," Chicago, June 13, 2012.

[12] “La Fournette times two: second café coming to Lincoln Park,” Crain's Chicago Business, July 17, 2013.

[bgoldberger-13] Jump up to: ^a ^b Ben Goldberger, "New Chef Will Help Pastry Level to Rise," New York Times, February 6, 2010.

[jgray-14] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Joe Gray, "Jacquy Pfeiffer nominated for James Beard award," Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2014.

[15] Ella Taylor, "'Top Chef' Meets 'Ratatouille' In 'Kings of Pastry'," NPR, September 16, 2010.

[16] Kristin Hohenadel, "Rigor Required, Cream Puffs Need Not Apply," New York Times, September 1, 2010.

[17] Peter Hartlaub, "'Kings of Pastry' review: No hell in this kitchen," San Francisco Chronicle, November 19, 2010.

[18] Whitney Filloon, "Winners: 2014 James Beard Foundation Broadcast & Journalism Awards," Eater.com, May 3, 2014.

[iacp-19] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Cookbook Awards - 2014," Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine IACP, 2014.

[kkierzek-20] Jump up to: ^a ^b Kristine M. Kierzek, "French chef Jacquy Pfeiffer teaches baking as fine art," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 3, 2013.

[ccm-21] Jump up to: ^a ^b "2012 Chefs Hall of Fame Inductees," Chicago Culinary Museum. Accessed May 10, 2016.

[22] Phil Vettel, "Top chefs, restaurants get Banchets," Chicago Tribune, February 9, 2005.

[23] Russ Parsons, "James Beard Foundation picks 'Historic Heston' as cookbook of the year," Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2014.

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Jacquy Pfeiffer

Born	1961 (age 59–60) Marlenheim, Alsace, France
Education	Jean Clauss Pâtisserie Baldung Grien College
Culinary career
Cooking style	French
show Previous restaurant(s) Hyatt Regency Hong Kong Sheraton Hotel, Chicago Fairmont Hotel, Chicago
show Award(s) won Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, silver medal, 1997 James Beard Foundation Book Award, 2014