Bright, spotless chef whites, shiny surfaces and giant appliances — there is no doubt that I have walked into a masterclass. Every other person in the room has had years of culinary training, and each of them faces Peter Yuen, pen and notebook in hand, ready to learn more.
The four-day long workshop on Viennoiserie skills, conducted by Master Baker Peter Yuen, was part of the Baking Festival organised by The Academy of Pastry Arts India till July 4. The other workshops, on cake-making, chocolates and pralines, were conducted by different masterchefs, handpicked and invited by the Academy, to ensure that its students received a hands-on training they could treasure.
On paper, Chef Yuen is intimidating, his list of achievements long and diverse. He travels as an international baking consultant, is on the Board of Directors of American Bread Ambassadors, was a member of the Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2008 that competed in the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, and placed first in the Viennoiserie category. He is also a member of Ambassadeurs du Pain and has been voted by his peers as one of the Top Ten Best Bread Bakers in America in 2011.
So, when I enter, the only non-chef among a crowd of talented students, I’m prepared to be intimidated. Instead, I find myself charmed. Chef Yuen is animated, gesturing widely as he speaks rapidly, interweaving jokes with invaluable information and infectious laughter. A whiteboard stands beside him, where he’s written “Lamination 101” in long, flowing script. “I know I could teach you fancy things. I can do fancy, but I’d rather teach you your foundational skills instead. You already know these, but over the next four days, I want you to become so good at these skills that you can use them in any context, under any situation.”
The trick, Yuen says, is to learn the basics like a master. So he begins, explaining the process of lamination, which is the process of alternating layers of dough and butter (or any other form of fat) when making pastry. The dough is layered with butter, so that the butter is entirely “locked in”. The entire sheet is folded and the process is repeated. The result, as I find out later, sounds bulky but is actually quite wonderfully thin, so that when it fluffs out in the oven, it looks a little like the most delicious kind of magic.
Chef Yuen explains this entire method in short, easy terms, and adds that while the process is a simple, basic one, there is always the need to open one’s mind and explore how it can be bettered. “Butter is essentially fat, and normally, butter is used for laminating dough. But I come here and I see your ghee, and I want to try laminating with ghee. I think it is one of the best products you have!”
The trick is, he says, to think outside the box, and challenge yourself constantly. Another major challenge for a chef cooking in different countries is the language. “For example, the envelope fold can mean one type of fold to many countries, but in China, the envelope looks very different. So, the English term, ‘envelope fold’, may be confusing to a Chinese chef.” With more examples, Chef Yuen illustrates the problem, and then offers its solution. “Numbers. Numbers remain universal. A four is a four, no matter which language. It is this unifying, number-based language that can make cooking so much easier. I want to device this language; I want it to be the legacy I offer to the culinary world.”
From theory, we move to the practical, and Chef Yuen displays the tricks of the trade, interspersing little nuggets of information with personal anecdotes, so that the class remains interesting at all times. He tells us that the 83 per cent dry butter serves as the best laminating option, and that butter made from summer cow-milk is of inferior quality. “This is because the cow’s appetite is lower in summer.” He also teaches us a little trick to check for inferior butter. “Scrape a little butter on your finger. If it melts right away against your body heat, it’s of inferior quality. If it stays on, like a lotion, it’s good butter.”
In class, we try laminating dough with both the good, dry butter, and the one with more suspect credentials. While the end result, after being passed over and over again through the dough sheet rolling machine, looks the same, the process itself displays the need for good butter.
These sheets are going to become fluffy, golden brown croissants, and during the break, Chef Yuen talks to me about the need to include the lamination process in the workshop. “In every bakery all over the world, the croissants are important. Everyone always mentions how good the croissants in a place are.” He adds that he chose to teach the foundational skills in this workshop because he’s aware that in India, not every single quality ingredient is available. “I want them to know the process so well that should they need to replace ingredients and try something new, they can do so with confidence.”
The class resumes after a short coffee break, and our croissants are finally on the way. The group is divided into two, and each team works on their own batch. The recipe Chef Yuen has passed around is precise to two decimal places, and everyone works with complete, unwavering concentration as the chef does his rounds, fixing this and suggesting that.
When the workshop ends, with batches of croissants and tired bodies, it’s been a long, productive, delicious day.
