The art of french pastry phần 9

producing good apprentices I said to myself, “If I quit, God knows where I’m going to end up,” and I knew that if I left I would never be able to face my dad, so I made myself stick with it In the end, rather than being beaten down by the rigorous training, I was inspired by it to go on in this beautiful profession I worked in big bakeries in Alsace, and was even a pastry chef in the French navy when I did my obligatory military service (What other country but France would assign a pastry chef to a battleship stationed off the coast of Africa?) And since then I have had demanding but amazing jobs that have taken me all over the world In 1991 I moved to Chicago to run the pastry operation at the Fairmont Hotel, but by then I knew for sure that teaching was my calling In a way, I began my career as a teacher when I took my first job overseas as an executive pastry chef and found myself, at the age of twenty-three, in charge of an operation in Saudi Arabia where my production team consisted of thirty-five workers from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan who had never before worked in pastry It wasn’t easy, but I have always loved a challenge That’s what makes the work I have chosen so fascinating: it’s a never- ending story With every subsequent job, from Brunei to Hong Kong to Palo Alto to Chicago, I’ve trained teams of inexperienced workers I began giving informal chocolate classes after work and on weekends in the loft where I lived In 1995, with my colleague Sébastien Canonne, I opened the French Pastry ... Alsace, and was even a pastry chef in the French navy when I did my obligatory military service (What other country but France would assign a pastry chef to a battleship stationed off the coast of Africa?) And since then I... Africa?) And since then I have had demanding but amazing jobs that have taken me all over the world In 199 1 I moved to Chicago to run the pastry operation at the Fairmont Hotel, but by then I knew for sure that teaching was... trained teams of inexperienced workers I began giving informal chocolate classes after work and on weekends in the loft where I lived In 199 5, with my colleague Sébastien Canonne, I opened the French Pastry