my help it will at least be less frustrating at the beginning, because I will tell you how to hold the pastry bag and demonstrate with pictures how high above the sheet pan to hold it, what angle to hold it at, when to stop piping, and how to cut off the little tail at the end And I’ll always be there to refer back to if you’re making a recipe and something doesn’t seem right You’ll also be getting some chemistry lessons as you work your way through this book It’s very important to understand the chemistry of pastry, because pastry works (or doesn’t) the way it does because of the way ingredients react with each other Making French pastry without understanding some of these underlying principles would be like trying to fix a car without any knowledge of mechanics But once you understand both the technique and the chemistry involved you’ll be able to execute the recipes successfully a hundred times in a row The messages in these pages (and I may repeat myself from time to time, but I’ve observed with my students that repeating the message helps to get it across) are those that it is my privilege to impart to every class that passes through the doors of my school I hope they will inspire you to become a true artisan Then, whether you make this craft your profession or your hobby, you will have many happy customers HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Many of the recipes that follow, especially those in the first chapter, are like ... important to understand the chemistry of pastry, because pastry works (or doesn’t) the way it does because of the way ingredients react with each other Making French pastry without understanding some of these underlying principles... car without any knowledge of mechanics But once you understand both the technique and the chemistry involved you’ll be able to execute the recipes successfully a hundred times in a row The messages in these pages (and I may repeat... students that repeating the message helps to get it across) are those that it is my privilege to impart to every class that passes through the doors of my school I hope they will inspire you to become a true artisan