Chef's Table: Pastry premieres on Netflix today and we've got four copies of pastry chef Will Goldfarb's first cookbook, Room for Dessert to give away!
Celebrated pastry chef Will Goldfarb is known as the 'Golden Boy' of pastry. Originally from Port Washington, New York, he is one of the pioneers of the dessert-only tasting menu. His destination restaurant and cocktail bar, Room4Dessert is situated in the village of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia.
WIN: a copy of Room for Dessert by Will Goldfarb
We have four copies of 'Room for Dessert' to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is comment on this article 'I'm in it to win it'.
Only one entry per member, you must be a member to take part - if you are not a member sign up now!
You have until 5 pm on Friday, April 20 to enter. All winners will be notified directly after a live draw which will take place on Facebook on Tuesday, April 24.
Will's interest in food was first sparked whilst working as waiter, along side studying at Duke University. He became so passionate about cooking that he chose not to go to law school, and to pursue a career as a pastry chef instead. Will trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in the 90s, and has since worked for some of the world's top chefs, including Ferran Adrià (elBulli), Paul Liebrandt (Corton) and Masaharu Morimoto (Iron Chef).
Will Goldfarb
Room4Dessert
In 2006, Will opened his first restaurant Room4Dessert in SoHo, New York. It quickly recieved critical acclaim and Will received a James Beard nomination for Best Pastry Chef in America. However the following year, Will and his business partners had a disagreement and Will had to close the restaurant. He and his family had decided to move to Bali, Indonesia, when Will was struck with a cancer diagnosis.
Thankfully, after surgery and radiation therapy, he made a full recovery and the move was back on. Unable to return to work fully at first, he was was working on pastry programmes at KU DÉ TA in Seminyak when he put his back out.
But Will was determined to revive his popular dessert bar and in 2014, with zero opening budget, he re-opened Room4Dessert in Ubud, Bali. Since then he has gone from strength to strength, lecturing on dessert design around the world and launching his own specialty pastry product company, WillPowder.
He is one of the four pastry chefs featured in the brand new Netflix series of Chef's Table: Pastry, along side Jordi Roca (El Celler de Can Roca); Sicilian gelato maker Corrado Assenza and Christina Tosi of David Chang's Momofuku Milk Bar empire.
Room for Dessert: the book
Red by Will Goldfarb Photo by Martin Westlake
With a foreword by Albert Adrià, Will's debut book, Room for Dessert is divided into three sections.
The first tells his story so far, including the move and how, in his own words, he has been: "fortunate enough to learn technique from a French master of two; creativity in Spain; flavour, depth and meaning in Italy; lessons in minimalism and refinement from both Japanese and Chinese chefs; and now the healing power of traditional wisdom in Bali."
In the second section, readers will find a collection of 40 recipes from Room4Dessert, including Will's creative, refined take on classic recipes like crème brûlée and chocolate chip cookies. Each pastry recipe is a sophisticated challenge, with quirky, original names like 'Bitter Grandpa', 'Whiskey, Torture, Turgenev', 'Baliwould' and 'Who Can Resist My Top Gun?'.
In the final section of Room for Dessert called 'The Lab of Ideas', Will explores the components of a perfect pastry dish, carefully examining flavour combinations, textures and plating. With step-by-step photography, detailing expert techniques, this section of the book is perfect for any home cooks looking to refine their dishes.
Room for Dessert lifts the curtain on the creative process of pastry, guided by the fun and culturally inspired voice of celebrated pastry chef Will Goldfarb. It is a must-have for professional chefs and amateurs alike.
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