James Beard Award winning pastry chef Mindy Segal, of Chicago’s well-loved HotChocolate Restaurant and Dessert Bar, graced our kitchen last week, and she upped our cookie game with some of her favorite recipes from her new cookbook Cookie Love.
While we got our hands into some sweet cookie goodness, we got Mindy’s thoughts on How a Cook Becomes a Chef:
What differentiates a Cook and a Chef?
“A cook is someone who cooks food or pastries in a professional setting. As far as I’m concerned, a chef is a “cook.” What separates a chef from a cook is that the chef has to be a leader and a mentor. The chef is the driving force of the machine that we call a kitchen. At HotChocolate my core value is that chefs lead by example with no ego and they are leaders of the entire team. The golden rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) is mandatory for every person that works at HotChocolate.”
Looking at the progress of your own career, at what point did you consider yourself a pastry chef?
“I’m not sure if I’ve ever considered myself a “pastry chef” per se, but if I had to say I think I made the transition when I opened my own restaurant and I was responsible for every single component of my own establishment.”
What can a young cook do to become a great chef?
A young cook should be working on their craft everyday. At HotChocolate every new cook gets handed this list of things that I believe will make you successful in a kitchen:
A Cook Should Know and Follow….
By: Mindy Segal
1. The secret to success for a busy day is to organize the night before. Be proactive. Set up for the person who works your station on your day off.
2. Think outside the box. Take your blinders off.
3. Know the leaders in your field.
4. Product identification.
5. Taste everything
6. Know and understand the importance of salt, seasoning properly, and the necessity of balance and how acid plays an important role is cooking.
7. Repetition breeds consistency.
8. Use your 5 senses.
9. Every cook should know the station next to him/her.
10. Have you checked out the pastry station?
11. A cook should strive to be a chef.
12. Can you pair a wine, beer or cocktail with any of the dishes on your station?
13. How to sharpen a knife properly.
14. What the proper use for each knife is.
15. At least own a Food Lovers Companion.
16. Work as a team. Over communicate!
17. Realize good food is the sum of many small things done correctly.
18. The fastest way to hurry up is to slow down.
19. You’re only as good as those you surround yourself with.
20. Be a diner and put yourself in their shoes first.
21. “No” is not a word in a cook’s vocabulary.
22. Give back.
23. Butcher / be able to butcher.
24. What are the four seasons? What is available during each season?
25. A bad attitude gets you nowhere really fast.
26. It is easier to be nice and helpful than it is to be mean — check your problems at the door.
27. If you’re on time you are late.
28. When asked a question by your superior and your response is “not my job” or “that is not my jurisdiction” you should rethink your career.
29. If you are in this profession to be famous, take the real estate exam.
Part of growing as a cook is learning your basics. Just as culinary students need to learn the mother sauces, Mindy believes that pastry students have their own set of mother sauces to master (hot fudge, caramel, and butterscotch). These basic building blocks will be used over and over again as components, garnishes, and jumping off points for wherever your creativity may take you. Mindy uses her staple Hot Fudge in a variety of ways — as a layer in her Leopard Print Shortbread cookies, in place of jam in her famous Hot Fudge Thumbprint cookies, and as a filling for her texture-rich Cocoa Nib Hot Fudge Rugelach.
Hot Fudge
Hot fudge was one of the first things I learned how to make in my early days as a pastry cook (thank you, Judy Contino), and I’m still fascinated by the alchemy of the process. Chocolate, sugar, syrup, and cream are simmered until the oils separate from the solids. At first it looks like chocolate gone wrong, but then I add butter and a generous helping of vanilla and whisk the whole thing thoroughly. The hot fudge magically comes together. Because the chocolate and cream need to cook for a while, use a sturdy pot to avoid scorching the bottom. Once made, the hot fudge lasts for weeks and weeks in the refrigerator. (Recipe courtesy of Mindy Segal, author of Cookie Love.)
Makes: 4 cups
Ingredients:
3 cups heavy cream
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup (such as Lyle’s) or light corn syrup
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Preparation:
In a 6-quart or larger heavy pot over medium-high heat, combine the cream, sugar, and syrup until dissolved, approximately 3 minutes. Add the chocolate and salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer so that the bubbles percolate in the center of the pot. Cook, stirring periodically to avoid scorching the bottom, until the mixture breaks and the oils separate from the solids, 40 to 45 minutes.
Whisk in the butter and vanilla thoroughly (you can also use an immersion blender to do this if you want it extra smooth) and let cool.
Hot fudge keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
