Renowned pastry chef Nick Malgieri was in Manila for a baking demo entitled “A Date With Chocolate” during the recent World Food Expo (WOFEX). He and the Philipines’ very own Chef Jill Sandique showed baking enthusiasts how to concoct delightful cake and pastry recipes using cocoa and chocolates. The demo was presented by Innobake, Commodity Quest, Inc., Cacao Ivory chocolates and De Zaan cocoa powder.
This was actually Chef Nick’s fourth visit to the Philippines and he’s always happy to be back because of the many friends he’s made in the country. I was thrilled to have a photo opportunity with him after an intimate press con where he also signed copies of his book ‘Chocolate.’
Chef Nick Malgieri has a very impressive career working not only in the kitchen but also as a multi-awarded author and educator.A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he was inducted into Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in the USA. In 1998 and 1999, he was voted one of the 10 best pastry chefs in the US by Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines.
His book, Chocolate was included in Food & Wine magazine’s Best of the Best for 1998, was voted Best Chocolate Book in the World by the 1998 Salon International du Livre Gourmand, and was the winner
of an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)/Julia Child Cookbook Award for the best baking book of 1998.
The following is Malgieri’s complete book list: Perfect Pastry (Macmillan), 1989; Great Italian Desserts, 1990 (Little Brown and Company); followed by How to Bake in 1995, Chocolate in 1998, Cookies Unlimited in 2000, Perfect Cakes in 2002, A Baker’s Tour in 2005, and Perfect Light Desserts (co-authored with David Joachim) in 2006 – all with Harper Collins.
He also published The Modern Baker (DK Publishing); and Bake! Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking in 2010, Bread in 2012, and Nick Malgieri’s Pastry: Foolproof Recipes for the Home Cook in 2014 – all with Kyle Books.
Malgieri said growing up in a 100% Italian family shaped his life’s passion. “During my childhood my grandmother baked every day. I was with her in the kitchen and I loved watching her. That was a very strong formational influence on me,” he recalled.
“I was very young when I got the idea that I wanted to be a pastry chef. I was just graduating from college. But I decided to go to culinary school instead of graduate school. Mostly, I was happy learning everything; learning commercial baking from a culinary school is different from what I had seen at home with my grandmother,” Malgieri shared.
The noted pastry chef also celebrates his 40th anniversary of teaching next year. He began teaching in the New School Culinary Arts Program in 1978 and in 1981, became chair of its Baking Department. He developed and taught the professional baking curriculum for the New York Restaurant School and authored the baking section of the Restaurant School’s textbook. He directed – and was very instrumental in creating the baking programs – at the Institute of Culinary Education (which was previously known as Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School). He continues to serve as a guest teacher in many cooking schools.
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