Modernist View: Plated Desserts

At once absorbingly informative and celebratory, authors Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty lead a discussion of how Modernist chefs are redefining dessert, the better to satisfy the insatiable American sweet tooth. Replete with ample illustrations, Grand Finales: A Modernist View of Plated Desserts offers 50 detailed recipes culled from the repertoires of 25 of the country's most accomplished pastry chefs. Their insights and opinions on the diverse aspects of desserts contrast with the straightforward analysis of Boyle and Moriarty, which addresses the major components of a Modernist dessert - from its relationship to classical dessert standards, the fundamental importance of equipment and molds, and the principles of garniture, to the use of sauces and the critical necessity of deft management skills and costing procedures.