Spring in Books for Chefs comes loaded with aromas. In reality, coming from an ambitious compendium of ingredients and aromas duly analyzed and classified by the pastry chef Jesús Escalera in his first book, Essence. Using the format in which he is most comfortable, the plated dessert, and with ice cream as the central element, the Sevillian chef based in Mexico conducts a deep analysis of the culinary pantry, from the pastry chef’s most emblematic ingredients (vanilla, chocolate , fruits, and more) to the rarest and most unexpected. The idea is to continuously discover what alliances can be woven, not only to broaden the scope of dessert combinations, but also to establish a comfortable system that allows innovating and diversifying one’s own repertoire from a few simple examinations.

Discover Essence

The work is structured in two parts: at the beginning it develops a broad theory that allows us to understand the keys to making a good ice cream, both to master and understand the ingredients, and to learn how to formulate it. He also classifies and breaks down the aromatic families, a total of ten, which are: green, floral, refreshing, pastry, woody, warm, roasted, animal, chemical, and even unpleasant aromas. The latter alludes to a series of sensations that may arouse a certain repulsion for some people, although not for everyone, such as the aroma of rancid or fermented.

In the second part, all the theory and aromatic classification is put into practice, seeing the many possibilities and plays that this approach of taste combinations gives, depending on the type of alliance that is sought, as well as the intensity and route that one wants to take in each case. There are a total of 45 ice cream proposals and up to 30 plated desserts which are perfectly detailed and put in context to discover the potential of this creative system of culinary spirit.

Distinguished as Best Pastry Chef in Latin America in 2018 by the World’s 50 Best guide, Jesús Escalera has been the visible head of La Postrería, one of the most personal establishments in pastry and sweet cuisine, not only in Mexico, but worldwide. His restless gaze and his training and experiences in avant-garde cuisine have been reflected in a set of desserts, trompe l’oeil, and personal proposals that know how to get new use out of the most emblematic pastry ingredients and combinations. This bilingual (Spanish and English) book, which is available at Books For Chefs, contains 444 full-color pages, with photographs, diagrams, a fold-out map of aromatic families, and countless technical and contextual information to easily follow the author’s creative steps.

Discover Essence