Book Reviews
Pastry pro shares recipes and hints – Judith Evans
Ladue News: Cookbooks of the Year – Diane Alt
Kitchen Parade: “Helen is whirlwind of energy – and cake! and tarts!” – Alanna Kellogg
St. Louis Magazine: The Unsinkable Helen Fletcher Rolls Out a Pastry Cookbook – Jenny Agnew
FEAST Around Town – Amy Burdge
FEAST – Barbara E. Stefano
Sauce Magazine: Three Books to Help You Become a Goddess (or God) of Pastry
Author Photo
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Cover Photo
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Biography (100 words)
Currently the pastry chef at a four star, four diamond restaurant, Tony’s in St. Louis, Missouri, a TV regular and an avid blogger, Helen brings her 23 years of experience in her bakery, Truffes, Inc. supplying hotels, restaurants and caterers with upscale desserts to this book. Uncomplicated desserts that require little or no baking with bold tastes are beautifully finished with little or no experience. To assist beginners or anyone looking for help, a blog www.europeantarts.com has been set up to hold the how-to photographs of the important parts of each recipe.
Biography (161 words)
Currently the pastry chef at a four star, four diamond restaurant, Tony’s in St. Louis, Missouri, a TV regular and an avid blogger, Helen brings her 23 years of experience in her bakery, Truffes, Inc. supplying hotels, restaurants and caterers with upscale desserts to this book. Uncomplicated desserts that require little or no baking and have bold flavors are beautifully finished with little or no experience. To assist beginners or anyone looking for help, a blog www.europeantarts.com has been set up to hold the how-to photographs of the important parts of each recipe. Helen appears regularly on, KMOV-TV’s “Great Day St. Louis” which gives here to opportunity to show off her cooking side. She has blogged for two years as www.theardentcook.com. In addition she blogs for St. Louis at Home magazine. In addition to her bakery being selected for the Leadership Award by Modern Baking Magazine, she authored “The New Pastry Cook” which focused modern methods of pastry making. (161 words)
Biography (370 words)
Unlike most pastry chefs and bakers, Helen did not start out loving to bake – or cook. In fact, she downright hated eating as a child – a problem she presently doesn’t have. It was only after she was married that she went to her mother and grandmother to learn about cooking and baking.
Her career didn’t really start until her boys we well on their way. Her articles appeared in newspapers, Bon Appetit, Chocolatier, and The Pleasures of Cooking. As a consultant to Cuisinart Food Processors in their early years, she had the opportunity to work with professionals in, by then, her chosen field of food. In 1986, her authored her first book, “The New Pastry Cook” which focused on modern methods of pastry making.
Shortly after that, she opened her wholesale bakery, Truffes, Inc, in St. Louis where she sold upscale pastries to hotels, restaurants and caterers whether it was one pastry or a banquet of 1500 people. With no formal training, the learning curve was steep and she almost fell off several times. However, a love of what she was doing and an intense desire to succeed kept on the path through three expansions culminating in 23 years in business.
With retirement an unknown word to Helen, she became the pastry chef at Tony’s restaurant, a four-star, four-diamond award winner. With her love of sharing her knowledge of food, both pastry and cooking, she has been a regular on KMOV-TV’s “Great Day St. Louis” going on her third year. In addition to her own blog, www.theardentcook.com, she blogs for St. Louis at Home magazine also.
“European Tarts, Divinely Doable Desserts with Little or No Baking” is in keeping with her love of sharing and teaching. A blog, which accompanies the book, www.europeantarts.com, holds the how-to photography of key parts to many of the desserts to assist beginners or anyone looking for more help. All
of these recipes were part of the repertoire from her bakery and were sold to her clients. Uncomplicated desserts that require little or no baking but have bold tastes are beautifully finished with little or no experience.
She lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her photographer husband who provided all of the photographs.