L'Art Du Pate en Croute: 60 Recettes par le Champion du Monde du Pate en Croute

This is a detailed and visually striking exploration of pâté en croûte from Frédéric Le Guen-Geffroy, crowned world champion of the form in 2023 by a French competition devoted to preserving this centuries-old culinary tradition.

Organized by season, the book presents 60 recipes that combine classical French ingredients with an eye for structure, detail, and presentation.

About 20 pages at the beginning are devoted to technique, showing not only how to achieve the refined layering and composition that define the best pâtés, but also how to construct and decorate the intricate crusts that surround them. Many of the preparations use unusual molds, including hexagons and kugelhopf shapes, to striking effect.

While grounded in tradition, the author’s approach is far from rigid. Spring vegetables in wild garlic gelée are suspended in a luminous slice; small individual pâtés are filled with hummus, raisins, and preserved lemon; duck and foie gras are paired with fig; and desserts appear in the form of pâté en croûte made with apple and vanilla or roasted banana with rum and lime.

A demanding book, both in technique and in its expectations of the reader. But one that offers deep rewards for those attentive to detail and craftsmanship.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout. In French.