As chefs, especially pastry chefs, your creativity plays such an important part in your daily work. We truly do have a blank canvas to work with every time we create a new dish. – Johnny Iuzzini
TV has taken a crazy turn, especially in the industry of food, where everything is either a competition show or a sort of reality show. We’ve lost the kind of shows that are, like, ‘Here’s how you do this,’ like the old Julia Child shows. – Johnny Iuzzini
As most people will tell you, the best pies have the best crusts. It has to be tender, flaky, and full of flavor. That is the key to a great pie. – Johnny Iuzzini
When you think about French pastry, one of the most classic traditional pastries is the eclair. An eclair is like a blank canvas that can be easily adapted to any environment. Ingredients are the most important aspect of a perfect eclair, and they need to be used at their peak. – Johnny Iuzzini
Every few years, I change my look for the simple reason that I get bored. If you Google Image me, you will see so many different looks: long hair, short hair, clean shaven, beard, etc. – Johnny Iuzzini
For me, some things, like, I just don’t want to know what they are before I eat them. Like, if you’re going to start feeding me, like, sexual organs of animals, or, like, a monkey’s brain or something – I’ll eat it. Just don’t tell me what it is until after I’ve finished it. – Johnny Iuzzini
If you would ask me some of the ingredients that people are surprised by that could appear on my menu are such things as bleu cheese, vegetables like parsnips and rutabaga, bacon, pork fat, fois gras, truffles, and olives. – Johnny Iuzzini
I was an amusement and water park fiend as a kid growing up. I loved them. My brothers and I would go whenever we could. We liked all the super steep/fast slides and flumes where you would get completely soaked. Our absolute favorite was the tubes, though. – Johnny Iuzzini
Both my parents worked. So it wasn’t like the previous generation where we learned how to cook and bake from our mothers and grandmothers. – Johnny Iuzzini
First and foremost, food needs to be delicious. It should pop and explode with flavor. Food should please all the senses. – Johnny Iuzzini
A pastry chef’s lifespan in a restaurant is limited. You have to open a bakery or pastry shop. There’s only so far you can go in a restaurant. – Johnny Iuzzini
Pastry school is great for a foundation and introducing you to basic techniques, but it is really up to the chefs to practice, practice, practice and refine their techniques. – Johnny Iuzzini
The true mark of professionalism is the ability to respect everyone else for their styles and always find something positive in every dining experience and highlight it in your thoughts and words. – Johnny Iuzzini
When I was growing up, chocolate milk was a treat, and the chocolate milk that ended up in a bowl of Cocoa Puffs when I had those for breakfast was the biggest treat of all. – Johnny Iuzzini
Chocolate is one of the backbones of the pastry kitchen. It is one of the most important ingredients in our pantry. It is very versatile, it is complex, and it is extremely temperamental. – Johnny Iuzzini
My dad said, ‘If you want to go out with girls and go out with your friends, get a job.’ I found one at the local country club as a pot washer in the kitchen. – Johnny Iuzzini
I played every sport in high school for one year. If I couldn’t be great at it, I quit. I would rather not do it than be average. – Johnny Iuzzini
Daniel Boulud told me at a young age, ‘Whatever happens to you in your career, you’re going to be great – be humble. Just be humble.’ And I think about that daily. Like, whatever happens to me, whatever awards we win as a team or whatever else, just be humble. – Johnny Iuzzini
I actually have a pig collection in my cabin: all types of old wood hand-carved pigs that my mom started for me as a housewarming gift. – Johnny Iuzzini
I have pictures of me feeding deer and possums with baby bottles. I am such an animal lover. – Johnny Iuzzini
A savory chef must first master his knife skills and understand the basics of sauces and soups, etc., before he/she may move on to become a great chef. It is no different for pastry chefs. If you do not have a strong foundation and are a master of the basics, then you will never be that strong – you will never be a master of the trade – period. – Johnny Iuzzini
Baking is about multi-tasking. If you are organized and prepared, that’s half the battle. – Johnny Iuzzini
We never really know what people are capable of until the only person they can rely on is themselves. – Johnny Iuzzini
At one point, in one of the kitchens where I worked, I was the only American pastry cook. They treated me poorly. ‘You’re stupid. You’re American. You don’t get it.’ They’d speak French all day. At one point, my boss said to me, ‘You learn French or get out right away.’ – Johnny Iuzzini
I am not a shock jock pastry chef. I don’t create desserts using strange ingredients just for the sake of doing so, like so many of my colleagues in the industry. – Johnny Iuzzini
