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Chef Paul W.'s 'Dessert Temptations' at Cena

Contributed by: Pam Vetter on 4/22/2008

Every single one of Pastry Chef Paul W. Thompson's desserts is tempting. It is only fitting that he named his West Valley Company "Dessert Temptations" because it is a sentiment that truly represents his talents.

Chef Paul W.'s "Dessert Temptations" are now available through the newly opened Cena in West Hills or through his Web site at
www.DessertTemptations.com.

"This is the official launch of my company. I've been baking since I was a child," Chef Paul W. explains, "and it's been a beautiful journey."

Raised in Milwaukee, Wis., Chef Paul W. remembers learning how to bake and cook as a child.

"I remember my father's sister, Aunt Rea, from West Point, Miss., who baby-sat my two cousins and me, she used to bake and cook everything from scratch for the entire family. As kids, we watched her all the time. Then, I'd go home and head upstairs to the attic and cook on my sister's Easy Bake Oven because I wanted to bake something just like Aunt Rea," Chef Paul W. remembers. "In 1972, I moved with my grandmother to Los Angeles. I'd bake for my grandmother's auxiliary church group all the time. I was only in the 8th grade. My love of cooking started young."

Chef Paul W. first took basic professional baking classes followed by courses at the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts in West Hollywood in the 1990s, earning a professional chef, culinary diploma. Shortly after, he opened a small catering company "Fine Dining by Paul Thompson."

In 1991, Chef Paul W. had one of his proudest moment of his culinary experience.

"I entered Real Men Cook for Education, a culinary contest in Los Angeles, to support the four historical Black medical schools (Drew, Howard, Meharry, and Morehouse). One of America's top chefs was judging my category. He was a genuine man, with a kind heart, and a true love for the culinary profession. He was also African American. His name was Patrick Clark and he was one of the most influential African American chefs in America. He judged my category and sent his wife and every other chef to taste what I had created, a stuffed breast of chicken with a blackberry sauce. I won that day in my category and also received Best in Competition. Patrick became a mentor. He encouraged me, he was instrumental in helping me with little details to refine my work," Chef Paul W. notes, while sharing a little secret, "he told me when I use fresh fruit in a cream sauce, to add a touch of vinegar to cut the sweetness. Little things like that make a difference in the flavor and they make you stand out among the others to be remembered. Patrick passed away at the young age of 42, but I think of him in my work whenever I'm in the kitchen perfecting a dish."

While he was building his dream, Chef Paul W. was married, helping to raise their son, Spencer, and had bills to pay.

By day, he worked as a computer network engineer. By night, he worked at the thing he loved the most: pastries. As his business was growing, along with his interest in pastries, he decided to take his career to the next level.

"I was attending the world Pastry Forum in Las Vegas and I met Carla, another culinarian who was planning to study at The Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. As we talked, she told me I should contact the LCB. The following week, I sent in an application," Chef Paul W. explains, "and it was the best decision I ever made for my career."

Le Cordon Bleu is world renowned, offering courses taught by top chefs in the world. Chef Paul W. was not intimidated.

"I wanted to do it and take my skill to the next level. In order to reach my dream, I had to be trained the right way and by the best," Chef Paul W. says. "My goal is to take my skills and teach inner-city youth how to bake. This is an art that can carry a young person through school. By creating excellent food, you can pay your way through school, earn an education and create a career for yourself. I want a way to give back and make a difference."

In fact, Chef Paul W. is grateful for a childhood in which people were willing to invest in him.

"I was always told, if someone gives you something in life, you have to give it back. In my African American community growing up, I was asked if I was willing to give back one day. I said, 'yes.' This talent was something I was given, first by my Aunt Rea. She gave me the spirit and love of cooking and dessert making. When I'm baking, I think of her often. I remember the gifts she shared with us. She gave me an early inspiration," Chef Paul W. explains, "and I want to share this talent of baking and proper presentation of food with the next generation. There's nothing like that in the West Valley. Who is teaching the kids about the culinary arts?"

Chef Paul W. was accepted into Le Cordon Bleu's pastry program.

"I knew very little French. So, before I left for Paris, a wonderful woman from France, tutored me in French. She helped me learn cooking terms, interpret recipes, greetings, how to ask for directions and how to respect the culture. It was so important for me to learn as much as I could before I left. She spoke to me about how to understand a recipe, and the details helped smooth the transition," Chef Paul W. says. "I was nervous going to a foreign country, but it is one of the best schools in the world to learn pastry. I rented an apartment in Paris, learned to take the Metro, and was ready to learn. I also had newly made friends in Paris, Chef Charles Pattegay, who is now the chef at Cena in West Hills. It helped to have a friend."

Instead of attending the normal 10-week course, Chef Paul W. took the intense 3-week program. It's the exact same course, but instead of learning about two or three recipes each day, the students learn five to six recipes during a 12-hour day in the classroom.

"Intense is a good word," Chef Paul W. says with a laugh, "because every lesson was taught in French with an English interpreter, for the first two intensive programs, but the third was only taught in French. There were twelve-hour days between the demonstration lab and the kitchen, plus reviews of preparation, testing and exams. They evaluated your work area, made sure you were cooking neatly and that you prepared the dish properly. It was detailed work in every step plus the importance of presentation. Not everyone could handle that sort of intensity but I was thrilled to be a part of it. These were world renowned chefs who taught the courses."

Chef Paul W. excelled in the program. He attended all three parts of the full pastry-training program - Patisserie De Base, Patisserie De Intermediaire, and Patisserie De Superieure - in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He succeeded in earning The Diplome De Patisserie for full completion of the course.

"I fell in love with doing desserts. I learned between 65 - 75 recipes in each course. During the final Superior Course, I learned recipes that focused more on sugar used to create sculptures, and chocolate ones for creating sculptures and hand crafted chocolates," says Chef Paul W. "For more than two years, I've been building 'Dessert Temptations' by creating desserts for parties and friends. I used to bake in my own kitchen, but now I've grown into the commercial kitchen at Cena. All of my desserts are made from the finest ingredients. My goal is to be the Pastry Chef for caterers, private parties and my clients at Cena. As I reach that level of success, I will be able to open my own shop and offer more opportunities to inner-city youth. This is a trade they could use to obtain their dreams."

Stressing his dream of helping others, Chef Paul W. remembers every person who helped him along the way.

"The most important thing I've learned is that food has an ability to bring people together," Chef Paul W. reminds, "that is my ultimate goal, to bring people together."

Chef Paul W. will be adding a blog on his Web site to help customers and clients evaluate desserts they eat around the city.

He wants people to be able to critique the desserts with a few defined critiques:

Place: Dessert name: Price range: $-reasonable, $$-expensive, $$$-outrageous

1. Plated Decoration (Visual appeal: balanced sizes, sharps, colors)

2. Flavor of the individual components (distinguishable, unusual)

3. Balance of flavors overall

4. Textures - hard, soft, crunchy, chewy, creamy, smooth

5. Balance of taste (sweet: acidic: bitter: salty)

6. Comments

"A good chef gives you take-away value, something you can learn from and use in your own cooking," Chef Paul W. adds with a smile, "I just want to share what I've learned with the melting pot of palates and help people reach beyond their expectations, not to be told it's good but to know how good it really is."

"Dessert Temptations" are now available through the newly opened Cena in West Hills or through Pastry Chef Paul W.'s Web site, www.DessertTemptations.com.

For more information on Cena, visit www.Cenatogo.com and click on the West Hills location.


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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Jackie Houchin
posted on 4/24/2008 @ 2:19:48 PM
Rated Story
Wow, what a story. He seems very dedicated... and to think he did that Cordon Bleu course in just 3 weeks! We might have to make the trip to Cena's taste some of his yummy pastries! Looking forward to hearing about the other chefs at he really cool eaterie.
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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Pam Vetter

West Hills , CA

Pam Vetter has posted 309 stories and 75 comments since joining on 8/21/2006. Pam Vetter 's average story rating is 4.98.
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