Double-barrel Guns for Hire

Irene Sax
Posted: June 8, 2009

NEW YORK CITY—Not every cooking school grad works in a restaurant kitchen. Some become private chefs, others go into the industry, and others just give very fancy dinner parties. But when Samantha Hoyt and Holly Moore finished their training at New York City's French Culinary Institute, they started a business to provide services they felt weren't available anywhere else.

They called it Pastiche Recipe Testing, but testing is just one of the things they do. They also judge recipe contests, as they did for a publication that held a pizza competition and wanted the contestants' recipes cooked and rated for ease, accuracy, and results. They assemble tasting panels, enrolling a group of culinary professionals to sample and judge both finished dishes and commercial products. They prepare dishes for photo shoots, working with either their own or their clients' food stylists. And they develop recipes for the industry, as they did recently for a company that wanted kid-friendly dishes to post on their Web site. ("It was a learning experience," says Hoyt, adding, "We realized that online recipes have to be simpler, shorter, and more appealing to a broad audience.")

So what can they do for your restaurant? Suppose the chef has been called by a magazine editor looking for recipes or has a contract to write a cookbook. Pastiche could translate his dishes to a form suited for home cooks, altering quantities, techniques, and, if necessary, ingredients. Suppose you're starting a restaurant and want help developing a menu. First they'll talk with you to get a feel about the kind of place you envision. They'll then put together a presentation with a list of possible recipes; after these are accepted, they'll proceed to work them out. Charges are by the recipe, which are each tested twice. Food costs are extra, as are editing and formatting.

For info: 917-453-5928; info@pastiche-nyc.com.