Born in Argenteuil, France, just north of Paris, Franck was raised in the food and restaurant business. While his mother cooked traditional French specialties at home, his father worked as a restaurant chef.

At the age of sixteen he entered Andorra Culinary School, where spent two years learning the basics of French cuisine. Upon graduating he moved to Perpignan to begin a two year program to study and learn the art of pastry making.

After many years of working as both a cook and pastry chef in restaurants throughout France and Spain, Franck made the life-changing decision to move to America. In 2000, Franck began work as a pastry chef at Patisserie Mirabelle in Old Saybrook, CT.

After two years he decided to make yet another move and enhance his culinary skills in New York City. In 2002, Franck was honored with a job offer from the esteemed Francois Payard at his Upper East Side Payard Patisserie & Bistro. During that time Franck’s creative work has been published in Food & Wine, Gourmet, Art Culinaire and Modern Bride Magazines.

In the winter of 2009, a quest for new challenges brought Franck to Foxwoods Resort Casino and the MGM Grand at Foxwoods where he is the Executive Pastry Chef, overseeing a staff of 40 and servicing 34 food outlets.

Chef Iglesias's Recipe:
Black Forest 3 Ways

“Classic” Black Forest Cylinder
Composed of Chocolate genoise, Chocolate Mousse, Black Forest Chantilly and Kriek Beer Foam.

Chocolate Mousse
4 oz Egg yolks
5 oz Sugar
7 oz Milk
1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
6 oz #31118 FELCHLIN-Swiss Maracaibo Classificado Rondo
6 oz Heavy cream
#20650 Cherries in Kirsch

Black Forest Chantilly
3 1/2 oz Pastry cream
14 oz Whipped cream
1 sheet #90070GO Gelatin
Kirsch, to taste

Kriek Beer Foam
1 cup beer
1 1/2 gelatin leaves

Baked Black Forest
Composed of Cherry Compote, Cherry Pastry Cream and Sacher Cake.

Cherry Compote
3 oz Cherries, fresh or frozen
1 oz Sugar
1 oz Porto Rouge
1/2 bean #90071 Vanilla Bbean
1 Star anis
1 Cimmamon stick

Cherry Pastry Cream
2 oz Ponthier cherry puree
2 oz Milk
1 tbsp Sugar
1 oz Egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp Corn starch
1/2 tsp Butter
1/4 tsp #90067 Vanilla Bean Ground

Sacher Cake
1 Egg
1 Egg yolk
1 oz #90350 Almond Flour
1 tbsp Corn starch
1 tbsp Cocoa powder

Contemporary
Composed of Yogurt Cherry Sponge, Cherry Gelee, Chocolate Crumble, Mint Meringue, Kirsch Fromage Blanc Dome.

Yogurt Cherry Sponge
2 oz Greek yogurt
2 oz Ponthier cherry puree
1 oz Egg whites, pasteurized
2 tbsp Sugar
Salt
2 tsp AP Flour

Cherry Gelee: Glacage
2 oz Water
3 1/2 oz Sugar
1 tbsp Agar-Agar
1/4 tsp Locust bean gum
2 oz Ponthier cherry puree

Chocolate Crumble
1tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Sugar
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp AP flour
1 tsp Cocoa powder

Mint Meringue
1 tsp Mint, fresh
1 tbsp Ice water
1/2 tsp Egg whites, powder
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Egg whites, fresh

Kirsch Fromage Blanc Dome
2 1/2 cup Milk
5 oz Fromage Blanc
3 oz Sugar
1 tbsp Egg yolks
2 1/2 sheets #90070GO Gelatin
1 tbsp Kirsch
2 1/2 cups Heavy cream

Preparation
Chocolate Mousse
Whip yolks and sugar to ruban stage. Add milk-sugar mix, make an anglaise. Add chocolate, mix well. Transfer the hot chocolate anglaise to an electric mixer and whip until cool. Fold in whipped cream.

Black Forest Chantilly
Mix pastry cream with Kirsch, add melted gelatin, add whipped cream.

Kriek Beer Foam
Warm beer, melt in the bloom gelatin. Isi bottle.

Cherry Compote
Combine port, sugar and spices in a pan and bring to a boil. Add the cherries and let cook slowly to a thick consistency. Strain and reserve.

Cherry Pastry Cream
Combine cherry puree and milk in a pan, bring to a boil. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, add the boiling liquid to the dry mix and whisk well to avoid lumps. Place the mix back in the pan on the stove and cook, whisking constantly for about two minutes. When cooked add the butter and pour in a hotel pan to cool down.

Sacher Cake
Combine the yolks and eggs with the sugar. Whip to ruban stage and fold in the dry ingredients. Put the mix in a piping bag.

Yogurt Cherry Sponge
Mix all ingredients until well combined. Allow to cool overnight. Strain, fill a canister ¾ full. Charge with 2 chargers, put in plastic cup ¾ full, microwave full power for 45 seconds. Let cool a few seconds and unmold.

Cherry Gelee
Combine the puree, water and dry ingredients in a pan. Bring to a boil and whisk for one minute to activate the agar and locust bean gum. Let cool and pour over the fromage blanc dome.

Chocolate Crumble
Mix all ingredients together, crumble the mix and cook in a 350° F oven until texture is crisp .

Mint Meringue
Blanch the mint and shock in the water. Blend well and strain to achieve 12g mint water.

Combine mint water and egg white powder, whisking to hydrate. Add the fresh white and place into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. On medium speed, whip mix, gradually adding sugar, into a soft peak meringue.

Kirsch Fromage Blanc Dome
Make a crème anglaise with first four ingredients, add gelatin, add kirsch. Let cool then add whipped cream.

Setting
”Classic” Black Forest Cylinder
Create a chocolate rectangle and bring the edges together to create a cylinder. Fill first with chocolate genoise, then chocolate mousse, cherries and Chantilly to finish. Fill with chocolate to seal the cylinder. Add some beer foam on the side.

Baked Black Forest
Fill a mini jam jar with a layer of cherry compote, add a layer of cherry cream, and then add sacher mix on top. Close and seal, cook at 300° F in a water bath for about 30 minutes.

Contemporary
Place a “cherry sponge” on the plate. On the side, add a dome, some chocolate crumble and, with a piping bag, a dot of mint meringue.

© Copyright 2012 SCFF, LLC (trading as Swiss Chalet Fine Foods).