Technology and Pastry: ChefCut Waterjet Cutting Machine

The ChefCut Waterjet Cutting Machine is a revolutionary tool that has transformed the culinary landscape, especially when it comes to pastry arts. This device uses high-pressure water jets to cut food items with extreme precision, which allows pastry chefs to bring their most intricate and detailed designs to life.

ChefCut is now being used by chocolatiers, pastry chefs, caterers, and food industry professionals all around the world, but it wasn’t always so well-known. In 2014, I was working in Paris in one of the only kitchens equipped with a ChefCut machine. It was such a coveted piece of equipment that famous chefs were coming to our kitchen just to take a look at it and see how it worked.

So, how does the ChefCut Waterjet Cutting Machine work? First, you use the machine’s built-in computer to choose the shape you want to create. Then, water is pressurized to extremely high levels and forced through a fine nozzle to create a concentrated stream that slices through your food product. The machine’s versatility allows it to handle a range of food items, from delicate pastries and chocolates to fruits, all while maintaining the food’s texture and quality.

As there often is with new technology, there was a bit of a learning curve;  it took some time to learn how to use the machine and fully master its capabilities.

Once my fellow chefs and I got comfortable using the ChefCut, we quickly realized the seemingly endless possibilities of creations we could make using it.

One of my favorite designs I made using the ChefCut was for a motorsport-themed pastry buffet. I was able to cut intricate car parts like gears out of chocolate and used them to decorate my pastries.

Not only did the ChefCut inspire creativity in our kitchen, but it also improved our efficiency.  This machine allowed us to automate some of the more time-consuming, tedious tasks in our day, such as cutting entremets frames. Traditional methods for cutting entremets frames are time consuming, tedious and labor intensive. You need a sharp knife and hot water to get a perfect cut, and cutting individual entremets can take hours. Hand cutting also results in more waste and missed cuts. By using the ChefCut, we increased our cake production, improved uniformity and consistency in our products, and reduced waste.

Here are the step by step instructions on how to increase production and quality when cutting entremets.

Step 1: Place your entremets frame in the Chefcut

Step 2: Select the desired cut

Step 3: The ChefCut starts cutting your entremets with high pressure water (this process takes only a couples of minutes)

Step 4: Now that your frame entremets are cut into individual portions, take the frame out of the Chefcut

Step 5: Separate your individual entremets and place them on their final cake board. Thety are now ready to decorate

Step 6: Clean up by removing any pieces of entremet in the machine and wash the Chefcut with dish soap and sanitizer

 The ChefCut machine helps reduce waste when cutting entremets by providing precise, uniform cuts that minimize trimming and errors compared to cutting by hand.

Working in a kitchen that was an early adopter of the ChefCut was one of many experiences I’ve had in my career that taught me how well technology and pastry arts complement each other. Thermoforming is another example; with this method, a thin plastic sheet is heated and pressed against a solid object until it retains the shape of the object. Once cool, the plastic sheet can be used as a mold to make uniquely shaped ice creams, chocolates, cakes, and entremets. You can also make silicone pastry molds with 3D, another innovative technology we are starting to see more in the culinary world.

While it may seem intimidating at first, embracing new technologies allows pastry chefs to explore their own creativity while maximizing the quality of their work. Personally, I’m excited to see what new technological innovations will be introduced to the culinary world in the future.

Chef Florian Tetart

I am a pastry chef and baker from Lille, France. My love for baking goes back as far as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of being in my father’s bakery, playing with bread dough while I watched him work. Since then, my work has taken me all over the world and given me the opportunity to work in a wide range of settings, from freestanding bakeries in the United States to top-rated restaurants in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tokyo.

My professional experiences over the past thirteen years have given me a unique blend of skills.  Drawing on my experience as an executive pastry chef at a Michelin-star restaurant, I strive to bring the highest level of quality to everything that I make. I also maintain a high level of efficiency- a skill I’ve honed over years of working at high-volume restaurants and bakeries.

For additional information on Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts chef instructor Florian Tetart, visit https://www.escoffier.edu/about/chef-instructors/florian-tetart/