The Pursuit of Excellence in Kings of Pastry

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Reel Education: Exploring Issues of Learning, Teaching, and Schooling in and Through Film

Abstract

Kings of Pastry (2009) documents the French “Olympics” for pastry, the Meilleurs Ourviers de France, or MOF. Held every four years, the MOF is a demanding three-day competition to identify chefs who are genuine masters of their craft. While in principle all finalists can earn the title of MOF, in practice only a few do, and some come back several times before achieving success. Those who earn the distinction wear a patriotic red, white, and blue collar for the rest of their life. Reminiscent of the guild system, pastry MOF’s comprise the judges for the competition, choosing those who may join their order. The documentary follows three chefs in the finalist pool of 16 as they make final preparations and then compete. Anxiety, exhaustion, despair, exhilaration, pride, relief—a full range of emotions are on display over the trial. Dramatic tension arises as the chefs demonstrate their depth of knowledge in near-perfect execution in order to earn the collar. In the end, each is stretched his maximum, and only some master the rigors to demonstrate excellence in each of the competition’s tasks. The film invites viewers to explore several questions about learning to practice, three of which I consider in my essay.

First, what is expertise or mastery and how does one learn it? Each of the contenders is already an accomplished pastry chef; indeed, before the film starts, the pool of 16 has been winnowed from a group of 70. Drawing upon psychologist Anders Ericsson’s concept of deliberate practice and expert performance (Ericcson, Prietula, & Cokely, 2007), I highlight and analyze features of deliberate practice, illustrating features such as the ways in which the teacher or coaches arrange experiences focused on particular tasks, the provision of immediate feedback (often blunt and occasionally painful), time for problem-solving and evaluation in order to dissect what was done wrong and how to correct “errors,” and opportunities for repeated performance to refine behavior.

Second, what motivates individuals to pursue excellence in a field? The chef’s discipline, perseverance, drive, resilience, and commitment to excellence are on full display in this film, and indeed much of the film’s dramatic tension stems from their courage and tenacity. I explore how their dedication illustrates key concepts in the theories of motivation. I also comment on the emotional toll experienced by those who pursue mastery and excellence in a field.

Finally, how does learning a practice as an art or craft form differ from school-based learning? How, if at all, might this exemplar of learning a practice inform or challenge us to reimagine learning in school contexts? The documentary illustrates poignantly the power of learning a particular craft or artistic tradition within a community of practitioners or learners. In this final section, I describe features of the pastry-learning setting that are both distinct from current K-12 classroom learning settings as well as the possibilities of reimagining learning in K-12 classrooms and schools by drawing from the pastry school and competition as a learning environment.

Author

• Jennie A. Whitcomb, University of Colorado - Boulder