Jacquy Pfeiffer
French Pastry School
1153 W. Grand Ave.
312-243-3808
Pastry School
Jacquy Pfeiffer grew up in Marlenheim, France, where at age 7 he became involved in his family’s bakery. “It was a passion I had and now, with my pastry school, we are able to pass on the knowledge,” he says. “The greatest reward is to see a student do well. That’s better than any cake you can make.”
Pfeiffer founded the French Pastry School in 1997 with co-owner Sebastien Canonne, after previously coming to Chicago to work at the Fairmont Hotel.
His background includes running a bakery for the royal family of Saudi Arabia, and serving as pastry chef for the Sultan of Brunei, the richest man in the world.“He had a lot of functions for 10,000 friends in the jungle, where they cleared out a whole area and brought in the food by helicopter,” Pfeiffer recalls. "This is the only place I worked where money truly was no object.”
His many honors include being captain of the U.S. World Pastry Cup Team, which won a silver medal in the fierce international competition in Lyons, France, and becoming the first person to win the National Chocolate Competition: Masters of Chocolate. Students at his Chicago school range from professionals to home- makers.
“We treat beginners exactly like those with experience,” he says. “Because you never know who’s going to be the next genius!”