Cronut Creator Dominique Ansel Will Teach You How to Make Pastries on ‘MasterClass’

A Private Lesson From the Real Life Willy Wonka

Cronut inventor and all-around dessert genius Dominique Ansel took a brief break from opening bakeries all over the world to film one of those online MasterClass seminars. This online-only cooking course features 17 lessons — each around 10 to 12 minutes long — on how to make classic French pastries like fruit tarts, bonbons, and chocolate cakes. Ansel’s MasterClass also, of course, includes a Cronut tutorial for any baker who wants to recreate the line-inducing sensation in the comfort of their own home (or steal the recipe for their own bakery).

Like all MasterClass courses, Ansel’s recipe bundle costs $90. The company also has similar packages featuring lessons from Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, and Gordon Ramsay. A year-long subscription to all the MasterClasses is $180. Update: Ansel’s MasterClass course actually doesn’t include the Cronut recipe (according to a rep, that’s “proprietary”) but it does have an installment called “Case Study: The Cronut” about the origins of the dish.

Viral video prompts the firing then rehiring of Chipotle manager

Chipotle fired the manager of a store in St. Paul, Minnesota after she was caught on video refusing service to a group of African-American customers unless they paid in advance — but then the company rehired her just a few days later. The video went viral late last week, prompting Chipotle’s communications officer Laurie Schalow to release a statement explaining that “this is not how we treat our customers.” But on Saturday, social media users starting pointing out that the customer who shared the video had previously bragged on Twitter about dining and dashing at local restaurants (though those tweets have since been deleted).

Although the video is shaky, the manager does appear to indicate that she was familiar with the customers and how they “never have money.” After doing some more investigating into the issue, Schalow released another statement noting, “We have spent the last few days reviewing the evidence available to us regarding the incident... Based on our review, we have offered our manager her job back.” There’s no word yet on whether the fired Chipotle manager will accept the offer.

And in other news...

• This Thursday, José Andrés and the crew from his non-profit group World Central Kitchen will be cooking dinner for victims of the Northern California wildfires, and the first responders. Food Network star Tyler Florence will be on hand to help prepare a traditional Thanksgiving feast. The team expects to serve around 15,000 people.
• In a new essay for Time, Sioux Chef founder/CEO Sean Sherman explains what Thanksgiving means to him as a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe: “Thanksgiving really has nothing to do with Native Americans, and everything to do with an old (but not the oldest) guard conjuring a lie of the first peoples welcoming the settlers to bolster their false authority over what makes a ‘real’ American.” [Time]
• Here’s San Francisco superstar Dominique Crenn on what she looks for in an ideal job candidate: “When I interview people that want to work with us, I often disregard their resume, because a piece of paper, it doesn’t tell me really who they are. I’m looking for honesty, vulnerability. I’m looking for strength, I’m looking for weakness.” [MarketWatch]
• Meanwhile, in the Philippines, KFC is serving buckets of fried chicken skins. [Spot]
• As a Black Friday special, Captain Morgan is going to be peddling a life-sized body pillow shaped like its swashbuckling mascot. [Food & Wine]
• And finally, here is your daily moment of zen: Guy Fieri with a herd of goats.