Renowned for his unwavering passion and pursuit of perfection, Antonio Bachour is considered among the world’s best pastry chefs. He’s earned recognition from the Michelin Guide (Bib Gourmand) and the title of Best Pastry Chef in the World in 2018 and 2022, and among many other awards, he is an acclaimed instructor. His restaurants Bachour and Tablé in Miami serve about 5,000 people every week, and he operates two additional dining establishments in Mérida, Mexico.
Known for its elegant pastries and desserts like macarons, petit gâteau, pain au chocolat, and viennoiserie, his namesake café, Bachour, serves about 500 croissants each weekday, 1,000 on Saturdays and Sundays, and 250 to 500 other pastries daily. Although the pastries take center stage, the menu also features a full range of savory breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.
According to Bachour, the key to his exceptional pastry is the passion he infuses into his work. “The first ingredient is the passion,” he says. “We are working, cooking, baking with heart. And then the second one is to buy the best ingredients and equipment.”
“I am always looking for perfection in my pastry, in my desserts, and RATIONAL helped me to achieve that. We buy the best equipment; we work with the best companies, like RATIONAL, to have our product become the best in the market.”
Bachour has baked with RATIONAL equipment for over 18 years and considers it the centerpiece of any kitchen in which he works. Bachour cites the brand’s consistency and dependability, noting that his Miami restaurants have used the same unit for 16 hours a day, every day, for more than five years with no issues and no repairs due to their routine maintenance.
“RATIONAL is heavy-duty equipment – a smart oven,” he says. “Also, it's beautiful. People say ‘Wow’ when they see the oven from the window.”
“My main reason to going to RATIONAL is the consistency,” he continues. “Every day – the same. The same size of croissant, the same size of macarons, the same color of the baguette, the sourdough. Consistency. Every day people come to Bachour, they can expect the same consistency of flavor, of texture, of size, of color – everything the same.”
However, it’s not just about impeccable consistency. Bachour points out RATIONAL combi ovens’ precise temperature, humidity control, and fan speeds that allow baking perfection; faster baking times with no need for constant monitoring; one-button presets that simplify tasks for his kitchen teams, and lower labor costs. One of the most meaningful impacts RATIONAL has is the time savings for his staff, he notes. Baking times are faster and efficiencies are greater than they would be using conventional equipment, so employees can go home earlier.
“Our mission in our business is the quality. I want to give my customers the best ingredients, the best product, the best of the best.”
As a sought-after instructor and consultant, Bachour travels nearly 250 days each year to dozens of countries to work with pastry chefs and restaurateurs. When working on site, he requires a RATIONAL in the kitchen. “Do you want our croissants from Bachour?” he asks. “You need to have RATIONAL.”
“I need to keep the recipe, the baking process, the same every day,” he explains. “And then I think that my employees, they can achieve the same product even if I'm not here in the restaurant.”
“I’ve been traveling, teaching classes, doing consulting, collaboration dinners with different chefs. I want to inspire people. I want to show people what we do here, what we make in Miami, what my products are. And then we showcase all my recipes. We show them how to cook, how to bake. And then one of the most important things I say to everybody is to buy a RATIONAL. For cooking, for baking, for bread, for croissants, for dessert, to achieve a great product.”
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