Every four years, top chefs compete for the French pastry world’s highest honor: Meilleur Ouvrier de France, or MOF. Each competitor must execute over 40 handmade concoctions in just three days, everything from delicate chocolates adorned with gold foil to towering sculptures of blown sugar encircled with colorful candied ribbon. With the dexterity and flourish of seasoned chefs, D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus trace the journey of Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of the French Pastry School in Chicago, through the 2008 competition. The tension is palpable as each competitor works under the scrutiny of a panel of master chefs and the ticking hand of the clock. The white-knuckle suspense as each masterpiece is presented to the judges makes the thin line between dream and obsession all the more tenuous. After the triumph and tears, the exuberance and exhaustion, it is no exaggeration to call these artisans the Kings of Pastry.  ST