Chocolatier of the Year
Pastry Live is proud to announce that Chef Melissa Coppel of Jean-Marie Auboine Chocolates is the winner of the third annual Chocolatier of the Year competition. On Sunday, August 25th, fourteen chocolate artisans, both international and national, competed for the honored title of Chocolatier of the Year. Each chocolatier crafted a chocolate already sold within their shop, as well as a specialty enrobed chocolate of their choosing. Chocolates were judged based on the taste, creativity and workmanship of each chocolate.
Chef Coppel’s chocolates earned her perfect scores from nearly each of the judges for their exceptional flavor profiles and overall artistry. Her “Berry Bliss” chocolate, a unique blend of berry components surrounded by yogurt ganache and milk chocolate, earned excellent scores for its distinct taste. Also highly favored among the judges was her “Passion” bonbon, a combination of passion-thyme ganache, vanilla marzipan and rich dark chocolate, which was unanimously praised by the judges for of its creative presentation and design.
Not only did Chef Coppel gain the esteem of the judges, but she also earned the overwhelming support of the crowd. As the industry judges were not the only ones critiquing each chocolate, she was also the audience’s favorite, earning her the People’s Choice Award for the second year in a row.
Also receiving top marks, Chef Maura Metheny of Norman Love Confections placed second within the competition with her “Cherry Elvesia” bonbon, a pleasing balance of cherries and dark chocolate, and her “Caramel Pecan Turtle” filled with luscious caramel, spices and pecans. Taking third place was Chef Jose Luis Castallanos of the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy Center in Chicago with his “Ginger Hazelnut Praline,” comprised of flavorful layers of ginger and hazelnut, and his“Tonka Cacahaute Praline,” featuring made-from-scratch almond praline and caramelized cacahuates. Each chocolatier’s work was applauded by the judges for its overall craftsmanship and execution in flavor and design.
The Chocolatier of the Year competition is designed with small chocolatier business owners in mind, offering national recognition for their skills and the opportunity for these artisans to display their talents in a competitor friendly environment. Pastry Live wishes to congratulate all of the winners, as well as thank each of the competitors for their professionalism, hard work and dedication.
Art of Cake Competition
On Sunday, August 25th, thirteen cake artists from across the country competed in the third annual Art of Cake competition, turning icing and fondant into masterpieces inspired by this year’s theme of Art Nouveau. Pastry Live is proud to announce that Joseph Cumm of EdenJoes Cakery is the winner of the 2013 Art of Cake.
Joseph Cumm’s cake, titled “Winds of Change,” highlighted organic shapes and lines which he translated into decorative elements on his design. His piece depicted a hand-sculpted woman surrounded by flora and nature, also accompanied by a towering seven tiered cake showcasing the symmetry between the sculpted elements and the more traditional. His creation featured hand painted details and intricate royal icing piping to compliment the various flowers and carved aspects. As such, his design earned high scores for its degree of technical difficulty, as well as for the overall artistic skill put into it. His pineapple pound cake with coconut rum filling and Swiss meringue buttercream also proved to the judges his baking expertise.
Second place went to Gretchen George of Le Cordon Bleu, whose design embodied traditional aspects of Art Nouveau, as seen in her cake’s elegant piping and scroll work and through her use of various hues of blues and greens. Included in her creation was a graceful peacock, whose feathers cascaded down the various layers, and stylized flowers matching the soft curves and flow seen in paintings of that era. While her design was excellently crafted and praised for its overall impression, her vanilla bean tasting cake, layered with passion fruit curd, caramel and vanilla buttercream, was also well received by the judging panel.
Jessie Anne Reilly of Take the Cake Décor took third place with her design, which blended the whimsical style of “Alice in Wonderland” with the flowing lines of Art Nouveau. Titled "Alice in Art Nouveau," her cake featured a tiny Alice figure balanced on sculpted tiers, each depicting designs inspired by numerous Art Nouveau inspirations including Jugendstil Haustur and Otto Wagner’s Majolicahouse. Her chocolate beet cake, a traditional cake in use during the theme’s time period, featured a roux based buttercream as well as a light cream cheese icing.
The Art of Cake calls for competitors to transform cake into creations inspired by great artists and art time periods of the past. With both traditional stacked tiers and sculpted elements required, each competitor is asked to decorate a cake reflecting the original art each designer is inspired by and their own artistic flair as well. Flavor is equally as important in this competition as the overall creativity and appearance of the final piece, as competitors are scored based on their tasting cake as well. Pastry Live wishes to congratulate all of the winners as well as thank each of the cake artists who competed for their professionalism, dedication and hard work.
For more details about Pastry Live and the Art of Cake competition, please contact Event Producer Paul Bodrogi at chef@pastrylive.com or (678) 881-9490. Further information is also available on our website at www.pastrylive.com.
Source: Pastry Live
