On the final day of the 4th Annual StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition, the last three competitors standing, Meg Galus of NoMI at Park Hyatt Chicago, Thomas Raquel of Acadia in Chicago, and Sean Pera of The Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, North Carolina, went head to head in a chocolate battle. Each chef created bonbons, an entremet, and a chocolate showpiece to determine who would be the victor of the grueling three-day test held on the final day of the 8th Annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress.
Tasked with narrowing the field from 20 competitors to these three were the esteemed panel of judges: Johnny Iuzzini, Elizabeth Falkner, David Burke, Michael Laiskonis, Dominique Ansel, Sherry Yard, and Jeffrey Steingarten.
"This is the one competition in the world where restaurant pastry chefs have a chance to shine," said Antoinette Bruno, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of StarChefs.com. "The level of competitors this year was higher than ever." Her sentiment was echoed by Emcee Keegan Gerhard, who noted that if the skill level of competitors continued to rise that it will be a struggle to find judges with the expertise to effectively evaluate the competing pastry chefs.
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