Above the showpiece championship winner of the Pastry Live National Showpiece Championship in Atlanta, this year. The winning team formed by the pastry chefs Hideki Kawamura and Jiro Tanaka also received the audience choice award. 2nd place went to Team Evans and Galindo; the Spirit Award went to Team Neugebaur and Hernandez.
Among the carefully selected competitors for the title of Chocolatier of the Year, Molly Cook (Norman Love Confections) won with this banana and passion fruit bon-bon (below, photo Dessert Professional). 2nd place went to Oswaldo Ortega (Tout Chocolate Mexico).
Regarding the Signature Plated Dessert, Benjamin Kallenbach form The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge was 1st; 2nd place went to Karla Espinosa (KUU Restaurant).
1st place went to the Ice Cream Cup presented by Ray Blanchard (The Everglades Club), followed by Maggie Gibbs (Wild Flour Confectionery) at the 2nd place.
Regarding the Art of Cake Sculpted, Hannah McBride was 1st (The Everglades Club); the 2nd place went to Johanna Wyss (Paasche Airbrush Company). In the Art of Cake Tiered competition 1st place went to Jan Lewandowsky (Pulaski Tech) and 2nd to S. Tina Haldeman (Omni Grove Park Inn).
Finally the Student Chocolate Challenge. The jury asked bakery and pastry students coming from all over the Country schools to create and present chocolate showpieces exhibiting their creativity and talent. The showpieces been criticized based on the artistic overall appeal and originality of the finished work, as well as the amount of technique and skill displayed.
1st place went to Aashrit Abhinav Sundar from Kendall College; the 2nd went to Lindsey Benway form International School of Culinary Arts.
www.pastrylive.com
photo credit: Alison Hill