Italy’s Sonia Balacchi, was awarded the title of Pastry Queen, a new annual competition held at the Sigep exhibition in Rimini, Italy. Kyun Ran Baccon representing France, won second, and Susan Notter of the United States, placed third.

The contestants had to prepare a cake made with Domori chocolate, an innovative plate served dessert (with fruit sorbet) and a sugar/pastillage showpiece on day one and a chestnut cream dessert served in a glass day two.

Congratulations to the winners and stay tuned for a Pastry Postcard. (click on the photo for a close up)

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To all hardworking Chefs, congratulations for surviving the Holidays!
After our last Newsletter, we heard from several chefs and this story caught our eye:

In our nation’s capitol, Washington DC, Executive Pastry Chef Laurent Lhuillier of Windows Catering Company, created these amazing gingerbread houses for the Holiday Gala at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Over 400 lbs of gingerbread were used in their construction, 80lbs of candy, including gum drops, jelly beans, peppermints, gum balls, white chocolate coins, sugar Dragees were used to decorate and 100lbs of sugar icing helped hold it all together beautifully. It took Chef Laurent and his team over 100 hours of decorating time to skillfully adorn all the gingerbread houses that consisted of the White House, The US Capitol, and the Pentagon. Magical work Chef!

(Please click on the images for a larger view of the photos by Daniel Schwartz.)

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It’s that magical time of year, where the cold weather outside sends us inside to warm. A time to enjoy childhood delights and reflect on the past, present and future.

This year, four amazing chefs from the corners of the globe completed a major accomplishment in their professional journey, they competed for the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France Chocolatier-Pâtisser. Held in Clermont-Ferran, Jean Marie Auboine from Las Vegas, Jean-Marc Scriban from Japan, Christophe Morel from Montreal and Frederic Hawecker from Châteaurenard came together to show their craft.

(Please click on the images for a larger view.)

Congratulations to the contestants and Frederic Hawecker 2011 MOF Chocolatier-Pâtisser. Chef Hawecker MOF will be teaching a class at the Chocolate Academy here in Chicago.

Wishing you Happy Holidays from our home to yours.

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At the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, Yusuke Aoki, Senior Pastry Cook, enjoys creating elegant chocolate showpieces like this for internal display and guest affairs. Yusuke Aoki’s work captures our imagination with his well-crafted, graceful work. Passion, talent and patience drives this chocolate artist, we look forward to seeing more of his work.

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