FOODIE FRIDAY: THE PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR IS......

By Debbie Mitchell

With the naked eye it is hard to tell the statue above is made of sugar and chocolate, but it is.  I am a pretty good cook but cannot bake to save my life so the sight of these beautifully crafted pastry designs took my breath away.

Last Saturday Paris Gourmet presented the 23rd Annual U.S. Pastry Competition at the International Foodservice Show of New York.  Eleven upcoming stars of the pastry world competed for the coveted title, Pastry Chef of the Year.

These super talented pastry chefs presented their entries in America’s most prestigious pastry competition, at a show which took place at the  New York Jacob K. Javits Convention Center New York City.  

The 2012 theme was based on the four elements, earth, wind, fire and water. As you can see the chefs went all out with tall, elaborate colorful designs.  The desserts were sugar and chocolate creations that took months to prepare. The showpieces were then assembled at the competition and names of the competing chefs were carefully hidden by a sheet with a fruit design on each table. 

 

The room felt very international with french tourists and local foodies mingling with top pastry judges including Bravo TV's Top Chef Just Desserts host, Chef Johnny Iuzzini. Judges took careful notes detailing the skill and execution of the highly technical sugar and chocolate sculpted showpieces. The pastry chefs were judged in the categories of  flavor (chocolate bonbon) technique and artistry. And students similar the C-CAP event a few weeks ago students were on hand to help out. The students from Kingsbrough Community College and New York City College of Technology were behind the scenes slicing  and serving the perfect piece of cake.

Societe Culinaire Philanthropique, one of the oldest and most prestigious chef associations in the world, presided over the judging procedures. At the end of the day, the Pastry Chef of the Year was awarded to Anthony Smith of New York's The Cosmospolitan Club.  It is a fierce competition that previous winners say makes a pastry chef a better one. 

Left to right:Artis Kalsons (honorable mention), Daniel Keadle (second place), Anthony Smith (Pastry Chef of the Year), Ashley Aioloto (third place)

Congratulations to Anthony and all the chefs who participated in the competition.  I started the week eating sweets and ended it that way.  A special shout out and thanks to Lora, Nancy, Bernhard, Wendy, Alan, and Kian for celebrating my birthday.  Pastry blogger Lora  surprised me with a bag of her delicious Raspberry Rum Chocolate Truffles covered with red glitter. The perfect way to end a birthday week.                        

TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards committee.  If you are a food blogger interested in television placement or connecting with brands follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or email Ready4Airtv@gmail.com .