Twenty of the most talented chocolatiers and pastry chefs in the world will compete for the title of 2015 World Chocolate Master from 28 till 30 October 2015.
For the first time, they will perform at the consumer fair Salon du Chocolat in Paris. As the world’s leading competition solely dedicated to the art of chocolate, the World Chocolate Masters have a reputation as innovation catalyst in a sector that is on the lookout for increasingly diverse and tailored chocolate delights.
Attending the chocolate competition live was formerly reserved for professionals in the food and chocolate industry exclusively. But as of this year the competition will be held at the Salon du Chocolat consumer fair, enabling everyone with a love for chocolate to attend the World Chocolate Masters final live, for the first time ever.
Chocolate lovers that won’t be able to make it to Paris will have the opportunity to watch the entire competition live from their PC, tablet or smartphone.
As a prelude to the world final, all participating countries organise a qualifying round to determine their national representative.
This year’s competition theme is ‘Inspiration from Nature’. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation and encourages finalists to show the world their view on what the future role of chocolate should be.
The finalists will have to create a chocolate showpiece, a moulded praline, a sweet on-the-go snack and a concept called ‘My Or Noir Story’.
For the latter the candidates get to develop their own signature chocolate in Cacao Barry’s Or Noir laboratory. By experimenting with cocoa bean varieties, flavour notes and cocoa body, they get to design their own chocolate, unique like a fingerprint, and bearing a highly personalised taste profile.
Given that this is the sixth edition of the World Chocolate Masters, the competition was up for a fresh new format. All twenty candidates will still compete with each other during day one and two of the competition final, but this year there will be a final round for the 10 best performing chefs.
During day three, they’ll complete two all-new competition assignments, one of which will be producing a Patisserie of the Day – completely made ‘à la minute’, and presenting fresh and delicate flavours and textures.
The last assignment in the final round will be to create a highly expressive artistic creation titled: ‘Where Nature goes’, challenging every contestant to use state-of-the-art techniques and showcase new ideas on shaping chocolate.
An experienced jury of renowned culinary professionals will judge the finalists’ creations, taking into account creativity, presentation, resourcefulness, innovation, taste and technical skills.
The winner of the World Chocolate Masters final will be recognised on the international plane as the world’s best chocolate chef for two years.
The winner receive an impressive prize package, including a trip to Tanzania offered by Cacao Barry to visit some of the world’s most stunning plantations. On top of that, it will also include various rewards offered by sponsors Capfruit, Selmi, Chocolate World, Prefamac, Villeroy, Salva, Kitchen Aid and Duval Leroy.
The winning chef will also get the unique opportunity to launch his or her winning competition pastries and confectioneries at the Harrods department store in London. More info on that will follow soon.
