After a number of setbacks, including a lorry full of essential equipment breaking down, their ice sculpture breaking in half, and part of their chocolate piece dropping off, the UK Pastry Team has come 6th in the 2015 Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie.
The team is coached by UK Pastry Team President, Martin Chiffers, and made up of Barry Johnson (Rococo Chocolate), Andrew Blas (Café Royal) and Javier Mercado (Le Cordon Bleu).
The 6th place ranking is the highest result the team has ever achieved, and automatically qualifies them for the Coupe Du Monde de la Patisserie at Lyon in 2017, without having to do the European heat.
The team’s theme was inspired by theatre, and in particular the popular musical ‘The Lion King’, which celebrates the African savannah and the circle of life. All six elements for the competition (ice sculpture, chocolate dessert, frozen fruit dessert, plated dessert, sugar sculpture and Valrhona chocolate sculpture) adhered to this theme.
Chocolate dessert
Entitled ‘African Savanna’, the Valrhona chocolate dessert was inspired by the diverse community of organisms that interact to form a complex food web. The African savanna ecosystem is a tropical grassland and is characterized by grasses and small or dispersed trees that do not form a closed canopy, allowing sunlight to reach the ground.
The actual dessert consisted of a streusel base, Flourless Chocolate Sponge, Manjari Mousse, Mango Lime Jelly, Passion Fruit Crémeux and Chocolate Glaze.
Frozen fruit dessert
Entitled ‘Lyceum’ the frozen fruit dessert was inspired by the domed architecture of the Lyceum Theatre building, which was unique in that it had a balcony overhanging the circle and has been home to the musical version of The Lion King in London since 1999.
The dessert consisted of a Streusel base, coconut Dacquoise, caramel banana parfait, coconut ice cream, mango coulis and passion banana sorbet.
Plated dessert
The Circle of Life, also known as the "Great Circle of Life," is what all living creatures around the Pride Lands are connected in. "Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance".
The UK Plated dessert is inspired by the connection and delicate balance of the "Circle of Life” and consists of lemon pain de Gene, praline crunchy, chocolate crémeux, raspberry glazed chocolate mousse eggs with raspberry gel and crunchy vanilla streusel, crispy rice and cru, lemon curd, rose sugar tuiles and raspberries.
Team captain Barry Johnson said: “We’re all ecstatic at this result. With all the challenges we faced during the day, we really hadn’t had any major expectations. This result has made all the pain worthwhile, and I’d like to thank my team-mates Javier , Andrew and Martin for such amazing support.”
UK team president Martin Chiffers said: “This placement is a huge credit to the team, and I’d like to thank all the sponsors, especially Valrhona for their support. Tonight we’ll be toasting our achievement, but we’ll start recruiting for the new team with the British Pastry Open in October”
The 2015 Coupe Du Monde de la Patisserie featured 21 participating countries:
The top 3 winners were:
Bronze: Team USA
Silver: Team Japan
Gold: Team Italy
