UK Pastry Team 2017 announced

The 2017 UK Pastry Team have been announced following an afternoon tea event prepared and hosted by Mourad Khiat, head pastry chef at The Berkeley Hotel in London. 

Christopher Zammit, pastry chef at Camilleri Kitchen in East Sussex has been selected as candidate chocolate and will be working alongside sugar specialist, Florian Poirot of FP Macaroons in York, and newly appointed team captain, Andrew Blas, Café Royal’s Executive Pastry Chef and this year’s ice expert.

The three successful chefs will go on to represent the UK team during the 2017 Coupe du monde de la Patisserie final in Lyon.

In preparation for the competition, Martin Chiffers, who was announced as Team President for his third term running, will be in charge of mentoring the team.

Martin explained how they will be stepping up for the competition this year.

He said: “We’ve come a long way since we started in 2011, but we can’t rest on our laurels. Although the top seven placement for 2015 means we can use all our resources for the 2017 final, without needing to qualify for the European Pastry Cup, we will have a lot of practice and planning ahead. I want to try and fit in at least thirty five practice sessions, so it’s going to be the hardest prep ever.”

>>> Read: UK Pastry Team through to Lyon in 2017

During the Pastry World Cup, the teams are given six hours to make: three Valrhona chocolate desserts, three frozen fruit desserts, 12 identical desserts on plate, one sugar sculpture, one Valrhona chocolate sculpture, one ice sculpture.

The announcements didn’t stop there. For the first time the UK Pastry Team have selected three reserves to train together with the team, in order to develop their skills.

The reserve team is made up of the ice candidate reserve, Chris Seddon, pastry chef at Coutts, the sugar candidate reserve, Joakim Prat three Michelin star chef of Maitre Choux and executive pastry chef at Grosvenor House, Dale Desimone, as the chocolate candidate reserve.

Executive Pastry Chef of Le Manoir Aux Quatre Saisons and President of the UK Pastry Club, Benoit Blin said:

“When we started the UK Pastry Club in 2011, our initial goal was to enter a UK team for the biennial Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (The World Pastry Cup). Now, with our 2015 team achieving a top seven placement in this year’s competition, we are not only assured a place in the final (avoiding the European Pastry Cup heat), but we can use our resources to really develop and showcase the pastry profession in the UK.”