U.S. Pastry Cup Competition Announcement

Introducing AUI's New Pastry Competition!

June 10, 2016

We’ve been baking up something extra special at AUI Fine Foods, and today we are beyond excited to announce the official start of our new pastry competition, The U.S. Pastry Cup! We’re hoping that this brand new competition will help discover some incredible pastry chefs, and we’ve brought on world-renowned pastry chef Antonio Bachour to lead a team of prestigious judges (names to be announced soon!) to help us find them. Cash prizes totaling $10,000 will be awarded to the winner and finalists after a rigorous live three-day competition and preliminary recipe submission phase.

Here’s how it will work: A team of seasoned judges will select 12 finalists from a preliminary round of plated dessert recipe submissions featuring AUI’s Inti Cacao South American couverture. Those 12 finalists will then be flown into AUI’s corporate headquarters near Washington, D.C. for three rounds of live competition. After each round, half of the competitors will be eliminated until only three finalists remain to compete for the title of U.S. Pastry Cup Champion and the $5,000 grand prize.

The live competition will test the finalist’s creativity, technique, and workmanship over the course of three days. The first day will call for a pre-dessert, and the second day will have the remaining six chefs prepare their original plated dessert from the recipe submission phase. On the third day, the remaining three competitors will present entremets and bon bons. All recipes on all three days, with the exception of the entremets, must prominently feature Inti Cacao.

So, that’s the rundown. Is anybody out there ready to throw his or her toque into the ring? To enter, please fill out this online form or download this PDF and send to uspastrycup@auifinefoods.com. We can’t wait to see the recipe submissions start pouring in, and all recipes and paper work are due no later than 12:00 PM (noon) EST on August 8th, 2016. Applicants must be professional pastry chefs in the United States, over the age of 21, and have at least 5 years of professional experience. For all of the official contest rules and regulations, please visit this page.

We’ll announce exciting developments, like the names of our prestigious judging committee and the 12 finalists, on our social media platforms. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop, and don’t forget to tag your creations with #auifinefoods! 

About the Author
Carolyn Crow is an experienced pastry chef and chocolatier who has traded in emulsifying ganaches for organizing events and tradeshows as AUI’s Event Manager. Even with a Culinary Institute of America Pastry Arts degree and a University of Maryland English Literature degree, Carolyn still believes the best dessert is a brownie sundae and the best book is anything with Harry Potter in it.