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Our first place winner's beautiful plated dessert
After months of preparation and two days of intense pastry competition, the scores have been tallied and a winner has been named for the AUI Pastry Cup. From a field of 12 talented finalists and under the critical eye of a prestigious panel of judges, Chef Kevin Clemenceau (Pitchoun Bakery) has earned first place with a $5,000 grand prize and a featured editorial in So Good Magazine. Chef Kevin presented incredible pastry creations in all three rounds of competition, with an enticing Strawberry Basil and Yogurt Pre-Dessert, a stunning Pearls of Pear and Calamansi Plated Dessert, and an elegant Granny Smith Apple Entremet.
Chef Kevin Clemenceau and his Strawberry Basil and Yogurt Pre-Dessert
The competitors were required to use Sosa ingredients in each stage of the competition, but there were no other limitations on their creativity. The chefs had the entire inventory of AUI products at their fingertips, and the pastries they produced were truly inspirational. The desserts were scored by our distinguished judges based on criteria that included flavor, appearance, degree of difficulty, and workmanship.
Beautiful pre-desserts from the first round of competition: Brianne Maggiore's Pears and Brie, and Guiellermo Magaña's Hibiscus, Plum, and Blackberry Upside Down Cobbler
Unfortunately, the impact of Hurricane Irma kept finalist Benjamin Copeland (The Gasparilla Inn) from joining us for the competition, and the field was narrowed to 11 competitors. In spite of strong showings from everyone in the first round, five of the competitors were eliminated after presenting their pre-desserts: Alina Muratova (Washington State Convention Center), Brianne Maggiore (Four Seasons Scottsdale), Heather Lakey (Four Seasons Westlake), Kaity Mitchell (Gotham Bar and Grill), and Guillermo Magaña (Country Club at DC Ranch).
More dessert artistry from the first round of competition: Heather Lakey's Cherry Bomb and Kaity Mitchell's Plum Sphere with Honey and Lemon
In the second round, the remaining six chefs created some spectacular plated desserts, but only three could move on to the final round. Steven Cheung (Global Gourmet Catering), Curtis Cameron (Las Alcobas Napa Valley), and Leen Kim (Omni Homestead Resort) displayed incredible artistry in their plated desserts, but their scores from the judges were not high enough to push them through at the end of day one. Only Erin Reed (Blue Duck Tavern), Ryan Westover (Stratford University), and Kevin Clemenceau (Pitchoun Bakery) would return on day two for an intense day of entremets and bonbons.
Alina Muratova's Apple, Olive Oil, and White Chocolate Pre-Dessert and Leen Kim's Las Perlas Pre-Dessert
After a grueling day of challenges, drama, and surprises, the three finalists presented their exquisite entremets and bonbons to the judges. At the end of the day, Kevin Clemenceau edged out his competition to take home first place and the $5,000 prize (plus $500 in AUI product credit). Ryan Westover was awarded second place and $3,500, and Erin Reed earned third place and $1,500.
Plated desserts from our finalists: Erin Reed's Fluffernutter and Ryan Westover's Cilantro, Berries, Rose, and Lime Dessert
Congratulations to Kevin, and to all of the competitors, on a job well done. We'll be posting recipes for every dish in the competition on our ChefWeb soon!
Bold plated desserts from the second round: Steven Cheung's Raspberry and the Four Creams and Curtis Cameron's Exotic Fruit Sphere
We especially want to thank our wonderful volunteers and vendors who helped make this event possible, including Sosa Ingredients, Felchlin, PCB Creations, and Silikomart Professional. We'll premier AUI's very first chocolatier competition on June 4-5, 2018, so watch for more details and submission information very soon!