True works of art

At the beginning of June, the winner of the new Junior UK Chocolate Masters competition was unveiled. Quentin Bechard from Shangri La Shard won the title.

The four candidates were all aged between 17 and 23 years old, and it’s great to see such young chefs showing such talent.

The competition, which was held at the Cacao Barry Chocolate Academy in Banbury, involved creating a chocolate showpiece of at least 50cm in height, as well as 30 moulded pralines and four plated desserts. All of the items had to be ‘inspired by nature’. In addition to receiving the coveted title, Bechard won a free course of his choice at the UK Academy Centre plus a selection of chocolate craft tools.

Second place in the competition went to Sebastian Williams from ME Hotel. Runners up were Reece Hunt from BE Chocolate, Jack Lewis, chocolatier and Dominic Hutchings from Coworth Park.

The World Chocolate Masters itself is an international competition that is dedicated to the art of chocolate. It was first held in 2005 after the merger of Le Grand Prix International de la Chocolaterie organised by Cacao Barry, and the International Belgium Chocolate Award organised by Callebaut. The standard achieved by these chocolatiers is quite breathtaking. The creation in the photograph is by Alistair Birt, the current UK and Irish Chocolate Master award winner.

The World Chocolate Masters final takes place from 28-30 October at Salon du Chocolat in Paris. It’s certainly one to watch!

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