Food & Hotel Asia 2012 Day 2 – Asian Pastry Cup Day 1

One of the main highlights of Food & Hotels Asia 2012 is the Asian Pastry Cup. The most prestigious event for pastry professionals, APC allows young patissiers from all over Asia to contest one another in terms of skills, technique and creativity for the top prize. The top three prize winners automatically qualify themselves for a place to compete in the uber prestigious “Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie 2013″ aka Pastry World Cup, traditionally held in Lyon, which en masse the best patissiers from all around the world. And by winning the Coupe du Monde, one basically get elevated to join the heights of the “pastry gods”. Easier said than done, as it is a competition with a lot of sweat and tears, as the teams battle against each other over long and gruelling hours to produce the best chocolate cake, best plated dessert, best sugar showpiece, best chocolate showpiece,…and finally the top prize!

In short, intensément!!!

This year in the Asian Pastry Cup, we see 11 teams from the region competing – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China are in for the first day’s competition, while Austrlia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines would vie with each other on the second.

Sugar showpiece from the Malaysian team

Chocolate showpiece from the Malaysian team

Sugar showpiece from the Indonesian team, the last to be rolled out just 20 min before the competition closes. Carefully laying it down onto the designated platform. One wrong move and everything falls apart. The showpieces must also bear sufficient strength and finesse to hold two plates. The plated dessert goes with the chocolate showpiece, while the chocolate cake for 8 goes with the sugar showpiece.

Sugar showpiece from the Singapore team with the chocolate cake for 8 with complementing decor as the showpiece. The word of the game is balance. One really has to get his math worked out on this.

Sugar showpiece from the Singapore team

Judging of the sugar showpiece from the Vietnam team.

Sugar showpiece from the Vietnam team with their chocolate cake.

Sugar showpiece from the Indonesian team with their chocolate cake.

Chef Gabriel Paillasson, MOF and founder of the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie sharing a magazine browse with Chef Luc Debove, who was recently accorded MOF Glacier 2011. He’s currently the chef pâtissier du Grand Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. Monsieur Paillasson is incidentally the only pastry chef so far who has been conferred with both titles of MOF Patissier and MOF Glacier.

A closer look at the fleur de sucre in the sugar showpiece from the Indonesian team

Sugar showpiece from the Indonesian team

The chocolate showpiece of the Indonesian team with their plated dessert, which also has chocolate components… is that a good idea for contrast?

Close up on the masqué du chocolat decor.

Chocolate showpiece from the Vietnam team.

Chef Vincent Bourdin, regional pastry consultant from Valrhona Far East Singapore Office inspecting the sugar showpiece from the Singapore Team, with Chef Philippe Givre from the Valrhona Ecole du Grand Chocolat. I wanna go to that school!

And they are joined by Chef Norihiko Terai from Patisserie Aigre Douce. Must visit his shop when I’m in Tokyo!!! Briefly heard them talk about curves, stability and symmetry. Yes, I eavesdropped…

Showpieces from the Vietnam Team

Chef Paillasson flicking a pebble or team for the official photoshoot.

Sugar showpiece by the Vietnam team

Sugar showpiece by the Vietnam team

Sugar showpiece by the China team, during the official shoot when the organisers finally wheeled out a large black background while the media snapped away.

Closeup on the peony amidst the bamboo.

Sugar showpiece from the China team, basically mirroring the peony motif but in a more abstract manner. Quite elegant if you ask me.

And the two members from the China team

Members from the Vietnam team.

Snapping away as the background was wheeled over to the Singapore team’s pieces.

And this is the chocolate team from the Singapore team. A gigantic praying mantis on a branch of magnolias. Well, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder…

Sugar showpiece from the Indonesian team

Closeup on the fleur du chocolat work on the Vietnam chocolate showpiece.

And this is the Singapore APC team. Good luck guys!!!

Thailand’s showpieces were not presented at the end of the day. A myriad of possible reasons which I’m not going to speculate.

So concludes part 1 of Asian Pastry Cup 2012. Click here to find out what went on in Day 2 and the Finale of APC 2012

Related posts

Food & Hotel Asia 2012 Day 1 – Introduction and Recce
Food & Hotel Asia 2012 Day 3 – Asian Pastry Cup Day 2 & Finale
Food & Hotel Asia 2012 Day 2 – FHA Culinary Challenge: Petit Fours and Pralines

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