UK Frozen Dessert (above)
A tropical flavour cake with a touch of tea and acidity from the yoghurt. Fresh and tender, with a sorbet topping shaped mini mango and a butterfly insert running the length of cake.
After a tense 5 hours of nail biting competition in Paris, the two man UK pastry team of Nicolas Houchet and Michael Ho Lam Kwan were crowned champions of Europe. In that 5 hours of supreme concentration the teams have to produce 3 frozen desserts, 10 plated (restaurant desserts) 10 frozen lollypops, plus a sugar sculpture and a chocolate sculpture. They are not permitted to make any part of the desserts or sculptures before the competion begins. The scoring is a combination of marks for the sculptures, and marks for the taste and appearences of the desserts. The contest is performed live infront of a large audience, which is a mixture of the public (flag waving supporters of each team) and the media so there is a constant click of camera shutters. The contest is also recorded via several television cameras and aired later on YouTube.
UK Chocolate & Sugar Sculptures Here are the UK’s sugar and chocolate sculptures, their theme is butterflies. On the chocolate sculpture you can see the butterfly as it emerges from its chrysalis. You can find more close-up photos of the sculptures on my pinterest European Pastry Cup at the bottom of this post.
Restaurant Dessert Jasmin ice cream, mango timut compote, coconut foam, galangal crumble, madeleine biscuit, Vanilla milk skin, kaffir lime.
UK Frozen lollypops It is a ice cream sandwich made with Redfruit tea ice cream and strawberry meringue. Decorated with blackcurrant coulis
Nicolas Houchet (chocolate candidate) and Michael Ho Lam Kwan (sugar candidate) beat out very tough competition from Sweden and Denmark and you can see the final scores here.
Watch out for my interview with the UK Pastry team, coming soon! You can also see more photographs from both the European Pastry Cup and Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie on my pinterest boards.
Chef Kevin Ashton 
Amazing! I have never seen anything like this in my real life.
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Thanks Anne but you are not alone, these competitions should get more publicity from the media.
Best Wishes
Kevin 🙂
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Wow! Amazing, wonderful, so beautiful art! Great post! Thank’s for share, Kevin.
Have a nice day full of blessings!
Keep well.
Elvira
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Thanks Elvira,
I’m hoping to go to the Pastry World Cup finals next year in Lyon.
Have a great day and blessings to you 🙂
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You are welcome, Kevin.
That will be great! Have a great day and blessings too! 🙂
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These pastries blow my mind – what artistry and taste! I was quite taken with the butterfly emerging from its pupal case (since I am partially an entomologist)! I really want to taste these!
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Thanks Noelle, I’m hoping the US team also gets through to the final next year. The contest in the Americas (North & South) called the Copa Maya/American Pastry Cup supposed to happen later this year. In the meantime If you want to see a close up of the sculptures which includes a stunning close-up of the sugar butterfly click here. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/51017408270864216/
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Truly awesome skills on display, though the idea of flag-waving supporters and competitive cookery are couple of new concepts for me. 🙂
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Yes, absolutely! The flag waving supporters are a mixture of relatives, friends and fellow pastry chefs who understand the sacrifice and dedication that it takes to get into the teams.
Best Wishes
Kevin 🙂
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What an exciting post! Loved the theme and can’t wait to read your interview, Kevin! Share soon 😀
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Thank you Harshi for you kind words and thoughts.
Best Wishes
Kevin 🙂
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What a work of art! Fantastic!
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Hi Kally, its always good to hear from you, I hope you are well?
And yes these sculptures and desserts are works of art. I wish these pastry competitions got more coverage from TV networks.
Best Wishes
Kevin 🙂
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All is well. Thanks for asking, Kevin. It is great that you highlight them in your post, giving them coverage as well.
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I’m trying to get consumer food magazines to cover the story but editors will tell me it is not a good “fit” for the food stories they cover in their magazines.
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That’s very sad. Especially when you see so much thoughts pit into the event. This definitely need to be covered in more media!
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Absolutely I agree, thanks Kally for your continued support and best wishes.
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Wow ! Wonderful pastries! Must be very tasty ! Thanks for sharing and eagerly waiting for your interview.🙂🙂
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Thanks Priti, my best wishes to you.
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😊😊😊😊🥰
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These are amazing!
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And the two man team made the chocolate display, the sugar display, restaurant desserts and frozen desserts in four hours infront of flashing cameras.
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