George Brown College Lindt Chocolate competition

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George Brown College Lindt Chocolate competition
The George Brown College Lindt Chocolate competition required each student to present a showpiece, cocoa painting, pralines and a plated dessert. 

By week three of the
second annual George Brown Chef School chocolate competition, held last
November and sponsored by Lindt Chocolate, I asked myself, “Should we
put pressure on the second-year baking and pastry arts student by
making it compulsory to enter the competition? Is it fair to those who
might be shy, not competitive by nature, those not comfortable or not
wanting to work with chocolate in the future, or those who would rather
be artisan bread bakers?”

True to form, the three-week competition brought stress, pressure, some tears and many sneers my way. All I kept thinking was, “This is good for them; it makes them stronger and forces them to appreciate and be able to deal with the application of chocolate in many ways.”

The competition required each student to present a showpiece, cocoa painting, pralines and a plated dessert – and what a spectacular job they did. It is amazing the imagination and artistry the students expressed. My hat goes off to all of you; thank you for making me proud.

George Brown Chef School has undergone major renovations in the past two years. In November 2009 the Lindt Chocolate contest was the first competition to be showcased in the new atrium, and it looked fabulous with all the chocolate pieces on display.

Thank you to Michael Copra of Lindt Chocolate in helping make this happen and the generous cash donation of prizes. Each of the three classes had a first-, second- and third-place winner, and there was an overall winner from the three classes.

In Chef Maushagen’s class, first place went to Kirsten Rose, second to Christina Litke and third to Tara Pinnell.

In Chef Schaller’s class, first place was awarded to Sung-Yu Hong, second to Woosun Ha and third to Robyn Huleatt.

In Chef Sanché’s class, first place went to Christine Leung, second to E. Rebecca Lees and third Shelly Kanitz.

The overall winner was Sung-Yu Hong.

A total of 72 students participated. Congratulations to all, and special thanks to our judges: Julie Montgomery of North 44º, Sunil Seneviratne of The Park Hyatt and Nadia Iafrate, last year’s overall winner, presently working at Pâtisserie La Cigogne. What a hard job they had tasting 72 students’ plated dessert and pralines.

I also want to thank all my colleagues who helped made this happen.