Quebec chocolatier wins Chocolate Masters prelim

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Quebec chocolatier wins Chocolate Masters prelim
Veronique Rousseau has won
the Canadian pre-selection round of the World Chocolate Masters competition and will represent Canada at the finals in Paris next year.

May 26, 2010, TORONTO – Veronique
Rousseau has won
the Canadian pre-selection round of the World Chocolate Masters
competition and will represent Canada at the finals in Paris next year.

“We were so pleased to have Veronique in the competition this year!” said Jean-Jacques Berjot, sales director for competition sponsor Barry Callebaut Canada. “Although it was her first time competing at this level, the artistic skills she applied to her showpiece and the culinary prowess that she demonstrated in her pastries and bon-bons were representative of someone with many more years of experience."

Berjot continued, “As Canadians, we should be very proud to have Veronique representing us at the World Chocolate Masters. She has a very bright future ahead of her!”

Rousseau has spent most of her time in the province of Quebec honing her skills and is currently working as a “chocolatiere” at Choco Daisy in Drummondville. Her passion for the culinary arts and gastronomie are evident in the “art of chocolate” which she demonstrated so beautifully at the competition. She “feels lucky that on a daily basis she is able to continually develop her passion to provide creative and tasty pleasures for her customers."

Rousseau studied at Marie-River (Vocational Training Centre Paul Rousseau) in Drummondville, where she achieved several certificates as a culinary chef and in pastry. She will continue to pursue her passion of learning more about the art of chocolate and pastry in preparation for the worldwide competition where she will face off against top competitors from around the world.

Pre-selections will be held worldwide to select one winner from each country to be jetted off to the World Chocolate Masters final in Paris in 2011. The winner of that competition becomes the World Chocolate Master – a title that truly represents one of the top achievements in the culinary world as it combines artistic skill with culinary talent.

The chefs at the World Chocolate Masters Canadian pre-selection competed for prizes with a total value of more that $19,000. Prizes coveted by the winners were supplied by Chocolate World/Chocolate Solutions, Design & Realisation, Savy/Goiseau/Chocolate Solutions, AAFCO Inc., Robot-Coupe Scientific/Industrial Group, Nobelhaus Importations, Chicago Mold School, and of course Barry Callebaut with an all-expenses-paid travel package to Paris for the winner and classes at the Chocolate Academy Canada.

Winners in the following categories were also celebrated: Plated dessert – Michael Cotard of Marius & Fanny Chocolatier in Montreal; entremet – Sergio Shidomi of Old Firehall in Unionville, Ont.; dipped bon-bon – Veronique Rousseau of Choco Daisy in Drummondville, Que.; and moulded bon-bon – Gloria Donato of Patisserie Monaco in Richmond Hill, Ont.

The Canadian pre-selection for the World Chocolate Masters was held at the Humber College's Canadian Centre of Culinary Arts & Science. This new facility was the ideal location to host the event and provided the launch of a special partnership between Barry Callebaut Canada and Humber College.
Simultaneously over the same weekend, Humber also hosted the Ontario Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition – the first of its kind. It was also announced that for the next six years, these competitions will continue to be held at Humber College.