Taking the words of 18th century French queen Marie Antoinette to heart, local pastry chefs were battling it out on Friday showcasing their baking skills so they could indeed let the public eat cake. In a flurry of whipping, mixing and icing, the annual Fonterra Pastry Challenge, now in its fourth year, took place at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).
Providing a platform for pastry chefs to showcase and exchange skills in a competitive environment, 18 finalist chefs battled it out in a three hour competition, making mouthwatering cakes and beautiful baking art.
Under this year’s theme of “Let’s Celebrate”, 9 teams of finalists had to select one season of the year and produce two identical cakes showcasing its characteristics, using cream cheese, whipping cream and butter as the main ingredients for their masterpieces.
The Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) was crowned champion and nabbed the Gold award for its cake named “Le Pere”, while Wynn Macau came in as 1st runner-up, receiving a Silver award for its “Vero Amore” creation. Sheraton Hotel Macao won the 2nd runner-up title, obtaining a Bronze award for its “Story of Diamond Cake”. Meanwhile, representatives from Fonterra Management, Angliss Management, the media and fellow contestants judged the “Angliss Excellence Award”, presenting it to MGM Macao for its “Dream of Southeast Asia” cake. Macau Daily Times’ editor-in-chief was one of the media jurors.
The panel of pastry chef judges included Jean Francois Arnaud M.O.F., Mr Danny Ho, Executive Pastry Chef of Hotel Icon, Mr Roger Luk, Pastry Chef of Disneyland Hotel, and Mr Bruno Jen, Deputy Managing Director of the Taiwan Gateaux Association.
In addition to the prize money, Gold, Silver and Bronze Award winners stand to receive a complimentary pastry training course conducted by the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF).
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