The 2015 edition of the World Chocolate Masters wrapped up today at Porte de Versailles in Paris, following three days of tough competition among some of the world’s top chocolatiers and pastry chefs.
The champion is 27-year-old Vincent Vallée (France), who now holds the of title World Chocolate Master 2015.
Mr Vallée, who honed his chocolate and pastry skills with master chocolatier Patrick Gelencser in La-Roche-sur-Yon as well as Alain Chartier (MOF), currently works as a lab supervisor at Pâtisserie Thierry Bamas (Meilleur Ouvrier de France Pâtissier) in Anglet.
This marks the first time France has won the World Chocolate Masters competition.
The Silver award (first runner up) went to Hisashi Onobayashi (Japan) and the Bronze award (second runner up) was won by Marijn Coertjens (Belgium).
Held from October 28-30, alongside the Salon du Chocolat, the bi-annual World Chocolate Masters Finals competition saw national finalists from 20 countries square off in front of an international jury of celebrity chefs and master chocolatiers.
The theme of this year’s competition was “Inspiration from Nature,” and contestants required exceptional innovation and talent to impress the judges.
Each contestant was required to create a gigantic chocolate showpiece, a sweet snack on the go, a “My Or Noir Story,” a moulded praline, a pâtisserie and an artistic creation based on the competition’s theme.
The winner, along with the first and second runners-up, also received cash and gift prizes, including chocolate-making equipment and training courses.
The participants in the Finals this year were Marijin Coertjens (Belgium), Diego Lozano (Brazil), Michaël Cotard (Canada), Roger Fok (China/Hong Kong), Tor Stubbe (Denmark), Vincent Vallée (France), Sabine Dubenkropp (Germany), Massimo Carnio (Italy), Hisashi Onobayashi (Japan), Sang Kyun Jeong (South Korea), Slawomir Korczak (Mexico), Ramon Huigsloot (Netherlands), Lukasz Aniol (Poland), Andrey Kanakin (Russia), Pepe Isla (Spain), Geraldine Müller-Maras (Switzerland), Chia Feng Tsai (Taiwan), Serdar Çakir (Turkey), Alistair Birt (U.K.), and Dan Forgey (U.S.).
The World Chocolate Masters 2015 Social Media Award went to Diego Lozano (Brazil), whose showpiece was the clear favourite among online viewers, garnering 13,785 votes.
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Photos: © World Chocolate Masters