3rd September 2013

Pastry chef’s winning combo gets the People’s Vote in UK Chocolate Masters Challenge

Written by: Admin
Pastry chef Juan Pablo Colubri from the London’s Foundry restaurant has been named the winner of Barry Callebaut’s UK Chocolate Masters Challenge to find the next big chocolate combination.

His entry was a combination of dark chocolate, smoked sea salt and dulce de leche, which the judging panel of Callebaut ambassadors comprising some of the UK’s finest chocolatiers described as “rich, smoky and fantastic".

Colubri’s prize is an all-expenses paid trip to the World Chocolate Masters finals in Paris from October 28-30 to watch this global challenge between the finest chocolate artisans, including the UK’s chocolate master Ruth Hinks.

“A trip to the World Chocolate Masters will allow me to witness first-hand the latest trends, new techniques and assemblies of chocolate,” said Colubri. “Most of all it will be great to see the competitors in action and learn from them.”

He described his creation as a combination of Callebaut bitter dark chocolate perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the dulce de leche while, at the same time, the smoked sea salt opened the taste buds intensifying and unifying each flavour.

The chef’s winning dessert beat more than 50 other entries, each posted to the UK World Chocolate Masters’ twitter page. The four best entries were then chosen and put to a public vote on the UK World Chocolate Masters Facebook page. More than 1,000 individual votes were registered, with Colubri’s creation crowned the eventual winner.

Robert Harrison, sales director UK and Ireland at Barry Callebaut, said: “Congratulations to Juan; his winning combination shows that the spirit of flavour innovation is alive and well in the world of chocolate. Thank you to everyone that entered. We had some absolutely fantastic combinations and the voting for the final four was extremely close – we now look forward to welcoming Juan as our special guest to the World Chocolate Masters.”

The fifth World Chocolate Masters – a premium initiative by gourmet brands Callebaut, Cacao Barry and Carma – will see 20 world-class national winners from across the globe compete against each other over two days at the Salon du Chocolat Professionnel in Paris-Porte de Versailles (Hall 4). The competition will also be screened live on the internet.