Spain
Julian Alvarez wins Spanish Chocolate Masters selection at Intersicop
Madrid, 10th March 2007 - After a hard and long competition day, Julian Alvarez could hardly believe his ears when he was announced as the winner of the Spanish selection for the World Chocolate Masters 2007. However, the quality of Alvarez' work was exceptional. His showpiece represented the legend of San Jorge, dating back to the 13th century.
After a hard day of ten hours work, the nine contestants seemed to be really satisfied with the different creations which have been evaluated by the jury along the journey. The jury admitted the good level of the different participants and gave the final verdict by the end of the day around 18:30 hours. The winner was Julián Alvarez, working at Carlos Mampel Pastry in Barcelona which treated the Sant Jordi’s national myth from the area of Catalonia. In this legend, San Jorge saved the King's daughter who was about to be eaten by a dragon, by hitting his heart with a sword. He thus became the symbol of lovers. Julián Álvarez, 23 years old, will represent Spain at the international final in Paris.
The taste award was for Kyoko Fujimoto, working nowadays at Pastelería Totel (Paco and Jacob Torreblanca) in Elda.
Other beautiful showpieces represented many very diverse "Myths and Legends", as it was imposed in the competition rules. Alberto Diaz chose the famous Indurain as his source of inspiration, Juan Padilla looked at Don Quijote and Jordi Mora the "Sirena de los ojos turquesa".
The jury, splited into three groups, technical, artistic, and taste was integrated by well known professionals from the Pastry, Confectioner and Restauration sector as well as different ambassadors representing Cacao Barry and Callebaut brands. Among the artistic and technical jury we could find: Paco Torreblanca (Best European Pastry Chef for the European Community 1990), Faustino Helguera (Best Spanish Chocolate Confectioner 1995), Philippe Vancayseele (Director of Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Wieze), Philippe Marand (technical adviser of Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Meulan) and Xano Saguer from Espaisucre (Pastry School and Dessert Restaurant)
The taste jury was integrated by Alberto Ruiz from Ediciones Vilbo, Claudia Bellido from “La Confitería española” magazine, Joan Baixas from Baixas Pastry, Jordi Pujol from Joviat School, Jordi Butrón from Espaisucre and Ricard Pedrals, technical director of Blanxart.
The taste jury was integrated by Alberto Ruiz from Ediciones Vilbo, Claudia Bellido from “La Confitería española” magazine, Joan Baixas from Baixas Pastry, Jordi Pujol from Joviat School, Jordi Butrón from Espaisucre and Ricard Pedrals, technical director of Blanxart.
The national brands sponsoring the competition were Salva for the ovens, Sermont for the tempering chocolate machines and Bragard for the jackets (the 9 contestants as well as the 4 assistants were wearing Bragard jackets with the World Chocolate Mas, Cacao Barry and Callebaut logos)
The national competition was completed with a demonstration program brighten up by our Cacao Barry and Callebaut ambassadors as well as the technical support and partners. Around 80-100 people attended the demonstrations.
Different medias cover the event: TeleMadrid, Restauration News, La Confitería, Dulcypas, Hostelería y Restauración, Cocina Futuro. A complete press release has been published in Expansión, the major economic publication in Spain.
