In October 2009, I was fortunate enough to visit the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, an amazing public exhibition focussed on … you guessed it, Chocolate! This was no ordinary expo though, as every 2 years, the public Salon is accompanied by the Professional Salon du Chocolat, which also incorporates the World Chocolate Masters finals.
After spending a few days south of Paris eating my way around Lyon and Annecy, and making the pilgrimage to Valrhona’s headquarters in Tain l’Hermitage, I headed to back into Paris. Standing outside the exhibition hall, at Porte de Versailles, I found myself excited as a child at Christmas, ready to enter the Salon.
At the Professional Salon, which fills the entire lower floor of the exhibition centre, shiny, sleek, modern displays showcase chocolate themed products, packaging and equipment from all over the world. Collaboration between designers and chocolateries, had resulted in mini shop window displays being created showcasing some of the worlds best chocolateries. I gazed in awe at the enrobers and industrial machinery, dreaming of the hours per day these machines would cut from our production schedule, and snapped back to reality as I watched a small boy stick his head into the barrel of a giant panning machine (very much like a cement mixer), to take a closer look.
But what I was perhaps most excited about was the live finals of the World Chocolate Masters competition. Winners of national competitions, come together to compete for the title of World Chocolate Master over three days of nail biting competition. Unfortunately funding wasn’t available to sponsor an Australian competitor in this years competition.
As I arrived, the first group of chocolate showpieces were just finishing. I met the UK finalist, Mark tilling, as he had moved his finished chocolate showpiece into position. The theme of this years competition was ‘Haute Couture’, to be interpreted by the competitors as they liked, through their chocolate showpieces, cakes, desserts, individual chocolates and the decoration of a designer hat had been created by a French hat designer. For his showpiece (which must be over 1m tall, but under 1.8m), Mark Tilling created a dressmakers studio, with floorboards and the items that may have fallen through the boards over the years. It was a beautiful showpiece, with intricate detailing on a Louis XV cabinet, pins and tape measures, all made from chocolate. Extraordinary. Many of the competitors took the theme more literally, and crafted showpieces which were a female form, modelling a dress. The Spanish competitor pieced together a large, almost life sized woman, solid and beautiful, with all the gusto we love about Spain.
As the second group of 10 competitors began to assemble their showpieces, I scored a prime viewing position directly in front of what I think may have been the greatest dichotomy amongst the competitors. Next door neighbours, and right in front of me, were Italy and Japan.
The Italian competitor exuded finesse and style, his chocolate components held in matching printed and personally branded boxes like a louis vuitton luggage collection. His work bench, with 3 mins to start time, was literally covered with Perspex boxes of chocolate pieces. His giant ‘headshot’ at the front of his workstation resembled an Armani advertisement. Next door, the Japanase competitor is quietly nervous, getting about his business. His bench in comparison is bare. Completely, starkly, minimalistically bare. His showpiece components that were visible, on the shelving behind him were held in brown cardboard boxes, neatly ordered, but no finesse. His headshot shows complete concentration, as he focussed on his work. Side by side, these two competitors, were the perfect example of the multicultural showdown about the commence.
The Eurovision style roving MC encourages the crowd to countdown from 10, and the battle begins.
Officials have checked the competitors equipment and made sure no pieces are already assembled …. Competitors can bring single pieces, eg. A flower petal, to put together to make the full flower, but could not bring a fully assembled flower. Rudimentary base and structural works begin, so we decide to visit the public Salon, and come back when more progress has been made. One hour in, we return and Canada appears to be recovering from a collapse. Italy has created a tower of layered horizontal pieces of chocolate, obviously what had been carefully numbered and stored in the multitude of small square Perspex containers that covered the bench before start time. It had reached a significant height, and was resembling a female form and next to it on the bench was what was to be the top section, another tower of horizontal pieces, topped with a the head of a model.
Japan had created a seemingly perfectly proportioned model of a model, sitting on a tri coloured chocolate chair, legs crossed, skirt created with the finest chocolate shards with rounded ends, partly transparent, feathered in their layout. Cinched waist with a white chocolate band, hands on her hips, and a cape like top to her outfit, her moulded face perfect in its precision, topped with a white chocolate hat with tall feathers. This showpiece stood alone in its precise design and execution, it was truly breathtaking. This was the one to beat without question. Next to the model stood the base, granite effect chocolate in speckled grey, two legs upside down, with a platform where the model was to sit. The Japanese competitor studiously continued his work.
Then the noise occurred. The dreaded sound of a showpiece collapsing. The noise that makes anyone in earshot stop in their tracks, turn and search for where it came from, with the macabre, curiousity we display when we just can’t help slowing to look at a car accident as we pass by. It was the Italian. The towering base of horizontal shards had collapsed, right in front of me. Whilst I was looking in awe at the Japanese haute coutre model, just a metre away, the tower of Pisa had leaned just a little too far. Damn. You can’t help but feel for the competitor, the immense training, the practicing of construction again and again, only to have the chance of completing the piece as it was meant to be shattered in an instant. His offsider awkwardly smiled, I assume because he didn’t know what else to do, and gestured at the top section, conveying ‘well at least you still have this that can go on top’.
I had witnessed the same thing at the 2007 Masters, and it was no less horrifying, when the Belgian competitor lost his moonscape showpiece in a shattered pile right in front of my very eyes, minutes before the end of the competition. Perhaps I’m not exactly a rabbits foot for competitors.
The Italian competitor salvaged what he could, and created a beautiful showpiece, albeit not quite as tall as planned.
Over the next three days the competitors created their Haute Couture inspired chocolates, cakes and desserts, and decorated their hats with chocolate.
Japanese competitor, Shigeo Hiraiwon first place for his showpiece, as well as overall winner. Second place was awarded to Lionel Clement from the USA and third place overall went to Michaela Karg from Germany.
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