Pastry Live 2014 – Chocolatier of the Year Competition Winners

ATLANTA - Sept. 3, 2014 - PRLog -- Pastry Live is proud to announce that Chef Justin Fry of Norman Love Confections is the winner of the fourth annual Chocolatier of the Year competition. On Sunday, August 24th, sixteen chocolate artisans, both international and national, competed for the honored title of Chocolatier of the Year. Each chocolatier crafted a molded chocolate already sold within their shop, as well as a specialty enrobed chocolate of their choosing. Chocolates were judged based on the taste, creativity and workmanship of each chocolate.

Chef Fry’s chocolates earned him high marks among the judges for their creative flavors and high-quality craftsmanship. His “Lemon Hazelnut” chocolate, a balance of white chocolate, hazelnut pralinade and lemon ganache with candied hazelnuts mixed within, impressed the judges with its unique taste and elegant design. Also highly favored for its originality and superb flavors was his “Litchi Raspberry” chocolate, which featured layers of litchi ganache, raspberry pate de fruit and a coconut crunch, all enrobed in milk chocolate.

For the second year in a row, the “Peoples’ Choice Award” also went to our Chocolatier of the Year, as Chef Fry’s “Lemon Hazelnut” bonbon won over the audience. His chocolates were nearly unanimously chosen by the audience tasters as their favorite, awarding Chef Fry a double win for the competition.

Also receiving excellent scores, Chef William Dean Brown of William Dean Chocolates placed second within the competition with his “Milk & Honey” bonbon, a combination of leatherwood-honey caramel and vanilla bean ganache encased in dark chocolate, and his “Bergamot Hazelnut Crunch” containing layers of caramelized hazelnut ganache, bergamot-lemon pate de fruit and crunchy hazelnut. Taking third place was Rodrigo Romo of Tout Chocolat with his “Choco-Beer,” comprised of layers of citrus and malted flavors, and “Melon Yellow,” consisting of a combination of passion, melon and earl-grey tea components. Each chocolatier’s work was applauded by the judges for its overall craftsmanship and execution in flavor and design.

The Chocolatier of the Year competition is designed with small chocolatier business owners in mind, offering national recognition for their skills and the opportunity for these artisans to display their talents in a competitor friendly environment. Pastry Live wishes to congratulate all of the winners, as well as thank each of the competitors for their professionalism, hard work and dedication.

For more details about Pastry Live and the Chocolatier of the Year competition, please contact Event Producer Paul Bodrogi at chef@pastrylive.com or (678) 881-9490. Further information is also available on our website at www.pastrylive.com.