Seven of the finest national talents with a diverse cross section of disciplines and backgrounds were chosen to compete in the U.S. National Competition which took place at the French Pastry School in Chicago on May 19th, 2007. It was an exciting day full of energy, culinary imagination, celebrity judges, and of course – chocolate!
Each juried contestant vied for the coveted grand prize, as well as the opportunity to compete against the world's top pastry chefs, hotel and restaurant chefs, and confectioners from across the globe in the final World Chocolate Masters competition hosted by Barry Callebaut on October 20-22 at the Salon du Chocolate in Porte de Versailles in Paris, France.
In addition to several well-respected culinary notables on the jury, the U.S. competition brought together a few other experts to liven up the festivities. Celebrity judges included:
Art Smith, best known for his cookbooks and subsequent James Beard Award in 2002, as well as his stint as Oprah's personal chef and as a contributing editor to her namesake magazine.
Food Network’s Gale Gand who, in addition to being a James Beard nominee for her cookbooks and is considered one of America's top pastry chefs.
Alain Roby, Senior Corporate Pastry Chef for Hyatt Hotels, as well as the winner of the Food Network Challenge based entirely on chocolate. He created a 20-foot, 8-inch tall replica of the Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, which now boasts the world record for tallest chocolate structure.
